Film Cameras

35mm Lens-Shutter Camera

Canonet QL17

Canonet QL17

Canonet QL17

  • Japan
  • Americas
  • Europe, Asia, Oceania
  • Outline
  • Specifications
Marketed March 1965
Original Price 23,800 yen, 1,800 yen (case)

The EE (Electric Eye) feature and viewfinder were made as small as possible and the internal construction was completely different from the original Canonet, making the QL17 a totally new model. However, it had a strong Canonet-like appearance.

The “QL” stood for “Quick Loading,” a feature which made film loading quick and easy. At first, “Quick Loading” was inscribed below the Canon logo. It was later replaced by “QL.”

Type 35mm Lens Shutter rangerfinder camera with shutter speed-priority EE
Picture Size 24 x 36 mm
Normal Lens Canon SE 45mm f/1.7 (6 elements in 5 groups)
Shutter Copal SV; B, 1 to 1/500 sec. Built-in self-timer. Flash sync enabled with M-X switchable German socket
Viewfinder Coincidence rangefinder integrated with reversed Galilean viewfinder. Automatic parallax correction with projected frames and marked finder. 0.7x magnification. Viewfinder bottom features aperture scale (f/1.7 – f/16) and match needle correct exposure window/exposure warning indicator.
Exposure Meter
and EE
CdS comb-controlled shutter speed-priority EE. Metering range of EV 2.5 – 19 (at ISO 100). Film speed range of ISO 25 – 400. Manual exposure enabled by disabling AUTO.
Power Source One 1.3 V MP mercury cell
Film Loading &
Advance
After opening camera back, film leader is aligned at mark then advanced to first frame with Quick Loading (QL) system. Advances with camera-top lever. (120° single stroke)
Frame Counter Counts up. Resets automatically when camera back is opened.
Film Rewind Camera-top crank
Dimensions &
Weight
140 x 79 x 37 mm, 830 g