Film Cameras

35mm Lens-Shutter Camera

Canonet G-III 17

Canonet G-III 17

Canonet G-III 17

  • Japan
  • Americas
  • Europe, Asia, Oceania
  • Outline
  • Specifications
Marketed March 1972
Original Price 29,000 yen

The “G” in the camera designation stood for “Grade Up” which referred to the quality improvement. The “III” indicated the third-generation Canonet series, following the original Canonet and the New Canonet.

The basic specifications were the same as the New Canonet QL17’s. Checking the battery was easier with a battery check button on the side of the viewfinder eyepiece. A lamp would light when the battery was still good.

Manufactured from spring 1972 to summer 1982, it was a long-selling bestseller over 11 years. About 1.2 million units were made.

Type 35mm Lens-Shutter rangefinder camera with shutter speed-priority EE
Picture Size 24 x 36 mm
Lens 40mm f/1.7 (6 elements in 4 groups)
Shutter Copal with B, 1/4 sec. to 1/500 sec., X-sync. Built-in self-timer. Hot shoe and German socket.
Viewfinder Coincidence rangefinder integrated with reversed Galilean viewfinder. Automatic parallax correction with projected frames and marked finder. 0.6x magnification. On the right within the image area are the aperture scale, meter needle, overexposure and underexposure warnings.
EE CdS cell for shutter speed-priority EE. Metering range of EV 3.5 – 17 (at ISO 100). Film speed range of ISO 25 – 800. Manual exposure enabled by disabling AUTO.
Power Source One 1.3 V H-D mercury cell. Battery check provided with a lamp.
Film Loading &
Advance
After opening camera back, align film leader at mark then advance to first frame with Quick Loading (QL) system. Advances with camera-top lever’s 127° single stroke. Partial strokes not enabled. Film transport confirmation window provided.
Frame Counter Counts up. Resets automatically when camera back is opened.
Film Rewind Camera-top crank
Dimensions &
Weight
120 x 75 x 60 mm, 620 g