Canon Canonet QL17 G-III

Canon Canonet QL17 G-III Overview

In 1961, Canon—then an upmarket camera company—shocked the industry by debuting the Canonet line, a series of modestly-priced compact rangefinders. The very first Canonet model completely sold out in just two hours while worldwide sales hit the one million mark in a mere two and a half years, an auspicious beginning for what would be a wildly popular line of cameras that would span over two decades. The Canon Canonet QL17 G-III is the final high-end model of the Canonet series.

The QL17 features a surprisingly fast 40mm f/1.7 lens with a minimum focus distance of 2.6 feet and offers shutter-priority auto-exposure with a range from 1/4 to 1/500 seconds. This particular Canonet is compatible with ISO 25 to ISO 800 film and has both a hotshoe as well as a flash sync terminal located on the side near the viewfinder. While the cadmium sulphide meter requires a battery to operate, the QL17 is otherwise completely mechanical and can be used unpowered (hopefully with an auxiliary light meter) if necessary. The “QL” in the camera’s name refers to Canon’s quick loading system which uses a simple but ingenious mechanism to make loading 35mm film easier.

At one point, I actually owned two Canon Canonet QL17 G-IIIs, both purchased at two different thrift stores about three years apart. I eventually traded one of them to my friend in exchange for a Konica Auto S.