The Canonet QL17 G-III came to me as a surprise. I had been thinking about a lightweight 35mm rangefinder as an always-in-the-backpack alternative to the heavier Canon A-1 and even tried out a Minox 35 EL recently, but was not satisfied with the small viewfinders. An Olympus Mju or XA looked tempting, but when this Canonet showed up in the shop I could not resist. At about 650g it’s certainly not a featherweight like my Agfa Optima, but it still only weighs half of what the A-1 with the big zoom lens does. It will be challenging to shoot with a 40mm fixed focal length, but I guess I will just have to be creative and it will be a flashback to the 1980s with my Agfa. I have not yet decided what film I should use in it, but I’m sure I’ll take it out for a photo walk in the coming weeks.

The Canonet QL17 G-III introduced in 1972 was the final and best incarnation of a long range of Canonets that began in 1961 with the original model. The top version of the range was sold for over a decade and still is in high demand because of its sharp six-element 40mm f/1.7 lens and automatic aperture exposure function that could also be turned off for completely manual usage. It also has a double-window rangefinder like much more expensive cameras. Sometimes called the “poor man’s Leica” it certainly can’t rival the Leica M series that dominated the upper-class rangefinder market in the 1970s, but it is still one of the best and affordable 35mm rangefinder cameras of that time.

Berlin’s Oberbaumbrücke late last December, shot on Fomapan 100 with my Canon A-1 and the FD 28-85/4 lens.

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