Argus 75 Camera

I recently inherited an ARGUS 75 camera. It has an old-style built

on flash unit that uses flash bulbs. I know that the camera requires

620 film, and I have seen some of the threads relating to where to

get 620 film. I am also capable of backwinding 120 to the 620 spool

I have. But, does anyone have any shooting experience with this

camera? The lens appears to be fixed focus. I believe it has only 1

static shutter speed, but I do not know what that speed is. Nor are

there any f-stop settings so I assume it is set for one particular

film speed, with opimal(?) results for bright sun daylight photo

situations. I'd appreciate any info on base IE's for something as

unadaptable as this camera. Maybe a history of the type of film it

was originally intended to shoot with might also be useful. I am

sure that I won't be expecting the greatest images in terms of

sharpness or depth of field but would like to get some kind of

starting point so that I am not burning up film just to get an

exposure index. Also, if you have any experience with the servicing

and/or cleaning of the leaf shutter in this camera, it would be

appreciated. I just can't stand the idea of having this camera and

not using it, since it is apparently functional. Thanks!

There is some information on your Argus at Robert Monahgans MF camera library site. The shutter speed is somewhere between 1/40 to 1/50 and the fixed apeture is f/11. If the shutter is not sticky I would not worry about cleaning it, these are very simple cameras. The quality of the shots I get are pretty good , better than those throw away cameras, not tack sharp by any means but they have a nice softness for portraits, watch out for flare and stay away from overly contrasty scenes. I have used Delta 100 and 400 with success and Tri-x works well also. Have fun and keep collecting flashbulbs as they are getting hard to find.

I have a similar TLR, Argus 40, which Argus made at about the same time as the Argoflex (or simply Argus) 75. The one I have has scale focusing, Aperture from 4.5 to 16, shutter speeds of B, 25, 50, 100, and 150. I recently shot a roll of re-rolled TMX and I have to agree with the above that it gives very soft portraits. Any one else still uses these dinosaurs?

I just don't understand why some people would pay $75 for an old Diana, when you can snatch up one of these for about $10 or so. If you buy two you are bound to end up with 2 620 spools; then you can spool your own film (as described amply elsewhere).

Don't forget to cover your red window when shooting outdoors.

 

Have fun.

 

Lei

I started out with an Argus 75 about a year ago. I got it for $5. I use 120 film in it, but to make it fit, I have to shave a little bit off the end of the film reel, just a little bit of the edge to make it fit, just a notch.

 

I also modified two of them into pinhole cameras and stuck them together with velcro to use as a stereo camera...

 

Hope that helps,

 

Bre