Canon GIII QL Tape Back Upgrade
Produced from 1972 to 1982 the Canon Canonet QL17 GIIIQL was a workhorse of the compact range finder group. And some have give more than others for the cause.
If you look closely on the right side you can see that this GIII has been customized with a duct tape door latch upgrade. The door closes and seems to latch properly for a few shots they pops open so you can check the film. Fixed it.
That was not the end of the joy. Majority of the shot in automatic shutter were over exposed. I was able to clean some up and make a few presentable but to shot this one again I would need to adjust the ASA setting to trick it and or just shot in manual (fortunately an option).
The final problem was that toward the end of the roll, the film started to slip. Giving some nice uninttended double exposure. Another upgrade.
Generally this one lived up to the Broken Camera Club name more than to the respected Canonet name. This is the fourth Q17 or GIII that I have shot and the first to have any real problems. It is also the first of the four to be Taiwan not Japan made. I have no reason to think the manufacturing location was the cause or even a factor. I knew going in that this was a camera with risks so it actually preformed better than you would expect for a $1 camera. The truth is a bit of tape, shot in manual and you are golden.
Lens: Canon 40mm 1.7
Film: KodaColor Gold 200
Tape: Gorila Brand