Argus C3 "Brick" - 1st Roll

<p>I recently acquired an Argus C3 at a local flea market (<a href="../classic-cameras-forum/00ZTb6">see this thread</a>) and wanted to share some images.</p>

<p>This is the first roll out of the camera using Kodak Gold 200 with development and scan to CD at Walgreens. I did some light post-processing (contrast/curves) in PhotoScape. I believe I was shooting at 1/100 & 1/200 using f4.5 & f6.3 using the Light Meter app off my iPhone4.</p>

<p>I admit, I had a few double-exposures (I forgot to advance the film) but overall, am well pleased with this camera. Viewfinder is a little squinty but it's a fun "shoot".</p>

<p>Enjoy!</p>

<p>Ray</p>

<p>The gravestone is of <a href="http://www.dyers.org/blog/archives/2008/04/14/joseph-palmer-perscuted-for-wearing-the-beard/">Mr. Joseph Palmer</a> - Epitaph: "Persecuted for wearing the beard" (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdc154/sets/72157628156398365/">link to flickr set</a>)</p>

<p><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7007/6404143113_a3a948b264_b.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="1024" /></p>

<p><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6097/6404163563_90fb41428a_b.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="1024" /></p>

<p><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6404163715_4a39c9b338_b.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="1024" /></p>

<p><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6229/6404163833_bbb18ef279_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="750" /></p>

<p><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6404163985_05fed81ca3_b.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p> </p>

<p>Just one more (same roll) taken inside:</p>

<p><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6404164121_8f98c2df67_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="718" /></p>

<p>I have remaining in my collection an Argus C from 1939 (uncoupled rangefinder, no flash synchro) and a late Argus C-3 Golden Shield version. The picture enclosed is a portion of Viaduct still in use by Commuter Rail in Canton, MA USA.</p><div></div>

<p>I'll just say it again. Those Cintar lenses are sharp! Great shots Ray, good exposure on the stove photo. <br />Paul, that's a fine photo too.</p>

<p>The lens on the C3 is pretty impressive, isn't it? I was surprised the first time I used mine, which only added to the charm of the camera. Nice pictures and as Rick said, the stove shot's exposure is right on!</p>

<p><strong>Paul</strong>, that's a beautiful shot of the viaduct.</p>

<p>I enjoyed the photos (Palmer) and the story that went with them! Wow, rough town! I can only imagine what they told the kids about evil Saint Nick!</p>

<p>Nice photos with an interesting story to accompany. It's great to see the C3 getting so much "good press" these days. In its day I think it must have been one of the best values in an interchangeable lens rangefinder camera. Out of curiosity, do you know what country this branch of the Palmer family came from? <br>

Great post, thanks.</p>

<p>Interestingly, the Argus C3 was designed to not only be a camera, but also an enlarger. The back could be replaced with a light source and condenser for darkroom use. </p>

<p>Ray and Rick very nice images from the C-3. I discovered the C-3 about 6 years ago and using them ever since.</p>

Ray, the Argus C3 is an awesome little camera. It's what got me onto this forum several years ago, and it's still one of my favorite 35mm cameras. It is kind of awkward to use, but it's capable of taking very sharp, crisp pictures...as your photos show. The details in your pictures are razor sharp. Especially since you're using a wide aperture. Even with a shallow depth of field, the foreground is super sharp. That shows that your focus is perfect.

 

One thing you should know about the C3 though is that you might occasionally have to align the rangefinder. This is so that when you are looking through the rangefinder window to focus, the distance that it's focusing on is actually snychronized with the actual distance. All you have to do is adjust the mirror with a little screw. It's fairly easy to do. You might have to do that maybe once or twice a year. Not very often. But right now, if you're using the range finder to focus in your pictures, it seems to be spot on!

 

I especially like the picture of the stove. I'm not sure why, maybe just the lighting and especially the reflections on the pot and the water.

<p>Another vote for the stove pic...Fine series of photographs, <strong>Ray</strong>. The C3 may be an ergonomic disaster, but in the right hands the results can be just great. As you've just shown...</p>

<p>Dave -- You are confusing the C with the model A. AFAIK, there were only 2 enlarger models from Argus that could use the body of the camera, and it was the model EAE with art-deco stripes, and the Model E, with a "coffee-can" lamp housing. The Model C enlarger had a helical for focusing an enlarger lens. If you didn't want to use the Argus A body, there was the EAL-2 enlarger lens assembly that had an anastigmat lens on a flat plate.<br>

Ray - nice results from the Argus C3. I am never surprised by the results. I have seen some pretty darn nice images from C3s over the years.</p>

<blockquote><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=654955">Mike Gammill</a> <a href="../member-status-icons"><img title="Frequent poster" src="../v3graphics/member-status-icons/2rolls.gif" alt="" /></a>, Nov 26, 2011; 02:40 p.m.

<p>Nice photos with an interesting story to accompany. It's great to see the C3 getting so much "good press" these days. In its day I think it must have been one of the best values in an interchangeable lens rangefinder camera. <strong>Out of curiosity, do you know what country this branch of the Palmer family came from? </strong><br /> Great post, thanks.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Mike, sorry, I couldn't find anything more other than this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Palmer_%28communard%29">Wikipedia entry</a>:</p>

<p>Thanks all! For the kind words. I hope my Leicas don't take a back seat to this camera :) Looking forward to shooting more with the C3.</p>

<p>One more (close crop converted to B/W with a little digital manipulation)...<br /> <img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6410244063_b506b79d2f_b.jpg" alt="" width="966" height="1024" /></p>

<p> </p>

<p>Mark, I guess just the lens is designed to also be used as an enlarging lens, not the camera. I thought for sure I'd seen a photo of the entire camera sans back on a stand with a light source and condenser being used in a darkroom in an old book somewhere.</p>

<p>My father shot photos in China in 1945 with an Argus C3. The camera is long gone but I still have the negatives.</p>

<p>The below photo was taken by my father in Shanghai, China, 1945, with his Argus C3:</p>

<p><img src="http://hull534.smugmug.com/photos/251992549_QJzBP-L.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="518" /></p>

<p>You should make a website for those images Dave Lee, I bet there's a lot of interesting ones in that lot.</p>

<p>Dave, thanks, there are a lot of interesting photos that my father took during his time in China. He also wrote letters home weekly to his folks. My plan is to eventually publish them (photos and letters) for historians. The Museum of Flight here in Seattle has a ton of this kind of stuff, and I think I may donate his letters and photos there eventually after I get them recorded. </p>

<p>I should have asked him to write down his memories from those days before he died. He did begin doing this the week before, but it was too late and he wrote only a page and a half. He shot photos with his Argus C3 and his father sent him a camera he had purchased shortly before he shipped out, a VP Exakta Type C. He kept the Exakta until the late 70s when he (being an engineer) thought it might be interesting to take it apart to see how it worked. Sadly he didn't put it back together again and the parts were thrown away. Flash forward 30+ years and I bought one on eBay as they are somewhat rare. It too is not in working condition but I will keep it around.</p>

<p>Ray, excellent results, best I have ever seen from C3. I think I should give my C3 another chance.</p>