Help me decide between Minolta Hi-Matic 9 and Canonet QL19

[nicolasraddatz]

Hi all!

Ok, so the rangefinder bug has started itching on me. I'm doing a trip to Bolivia by the end of the year, and I'd love to

carry a simple, no-frills, small film camera with me, mostly for B/W street shooting and such. I'll also carry a DSLR

for landscapes, colour photography, etc. I have a few months to get accustomed to a new camera, and that's good.

 

So, my requirements are: small, light, simple, rugged, dependable, with full manual control, easy to operate. As

cheap as possible.

 

I've been recently offered a Minolta Hi-Matic 9 for USD 60 and a Canonet QL19 for USD 92. Both are supposed to be

in good "cosmetical" condition, but no seller knows for sure if the cameras actually work. Both can operate without

batteries. Both feature fine, fast optics, parallax correction, can be operated in full manual mode. My budget is tight,

so every penny counts. And since this will be my first rangefinder ever, it may well be that I end up not liking it at all.

 

The canonet is a classic, lots of people rage about it. Plus its the smaller/lighter of the two. On the other hand, the

Hi-Matic has the faster lens (albeit a small difference, right?), its cheaper, and the lens is supposed to be really

sharp.

 

Supposing both cameras actually worked fine, which one would you choose? Any of you have both cameras to

comment?

 

Any advice will be most appreciated guys!

[minhnguyen9113]

Looks for a Canonet QL17 on Ebay I think a good working one will be less than $100.00 and you'll love it

[jose_guerra]

For the Canonet you can have a battery but it is not one available now. There are shops that offer a substitute to insert a smaller hearing aid battery that matches the voltage.1.3. This is what one website said:

Although it uses the much hated PX625 mercury battery that is no longer available in the U.S., the camera is fairly resistant to higher voltages as long as you're using print film. The exposure will be slightly off, but this usually isn't a problem. This means you can use a standard alkaline PX625A battery which you can buy at most larger drugstores or a LR/SR44 battery with liberal amounts of tin foil.

 

Here is an email that may have a substitute.

ebay@camera-care.com

[Lou_Meluso]

Tom, both are good shooters. $90 for an untested Canon seems high. While they both have manual modes, the meter does not work in manual. You may want to look at the Konica Auto S2. It's about the same size as the Minolta, has a superb lens and the meter works in manual and auto modes. Also the meter can also be seen looking down on top of the camera. Nice when shooting from the hip. Of the two you listed, the Canonet is more compact and feels great in the hand.

[scott_cogburn1]

I have owned (and repaired) both cameras, and I would say go for the Minolta.

 

Why? I guess because the ergonomics and general design of the Minolta seemed considerably more practical. And

not least because I found the Minolta much easier to repair than the Canon. Also, I just enjoy using the 1960s

Minoltas RFs much more than the 1960s Canon RFs.

 

As you say, both have excellent optics and can be used in manual mode. For what it's worth, the Hi-Matic 9 has the

the pretty-foolproof easy-flash system...don't recall if the Canons had something similar.

 

It's true-- nowadays, the Canons will give you more status than the Hi-Matic series, but they will also cost you 2-3

times as much. You should be able to get a Hi-Matic 9 in serviceable condition for under $25, easy. They were more

popular at the time, and so are more common today on the second-hand market.

 

If you want light weight and manual control, I have a few other reccomendations: Olympus XA, Olympus 35 RC, or a

few in the manual-only category such as the Voigtlander Vito I, Yashica Minister I, Yashica Lynx 1000, Minolta AL or

A5.

[the celt 2]

I was given a real minty Oly 35 rc about 10 years ago. It's an exelent shooter, and really compact. It goes everywhere with me. Unfortunately, they're not as easy to find on ebay as the Hi matics, or Canons. I guess those who own them just don't want to part with them.

[nicolasraddatz]

Hi folks! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!

 

Maybe I should have mentioned that I'm NOT in the US or Europe, so buying the camera from abroad is not an option. Between shipping and taxes (which are ridiculously high here), a $25 camera will probably get me to USD 100 + easily, and I would not even have the option of testing the camera before actually buying. For the same reason, I don't have the wide availability of different cameras you enjoy, so please lets stick to discussing Minolta Hi-Matic 9 and Canonet GL19. Although I understand that there may be better options out there, they aren't readily available to me, so why bother.

 

Nevertheless, I'll take into consideration what you mention regarding price, so I'll ask the sellers to bring the price down.

 

The cameras I mentioned are listed on a local online auction site (called MercadoLibre), and I've already told the people selling it that I need to have it checked by a technician (probably from my local photography club) in case I get to buy the thing.

 

Scott, you're the second person that has told me to buy the minolta instead of the Canon one.

 

Ed, I think I found a Olympus 35 on MercadoLibre, I'll check it's characteristics. Does it have such a great, fast lens?

 

Jose, thanks for sharing the suggestion regarding the battery, I'll check if there's anything similar locally.

 

Thanks again folks!

[frank.schifano]

I have a Canonet QL 17 and a Konica Auto S2. I use the Konica far more than the Canon. I just plain like it better despite it's slightly larger size.

[Andy Collins]

Tom,

I've not used a Hi-Matic 9 but I do have a Hi-Matic 7s; the Hi-Matic 9 is an updated 7S. I absolutely love it, more than I thought I would actually. I also have a QL19 that only works in manual mode. It's a nice camera as well, but I can't help but compare it to my GIII-QL17, which is one of my favorite cameras, film or digital. The Hi-Matic has a very nice quality feel to it and feels very solid and precise in its operation. I think you'll enjoy using it. As far as the Olympus 35RC, it's a great camera as well and ranks alongside the QL17 in my book. The lens isn't as fast (2.8 vs 1.7) but the camera is incredibly small yet solid, and offers a ton of performance in such a small package. And the lens, a 5-element lens which is unusual for cameras in its class, is very sharp and delivers very nice colors and contrast. Definitely worth considering.

[nicolasraddatz]

Thanks again guys!

 

If anyone el would like to add his perspective, feel free to do so!

[Andy Collins]

Les posted some pictures that are a pretty convincing argument in favor of the Hi-Matic 9.