Argus Cintar vs. Cintagon

<p>Did they change from a C-4 triplet to a tessar on the C-44?<br>

I have a Kodachrome from 1951 made with a C-4, and it is definitely soft, which is why I didn't buy it.<br>

How "good" are the 35mm and 100mm lenses?<br>

Thanks</p>

<p>The 35mm and 100mm lenses were made in Germany by Steinheil. Steinheil lenses in general have a good reputation (at least amongst Exakta users), but I have not used any of their Argus lenses.<br>

If you search flickr you can find examples of photos taken with both lenses, and they seem ok to me.</p>

<p><strong>Bill,</strong> the C4 did have a fast triplet, the "Argus Coated Cintar 50mm 1:2.8 ", while the standard lens for the C-44 was the Cintagon 50mm 1:2.8, a 4-element lens apparently apparently designed and manufactured by Argus in Michigan. I'd like to know where the Cintar was made, but all the reference I find suggest it was also a home-grown product. The Cintar seems to have had a very good reputation.</p>

<p>As <strong>Dave</strong> said, the two Steinheil lenses appear to be of good quality, but there's very little in the way of critique or comment I can find.</p>

<p> Argus made a short film in the 50's that shows much of the manufacturing of the C-four, and the lenses were made in house in Ann Arbor. <br>

My experience has been that the C-four lens is decent, but often shows significant soft focus in the corners when openned all the way to 2.8.<br>

The basic 50mm lens for the C-44 seems much better wide open. Steinheil also made a f1.7 50mm for the C-44. Unfortunately, they seem to be prone to problems with the coating, but If you can find a good one, they perform quite nicely.<br>

I've always been happy with the perfomance of the 100mm and 35mm C-44 lenses.</p>

<p>Argus had an unusual way of testing their US manufactured lenses. They had a system which rear projected the enlarged center and four corners of a test image on a screen for subjective judgement by a skilled viewer. I don't remember the criterion for acceptance or rejection.</p>