Only Rangefinder

[sinedyar]

I'm not a fan of rangefinders. The only one I ever bought was a Cannon GIII XL Canonet QL17, which I bought for my wife. I have no idea when it came out or when I bought it.

My wife now has a point & shoot, so the Canonet hasn't been used in many years.

Denis

[kamera]

Denis,

The Canon Cannonet 17 QL GIII is really a great camera. Not too large, fine quality and a lot of fun to use...my gets most of my RF action.

Ron Head
Kalamazoo, MI

[sinedyar]

Ron:

I'm not sure I've ever taken a picture with it. It looks in mint shape, but don't have the manual any longer, so not even sure what kind of battery it takes.

Denis

[kamera]

Denis,

It takes the old #625 mercury. I have a couple that are still good. But most often, I just use my Gosson Scout Handheld Meter which is selenium and still works fine.

Go ahead when you get a chance and use that camera. Believe you will find you like it.

Ron Head
Kalamazoo, MI

[byuphoto]

Or sell it to me as I can always use another. ;D

[sinedyar]

Ron:

It's so small, though. I hate small cameras. My hands feel so cramped holding it, and I don't have large hands. :-)

Denis

[kiev4a]

Tend to agree with you. I like cameras with a little size and weight (hence a Nikon F3, F4 and a Mamiya C220). I've owned a ton of rangefinders over the years and have a whole display case fill of FSU RFs. But I do most of my shooting with SLRs. It may be because I wear glasses and never know exactly what's going to be in the photo when I use a rangefinder and have to keep my eye away from the viewfinder eyepiece so my glasses don't get scratched.

[kamera]

I do have to agree it is somewhat 'easier' and more comfortable to use a heavier camera, but an occasional gig with the RF is worth it. By using the Canonet you will get use to it, and, most likely, enjoy it and what it can do.

Ron Head
Kalamazoo, MI

[Randy]

I like my Canon QL19 as it is the big Canonet. I have a Canonet 28 that seems too small for my hands. The QL19 takes great pictures.

[sinedyar]

Ron:

I also have a Nikon N65 SLR, which hardly gets used because it’s so small, and it’s much larger than the Canon rangefinder. I even bought the battery pack for it to make it larger.

Back in the 1960’s when I was stationed with the Army in Japan, I used a friend’s rangefinder. Don’t remember the model, but it was a Canon half frame, so I have used them. But once I got into SLRs, with their great flexibility, I’ve never had a desire to try them again.

Yes, one could get used to it, one can get used to anything, but doubt I would like it. I’d be saying to myself, “Why am I bothering with this when I have SLRs.”

However, I may give it a try.

Denis

[johnw]

hi y'all i just came home with a (new) canon A35F. the camera seems almost new with only a chip on the glass above the lens. for .99$ what can i expect . the battery in it was dad, i tried a lr44 that was down to about 3 volts and it seems to work. now i just need to finds a merc 1.35 v. for it

[franks]

I began photography with SLR's, Pentax, then Nikon, then included medium format. During the last couple of years, I have gotten into rangefinders big time. For some reason, they made photography fun again for me. Perhaps it was the fact of regaining control from auto camera systems, I don't know, but I love using my manual, mechanical RF cameras the most!

This isn't entirely true. I really began photography with my father's old Kodak Retina that I found in a closet, but I bought an SLR once I realized that I was hooked into photography.

[franks]

My father's camera was actually a Kodak Retinette 1A with a Reomar lens. Not highly regarded but satisfied me and took that "wintertime girlfriend walking away" photo. Later on I aquired but eventually sold a Retina IIIbigC and a IIa.

[franks]

I will keep my father's camera, the one I began photography with.