What kind of meter does the Canonet QL17 have?

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I tested my 1970 Canonet QL17 rangefinder's meter with my Nikon F90's Matrix meter and they both have the same reading for the same scene, using approximately the same focal length lens, the same ASA setting, and the same shutter speed (the Canonet's a shutter priority camera so I set the F90 at Shutter Priority). However, when I switch the F90's metering mode to Center-Weight, I get a higher reading than the Canonet's.

What kind of metering does my 1970 Canonet rangefinder have that it gets the same reading as the more advanced Nikon 8-point Matrix metering?

-- Ron Gregorio (gregorio@ksc.th.com), October 23, 2000

Answers

AFAIK the QL17 has a simple focused CdS cell meter with the sensitivity changed by a mechanical aperture. At least it appears that way from looking at my own QL17.
The difference will only show under non-standard lighting conditions, like contre-jour, or high-key or low-key subjects. For the 'average' subject, in 'average' light, there will be no difference in the meter readings from a simple integrating system, like the QL17's, and a matrix-metered system.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), October 23, 2000.

The Canonet meter has very little, if any, center-weighting. Your Nikon may have read higher on its center-weighted setting if the scene was dark around the edges, and your matrix metering may have seen the dark areas and lowered the reading.

In a different scene, the results might be different.

rick

-- rick oleson (rick_oleson@yahoo.com), October 23, 2000.


Thanks guys. How do you compensate with metering in high and low lighting? After a roll of B&W T-Max 400 film through my QL17, my compensation of +1 to +2 was way overexposed for a full portrait of a single individual against a bright background (i.e. white wall). It makes me think that maybe I shouldn't even compensate at all and just trust the meter.

-- Ron Gregorio (gregorio@ksc.th.com), October 24, 2000.

This isn't real scientific, but:

You can get the meter to increase exposure by placing your left index finger in front of the meter cell - watch the meter needle move as you cover the cell, and lock the reading in by pressing the shuter release halfway down when you think it's gone far enough.

To get it to reduce exposure, I think you'll have to change the asa setting or go to manual.

rick :)=

-- rick oleson (rick_oleson@yahoo.com), October 24, 2000.


Ron; you could always use the 'foot-zoom' facility, and take a spot meter reading from an average part of the subject, then transfer the reading to a manual setting.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), October 25, 2000.


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