Mijonju biography paper

CANONET VS. LEICA

The Canonet QL17 GIII, often referred to as the “Poor Man’s Leica” is much better than that, but it’s not fair to compare it to Leica as it was never intended to compete with it. But for what it was designed to be - a small, easy to use rangefinder - it was the best-selling of its type in the world, and it offers some great features.

Unlike the notoriously difficult film loading system of the Leica the Canon’s QL (Quick Load) film-loading system is a joy to use, taking only seconds before you’re ready to shoot the first frame.

The Canonet’s 40mm lens is the closest to a true “normal” lens, which is roughly 42mm. I know purists will tell you 35mm, or 50mm, but scientifically 42mm is as close as you can get to the camera taking what you see through the lens, and thus the little Canonet outperforms many of its more expensive counterparts.

Another distinctive advantage that the Canonet offers over the Leica is its internal leaf shutter that allows you to sync its flash unit at all shutter speeds - particularly useful for outdoor, fill lighting. It also boasts a

Hi all,

Just wondering how many of you have shot with any of the Canon rangefinders, and your experiences with them. I didn't even know this camera existed until a few days ago - and there are other Canon models closely related to this one. Might be a great topic for discussion on a future podcast... Mr. Raso? Do you own one?

They sure are beautiful cameras.

Michael
120-127Posted 11 years ago Edited by 120-127 (member) 11 years ago
I shoot with a Canon IV, which predates the VT by a few years. Solid camera, feels good in the hand and there's a magnifier for the viewfinder so you can check critical focus. Only real drawback is that it repeats the Leica bottom loading design flaw, which essentially triples the loading time compared to a swing back. This was fixed by the time of the VT.
I think they were the early versions of rangefinders that led up to the Canon P, for "populaire' - a much more popular design. Here is one of the deluxe models of the VT series:

www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/film/data/1956-1965/19...

www.c

Mijonju's Captivating Tales With the LC-A+

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Mijonju is the proprietor of the cult hit youtube channel, the Mijonju Show, that talks about all things analogue – from his camera collection to events and photowalks. We caught up with this busy shooter who is based in Tokyo, Japan and asked a few questions…

Name: Michel Jones a.k.a Mijonju
City: Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
Country: Japan

Please tell us a bit about your self
I love Cameras like a fat boy who loves Chocolate cake.

How long have you been a Lomographer? How did you get into film cameras?
2 years ago, I got into Film Cameras because of my mothers Minolta SRT 101b.

The strangest, funniest, or hands-down greatest photographic/Lomographic encounter you had.

I was pointing my Camera at a girl in the train, just when i was about to press the shutter she looked at me (into the camera), and the shot was made
it was an extremely Awkward feeling, It’s not a specially beautiful photo, but that day i was really embarrassed.

If your photos shown here could have a soundtrack of three so

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