Argus Mania - Originally Posted in Nelsonfoto on Sept 17th 2006

[GrahamS]

Argus-Mania
I recently became the proud owner of an Argus C-4, thanks to the generosity of a very good friend who said that I needed an American camera in my collection. How right he was! My Argus is fitted with the 50mm f2.8 coated Cintar lens and came complete with never-ready case. It has been CLA'd and is in superb condition - in fact there are no signs of use or wear on it at all. It was obviously well cared for.
This is the camera:

I hadn't finished unpacking it when my Best Beloved hauled me out the door for a four mile walk in the countryside. I hastily loaded the Argus with a roll of Fuji Superia 100 colour neg film and headed for the hills. These are some of the shots I took that evening. I have made no adjustment to any of these images apart from a slight crop on some where parallax caught me out, and a resize from 1800 ppx wide down to 800 ppx. I have not sharpened at all.
I love this camera. It has an honesty of design and construction that's hard to beat and it's a pleasure to use. The Cintar f2.8 gives superb negatives, and colour has nice contrast. It certainly performs way above the price bracket of the camera. So yes, now I know that they could make good cameras in the US of A!
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Graham S

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Great - another camera I want now! Those are wonderful shot

Dean Williams Dean Williams is offline
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Ah ha. Ann Arbor strikes again! You sure have a PILE of good shots here, Graham.
The C4 is a such a good camera. Good lens, obviously, nice handeling the way I see it, and an honestly good rangefinder.
You should see the inside of one. There is no evidence in there that the designers had ever seen another camera. Totally unlike other manufacturers workings. So neat. Makes me proud to be an Amurakan.
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MichaelHarris MichaelHarris is offline
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That is a wonderful looking camera and some fantastic pictures. Now that I've seen the C4 I wonder if my wife will allow another camera in the house?
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Wimpler Wimpler is offline
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Those look really amazing! The color is great, and they are nice and sharp.
Any notes on apertures and shutter speeds? Did you use a tripod?
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Diwan Bhathal Diwan Bhathal is offline
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Hmm... this camera has lots and lots of little gear teeth all over it. A curious thing!
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Glenn Thoreson Glenn Thoreson is online now
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Diwan, that's the gear for the coupled rangefinder. You focus by turning the wheel with your finger. They are usually stiff and you can rapidly grind the skin off your digit. The photos are simply amazing! I've rarely gotten results like that out of any of my Argi. The C-44 probably comes closest. I have a roll of Fuji in a C-3 (Thanks Michael!) that I'll finish up some day. If the pictures aren't as pretty as this, at least the camera is. Inthe mean time, I wanna see more!
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Diwan Bhathal Diwan Bhathal is offline
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I love the camera. I was just commenting on a thought that passed through my mind. Gear teeth all over the place, the lens, the RF, the film winder knobs. Lots of knurled surfaces on this one, thought it was curious.

Camera design is really slick, if that is the correct word for it. It stands out. Also, the results with it are quite outstanding.

Nice. Very nice. It has truly found a good home.
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Andrea Andrea is offline
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Lovely image and a pretty looking camera too.
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Graham Serretta Graham Serretta is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wimpler View Post
Those look really amazing! The color is great, and they are nice and sharp.
Any notes on apertures and shutter speeds? Did you use a tripod?

Nope, no tripod - all hand held. Sunny 16 rule for most, except the really low light shots when I used speeds as low as 1/25th at f2.8. The shutter speeds were measured as follows:
Marked Measured
10 15
25 30
50 60
100 100
300 185

Taking the last as 1/200, the speeds are nicely linear.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
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Graham S

[Julio1fer]

I got this dilapidated Argus from a member in Nelsonfoto, a long time ago. I believe it is called “the Brick”.



The shutter needed some care, but this camera was designed for easy repair. The lens performed well beyond expectations.



This Argus was given to a photographer friend. Indeed it is a well-built instrument, made to last. The optics are on a par with more expensive cameras.

[Brazile]

Here is mine, a C-44, after a great deal of cleaning -- it was covered in ancient, completely deteriorated gaffer's tape. It came to me as part of a large pile of photographic equipment salvaged from a basement hoard of the detritus of at least three estates. The family member who ended up with the house had let it all accumulate until it got out of hand, and then when he finally couldn't stand it, ordered a dumpster and just started pitching it all in. Fortunately a mutual friend saw the photo stuff as it went by and thought I might be interested, so she saved what she could on their way to the dumpster (and some things after they'd already made a trip into the dumpster, not necessarily gently). All middle-of-the-road stuff collected by a working pro in the 1950s, nothing very fancy. But there was some fun stuff, I probably should make a post about that.


IMG_7720, De-gaffered Argus C-44 by Robert Brazile, on Flickr

This also reminds me that I'd intended to run a test roll through it and had forgotten in the flood of other stuff going on this summer and fall. Time to get back to it.

Robert

[PFMcFarland]

I've got several Argus cameras, from the ubiquitous "Brick"

Argus C-3 Colormatch by P F McFarland, on Flickr

to post-Ann Arbor makes

Argus 520 See Through by P F McFarland, on Flickr

various lenses

Argus Gear by P F McFarland, on Flickr


Argus C-44 Lens Group by P F McFarland, on Flickr

have made modifications

Leica VIOOH Finder by P F McFarland, on Flickr

and found modified models

Tiffen Aperture Adapter 4 by P F McFarland, on Flickr

Argus even had an SLR, though it was made by Cosina

Argus CR-1 Front by P F McFarland, on Flickr

Argus CR-1 with Bellowmate by P F McFarland, on Flickr

They can be addictive.

PF

[GrahamS]

Here are some of the images that accompanied the original post, all made with the Argus C4 and 50mm f2.8 coated Cintar lens :

[alexvaras]

I must resist... great photos and great cameras