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Got stuck trying to fix a stuck aperture on a Canonet QL17 for 4 hours
I was cleaning a Canonet QL17 for a client and the aperture blades just would not budge after reassembly. Turns out I had the cam ring off by one tiny tooth and it took me four hours to figure that out. Anyone else spend way too long on a simple fix like this?
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anna9832mo ago
I just read somewhere that the QL17 is especially finicky with its aperture ring alignment, like even being half a tooth off can lock up the blades completely. So your four hours sounds about right for that camera honestly. I remember a forum post where someone spent a whole weekend on the same thing before they realized the cam ring tab wasn't seated in the right slot. Makes you feel both dumb and relieved when you finally find it huh.
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andrew_miller9025d ago
isn't it wild how the smallest misalignment can eat up your whole day like that? @kais67 pretty much nailed it with the "average Tuesday" thing, I swear half of fixing old cameras is just learning to accept the time sink before you even start. it's the same with anything old and mechanical, like lining up a timing chain on a car or even setting up a record player, everything has to click exactly right or you're stuck chasing ghosts for hours.
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