Canonet QL17, QL19, and QL28 Vertical Rangefinder Adjustment

I haven't even done a post on my relatively new-to-me Canonet QL17 GIII yet, but I thought I'd put up a quick guide on adjusting the rangefinder overlay. I just finished doing it, and it was quite a bit easier than I expected it to be.

I noticed the problem when I first got the camera off of eBay.  It was pretty minor, but I noticed that the overlay was vertically off just a little. So even when the focus level was maneuvered so that everything was perfectly lined up, it was still just a bit off.  Of course, this doesn't affect focusing at all, since the focus moves the overlay horizontally rather than vertically, but it was a little annoying.

Behind that chrome button is
the set screw to adjust the
rangefinder.

So anyway.  After some searching I found out that there's an adjustment screw behind that little chrome spot (I always wondered what that was for!) on the back of the camera below the hot shoe.  The page I read had said to twist it open with a pair of pliers, but it's so pretty and undamaged and chrome, I knew I'd mess it up and probably mark up the camera body in the process.  So I took one of those rubber jar openers (you know they're just thin rubbery discs that give you a better grip on a jar lid), put it between that chrome cap and my thumb, and pressed hard while turning counter-clockwise.  It loosened right up.  From there I just unscrewed it with my fingers.

With the chrome cap off

Behind that cap is a hole.  Inside of that hole, at about a 45-degree angle on the left, is a small shiny set screw.  Take some time to shine a flashlight in there, and if you get it at just the right angle you'll be able to see the screw, so you know what you're going for. Turning that screw adjusts the vertical position of the overlay. I believe clockwise adjusts it down, but don't quote me on that.  Of course, it's kind of annoying to have the screwdriver carefully positioned, angled to the left, set into the screw's slot, while you try to get your eye up to the viewfinder so you can see how much to adjust it.  Be patient though, and it will eventually happen.

You'll want to use a screwdriver that's small enough not only to fit in the hole, but also small enough to be able to be angled sufficiently to reach the screw.  I used a 1.4mm slotted screwdriver for this and it worked just fine.  A 2mm slotted may work too but I'm not sure.

I tried to get a picture of the screw, but I got impatient because I was trying to handle a camera and a flashlight simultaneously.  You can kind of see it in the photo below, but it's blurry because I accidentally focused on the camera back.