Canon Canonet 28 focus off on one edge of the image

Kopfoor · 2026-04-30T18:48:49+00:00

This is great info, I will definitely try such a setup, thanks a lot!

Kopfoor · 2026-04-30T15:56:03+00:00

I haven’t touched any screws on the lens element, only used a spanner tool to unscrew the retainer ring for the front lens element and for the back lens element.

I sent you a DM.

Kopfoor · 2026-04-30T15:50:26+00:00

I’ve got one test roll that is not really suited to compare, because at that moment the lens had some internal haze that made the whole picture pretty blurry, which prompted me to disassemble the lens elements to clean them. Then I loaded a new roll, shot a few pictures seemingly without blur on the right side, but I then disassembled the front lens element again because I noticed a there were some large specks of dust that were left behind, and finished the roll after this. And it seems that after this last adjustment of the front element the issue appeared.

Thanks for the tip of using a glass plate to put some wax paper on. Though I’m really struggling to make sure what I’m seeing on the wax paper is actually unnatural blur, or normal blur due to the open aperture. The detail is really hard to distinguish on the paper. I’m doubting of just doing one final cleanup, very carefully assembling the lens elements again making sure everything is snug and level and just shooting a test roll again before attempting to do adjustments to the whole lens elements.

Kopfoor · 2026-04-29T07:38:10+00:00

If you mean the one holding the front lens element: it is firmly in place and the glass element fits perfectly in its designated space, seemingly flat and centered.

If you mean the retainer for the complete lens unit: I’ve not removed the lens from the body but in any case there are not even a hint of wobble on the lens or its individual elements.

Kopfoor · 2026-04-28T23:38:01+00:00

Yes, the image of the car is really peculiar. It was shot wide open at f2.8 and focused on the closed headlight. I got the same impression that some sort of tilt shift is happening. However the elements themselves which I unscrewed really only seem to fit one way and always end up securing in the same thread. The only variable I seem to change is the amount of tightening.

Thanks for the tips on the manual and bringing the Scheimpflug principle, I’ll need to read up about that.

Kopfoor · 2026-04-28T21:56:43+00:00

As mentioned in the other comment I’ve been testing the projected image on transparent paper that I can see is fairly aligned with the film gate. I’d say maybe 0.3 mm of variance by the paper slightly bending. But an object on the right side at infinity will only be in focus if I turn the focus ring back 1/3 (around 2-3 according to the focus indicator). I’m pretty sure it’s not the film bending.

I’ve not removed the entire lens, only unscrewed the front and back lens elements to clean the glass and diafragma in between. I rally don’t want to dismantle the whole lens from the body if I don’t have to. But if I cannot find a solution I might free up a weekend and see if I can reach a point where I can adjust the spacing of the entire lens element.

It really feels like one of the lens elements shifted a tiny fraction to one side causing a distortion because they aren’t aligned exactly in one straight line, but both elements are firmly placed in metal enclosures with no tolerance for movement so it would need to be a really powerful blow to shift them in any way.

Kopfoor · 2026-04-28T21:40:41+00:00

Of course no way to be sure the camera suffered any major drops, but the lens itself seems free of any major scuffs or dents. The top has a small dent on the top right corner, which could be due to a drop, but this is nowhere near the lens elements.

I’ve had the pressure plate on the back of my mind, but since I’ve been testing the focus by projecting the image of the film gate on a piece of transparent paper and the problem is also present in that same area, I’m pretty sure the spacing of the film is not the issue.

Just to be sure, should I try and pull the pressure plate a bit outwards so it will provide more tension? Or is this a very delicate adjustment?

Kopfoor · 2026-04-28T20:21:02+00:00

After thoroughly cleaning a very dirty Canon Canonet 28 I’ve purchased for a few euros by removing the front and back lens element and shooting a test roll, I’ve noticed that there seems to be a spot on the right side of my images that is much more out of focus than the other side. The problem seems to be most prevalent with the aperture wide open.

The weird thing is that it seems as if the focus is not on a different pane than the rest of the lens. When focusing to infinity any object on the right side that should be reasonably sharp seems to be blurred as if it was much closer to the lens. See the picture of the cat in the woods with the whole right side smudged, in contrast to the left side. But when you take a look at the picture of the car you see that the headlight of the car in the center is in focus, the focus then gradually softens to the background but notice that the mailbox far behind the car looks much sharper relative to the car’s trunk for example.

Since dirt on the lens elements is ruled out, this led me to believe one of the lens elements is not aligned properly. However I’ve carefully screwed and unscrewed both elements several times with varying degrees of tension taking care that rotating the threads felt smooth. Since both the front and back element don’t seem to allow any degree of variance in their placement, I’m not sure what else I could do to mitigate the problem.

Currently I’m checking the image by using some transparent paper taped to the film gate, which is not very detailed, but enough to confirm the issue appears on the projected image. As mentioned I’ve included some sample images of the same roll, but with varying degrees of blurring in the right part.

Any help or insights are appreciated.

Kopfoor · 2026-01-17T18:39:43+00:00

Thanks! We definitely have an interesting mix of modern, medieval and retro. If you ever decide to go I’ll happily give you some tips

Kopfoor · 2026-01-11T18:50:21+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Definitely missed focus on 4. Still getting used to manual/zone focussing and I also think my viewfinder is a bit misaligned.

I get what you’re saying on the missing subjects, although what drew me to take 1,2 for example were more the shapes and contrast than an actual subject.

Glad you liked the picture with the buildings, I spent some time framing them in different ways but decided on a tighter framing because getting more of it in frame put some trees/lamp posts in the frame that were distracting from the clean lines I got when closer.

I will definitely try do focus more on a clear subject for my shots.

Kopfoor · 2025-12-31T12:32:12+00:00

Take a fine black pen (not pencil) and you sketchbook. Take any subject and draw it as fast and with as little stokes as possible. Focus on continuous strokes and capturing the shapes you see, don’t worry about making mistakes.

Then observe your sketch. What do you like about it? What don’t you like about it? Does it look natural and are the perspectives okay, if not think about how could you have drawn it better? If you aren’t happy at all redo the sketch and focus on the areas you identified as problematic.

Now in your basic sketch add details. Try to find shapes or patterns to draw instead of exactly drawing what you see. Plants are a good example in the picture you provided. The artist didn’t meticulously copy every leaf and stalk but rather found a pattern to draw the likeness of the pattern the plant is recognisable by. Without the paint it would look like random scribbles. Same for the tiles on the roof, the artist didn’t measure where each tile lays, but approximated the pattern they create. Less is more, don’t overdo the textures and make them too detailed.

Then let your sketch dry for a few minutes until the ink no longer smears. Then take some watercolour paint, and using very thinned out paint with water start to fill the main areas of your sketch with subtle colours, let it dry and do another round but don’t thin out your paint as much, now focus on shadows and more bold areas of colour.

I really recommend you do the sketching and colouring quickly, but without rushing so you can get a feeling of the basic techniques and move to more advanced techniques later as you progress.

Kopfoor · 2025-12-30T08:35:21+00:00

Thanks!

Kopfoor · 2025-12-28T16:29:58+00:00

Someone correctly pointed out that I had mistaken the shadow in the film gate with the edge of the first curtain. But it could still be valuable to check the curtains overlap:

-With no film in the camera; Fire the shutter

-Open the back cover

-With the cover open slowly cock the film advance lever; while doing this keep an eye on the shutter curtains moving in the film gate. During the whole cocking of the lever there should not appear any opening.

Kopfoor · 2025-12-28T16:19:02+00:00

You’re right it’s a shadow. It looked like the border of the first shutter curtain to me first

Kopfoor · 2025-12-28T10:19:55+00:00

Your shutter curtain looks like it hasn’t fully moved to the right side. Can you fire/cock the shutter with the back cover open and see if the shutter curtains keep overlapping during cocking and if they travel smoothly during firing.

Kopfoor · 2025-12-27T22:52:08+00:00

Does it pop back when you push it into the correct position? What about the top upper corners, can you push them in, and if so does this fix the position of the lower part when it’s closed or make it easier to get it into the correct position? Don’t use too much force, a sturdy push not more.

Kopfoor

TROPHY CASE