Canon G-III QL 17

Welcome to the newest member of the family, a Canon QL17, a.k.a. Canonet GIII. It’s a 1970’s rangefinder camera, with a 40mm/1.7 lens — sometimes called a ‘poor man’s Leica’.

It’s gorgeous. Although the case is pretty knackered, the camera itself is in pristine condition – no scratches at all. It was recently serviced and the seller threw in a new battery and a rubber ring to make it fit (the original mercury batteries are no longer made). It works completely manually too.

Canonet deserves to go on holidays with me, but although it is quite small, it’s heavy enough to kill a large man. Hmm. Maybe that’s an extra reason to bring it.

Life through a lens

I took the loan Rebel for a spin last night (scratches be damned) to see how it works with my 28-105mm and I’ve come to the conclusion that the Cosina is a piece of crap. (D’oh, you might say) It’s just soft all over the place, particularly with sunny back light. I can’t find a lot of reviews for this thing – though it seems the Vivitar 28-105 is the same make. Opinions vary. Apparently Cosina’s output is unreliable. Sometimes the lens is good, sometimes it’s not. Mine obviously isn’t. Hey, guess who sold it to me?

Which means I am or will in the near future be in the market for a replacement. The 18-55 kit lens that I will. eventually. have. ($*&%#!!!) is adequate, and I’ve got the 50/1.8. What would complement that? Maybe a 100mm prime? Or should I go for a 70-300? Obviously not a Cosina one.

(‘Course that lens was never made to serve on a digital SLR – it works fine on the analog camera.)