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Jan Dvorak

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Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 05:37 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I am trying to resurrect a Canonet GIII QL17 and have run into a problem with which I need some help….. The camera’s lens assembly is quite wobbly and I believe that is the reason why the shutter release only releases at the end of its travel, sometimes requiring quite a lot of pressure. The point of release varies depending on how I twist the loose lens assembly. Actually, it is not only the lens assembly that wobbles - when I remove the top plate, the meter assembly seems to form a unit with the lens plate and wobbles with it too. I checked all the retaining rings inside the film chamber and all’s tight in there.

Am I correct in assuming that the only way to fix this is by peeling off the leatherette? For obvious reasons specific to the Canonet series I would like to avoid this………. Somehow I seem to remember that by removing the rangefinder assembly I could access some screws from the top, which could tighten the lens - am I correct? Any ideas as to where to start?

Many thanks,

Jan
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rick

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Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 09:59 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The most common cause of a wobbly lens is that 4 screws, holding the rectangular plate that the shutter is mounted on, have worked loose and the whole plate is wobbling.

I'm afraid I don't have a sketch of this on my website, but I do have it here and I can email it to you.... the short answer is yes, you have to peel off the leather adjacent to the lens (and the "GIII" emblem), then remove 2 screws and lift an access panel off from each side of the lens... set back a bit behind these panels is the plate holding the shutter, and if you look carefully you'll find the 4 phillips head screws at its corners.
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Jan Dvorak

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Posted on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 - 10:59 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hello Rick,

Thanks for your response. I was afraid that leatherette peeling and thus its destruction was in my and the Canonet's future. I would appreciate your sketch; anything will be helpful.

My name in the heading is an email link.

Many thanks again,

Jan
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rick

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Posted on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 - 02:17 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

canonet leatherette is not brittle; you should be able to peel it off and put it back without difficulty. for best results, a pressure sensitive film adhesive will be better than a liquid contact cement if the original adhesive doesn't survive removal (which it might).
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Jan Dvorak

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Posted on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 - 04:50 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Thanks for the drawings, Rick. You are indeed quite an artist! ;-)

Wish me luck!

All the best,

Jan
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Mike

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Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 07:43 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Would the same method work on a Canonet Junior? I've got one that works fine, but the lens is really wobbly. The leatherette is pristine, so I don't want to try to remove it unless I'm sure I'll find the same screws as mentioned above.

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