Canon QL-17, battery query.

[Todd.Hanz]

I bought a QL-17 to replace my stolen Leica CL for the time being, my question is what battery is currently available for it, and do you need to compensate for voltage differences by adjusting the ASA speed (up or down)?

Thanks,
Todd

[DickS]

I don't know what kind of battery your camera will take but if you go to http://www.photobattery.com/ and type in the number of the battery originally called for it will show what substitute batteries will work.

Dick

[back alley]

try the air zinc variety, either a wein air cell (pricey) or a hearing aid battery (very cheap).
i'm using the wein only because i only recently found out about the hearing aid battery trick.
with the cheaper cell you will most likely need a rubber o ring to ensure a better fit. another trick is to get an old alkaline (625/675, can't remember offhand) button cell and remove the center part and insert the air cell into it.

i have also read, on karen nakamura (sp?) site that it's ok to use alkaline cells as the canonet is 'wired' as such that it will work just fine. (i can't recall the tech info)

joe

[pshinkaw]

Karen nakamura's Photoethnography site is

http://www.photoethnography.com/equipment.html

She says that the Canonet QL-17 compensates for the voltage differences. If that is true, one way of doing it is through a Wheatstone Bridge. That is what the Pentax Spotmatic does. It is a more expensive circuit design and requires a few more manufacturing steps, which is probably why it wasn't used in all cameras of that time period.

I have a Maxell Alkaline version of a PX-13 (1.5 volts) in my Canonet. It still seems to be off by about a stop, but it may just be a calibration problem steeming from age rather than a voltage issue. The variation seems to be worse in dim light. As a general rule of thumb, I don't rely on built-in meters of this type anyway if manual over-ride is available.

-Paul

[Stu :)]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=507

This is a neat trick I learnt recently.

With regards to the voltage spike. It wears off after two films or so. Or you could short the battery with a mild resistor (33k) and check the voltage/amps until it's 'normal'.

Stu :)

[SolaresLarrave]

The Duracell PX625, available in most supermarkets, will do the trick for you. Have fun with the little Canonet!