I killed my Argus C-44 :(

[silverscape]

I can't believe this. I left today with a perfectly working camera, and tonight it's ruined. I'm now down one camera,

and it was one of my favorite ones.

 

It was my fault, which makes me feel even worse. I went down to Freestyle Photo today with a friend. We were

going down Sunset Blvd, and anyone who has been in LA knows how bad the stop-and-go traffic is. It takes like a

half hour to go 2 blocks. Anyway, we were going down the street, and I had a soda. My friend hit the brakes

because some idiot decided to pull into traffic without looking. We didn't hit the car, but we stopped so fast my

seatbelt locked. Now just imagine the worst that could happen with a soda and a camera in the same place.

Yup...the soda flew out of my hand, the camera tumbled onto the floor. Of ALL places, anywhere that soda could

have ended up...and it spilled RIGHT ON THE CAMERA, on the lens. I cleaned it the best I could, and we even

stopped at a store and I got lens cleaner. Tonight, I cleand it a little more until I thought the lens looked clear. The

viewfinder was a little fogged up, so I took off the top cover to clean it. Somehow, I accidentally hit the shutter

button...and little did I know, that was probably the last time that camera would ever click. The viewfinder and

rangerfinder mirrors looked great and everything was clear. But when I put the camera back together, the shutter

wouldn't fire. I tried turning the film advance knob, and it didn't feel right. The shutter wouldn't cock. I pressed the

button and nothing. So I took off the lens. The worst thing I was afraid of was true...the soda had gotten inside the

lens and onto the shutter blades. I touched it and it felt sticky. So my guess is that last time I pressed the shutter

release, the shutter was sticky so something inside just snapped.

 

I feel horrible. Someone please say something to make me feel better about this. This camera was so awesome. It

took great pictures, some of the best pictures I've taken. And because I was clumsy, I ruined it. I could have put it

in a case, or even just had a lens cap on it. When I cleaned it, I could have just taken off the lens and made sure the

shutter was clean before I messed with it...there was just so many things that were bad luck and just my own

carelessness. I could have broken anything else...my mp3 player, my computer, anything, and it wouldn't have

bothered me at all....anything but this camera. This just sucks. When I came home tonight, I thought I was just

going to be able to clean it and I would be back out taking pictures with it tomorrow. But nope. Now it's a

paperweight or just spare parts :(

 

My birthday is in 2 days...I'm trying not to let this get me down too much. But I am down. This just sucks.

[User_503771]

Well, it happens eventually to us all -- a camera bites the dust.

 

I live not too far from Freestyle myself, and I know how the traffic is around here, but how would you know ahead of time something like this would happen?

 

If you look on the bright side -- it wasn't an auto accident and neither you nor your friend were hurt.

 

Have you looked into getting it cleaned up and fixed? Or looked around for another one?

 

Anyway, my regards and regrets....

[craig_supplee]

Go to Rick Oleson's site: http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/, and look up the Argus shutter information. All may not be

lost yet. You could also try spraying the shutter bades and linkage with electronics contact cleaner. This evaporates

without leaving a film, but will clean the gunk off. I have used it on a lot of old sticky shutters.

[charles_stobbs3]

You will probably need a complete teardown to get the sugar out of all the nooks and crannies. Go here - http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/forum/messages/2/2.html?1224234677 - and do a keyword search for the last 600 days to see if any useful instructions are available. I think cameras prefer black coffee.

[chuck_foreman1]

Chris,

 

Sleep on it a bit. Then come at it systematically. Things like this bother you so much you get ulcers and stress

attacks. Like Scarlett O'Hara (Gone with the Wind) said through the tears.."Tomorrow is another day,"

You can't go around beating yourself up. While it seems to have a special relationship to you with all the work you've

put into it. You could do that with another one too. I remember when you fixed the rangefinder yourself. You'll fix

another Rangefinder before it's all said and done. Also, some of the guys here are saying it can be cleaned up and

while I wouldn't want Coke on my lens blades, it can be cleaned and that's what you want to consider.. the effort. I

don't see anything other than bad luck here. You didn't do anything wrong..maybe you should of waited a day or so...

to see how far the problems are, but from your description everything you have done so far would of had to be done at

some point. What's done is done... so "Pick Yourself up, brush yourself off.. start all over again!! " There's more than

one C44 out there. so get hoppin'

[leicaglow]

It may be killing me, but it's why I drink sugar free drinks. I can't tell you how many ex-girlfriends have tipped over coke drinks in my sports cars. That's why they're ex's.

[Troll]

That's how camera repair persons make a living. Get it fixed, or throw it away and buy yourself a replacement for your birthday.

[razondetre]

Chris - take off the lens and clean out the mechanism. Soda is water soluable so treat it as if you had dunked the camera in a lake. If I remember correctly the time I fixed a C4 the shutter isn't so complex. I would wash out the mechanism with dish soap/water mix in a spray bottle, place in warm oven to dry, then spray a micro amount of wd-40 in the critical points to drive out the water remaining then spray with electronics cleaner to get out the excess wd-40. That should work. I'm sure only the glue-y sugar of the dried soda has seized up the shutter blades.

[ken_jeanette1]

This sounds like a real case for a shrink. Not so much for the berievement therapy, but to find what would cause this

fanatical attachment to a camera. Get up, get going, get another one, but most of all, GET OVER IT!

[silverscape]

Gee...thanks, Ken. That was SO helpful. Any links to info about how I might be able to fix it? Or maybe where I can get another C-44? A listing on eBay? NO. So why did you post that? Cause you thought you were funny? Michael Axel's comment was funnier than yours, sorry. Yeah, I'm mad because I ruined a 50 year-old vintage camera that I really liked and took great pictures. I'm not depressed about it, just a little frustrated and disappointed. Some people get attached to their cars and would get bummed out if it blew a head gasket or the transmission went out. Who ever said I was "fanatical" about it? A couple of years ago, I wouldn't have cared. I'm still learning about photography and I really like vintage manual cameras. I thought that was what this forum was for. Oh well.

 

ANYWAY...

 

Thanks to everyone else who replied. I would like to fix it, but somehow the idea of actually taking it apart to work on the shutter and dealing with a bunch of tiny parts just scares me. I guess I don't have anything to lose, since it's not working at all right now. I'll have to just set aside some time when I can really take my time and give it a try. The only "repairs" I've ever done so far are aligning rangefinders and I replaced a lens on my C4. I have another C4 that isn't working. I the C4 is mechanically almost identical to the C-44 so maybe I can practice on that one.

 

But yeah, it is a major bummer...like I said, I could have broke anything else, my computer, my mp3 player...my ipod could have flown out the window on the freeway, and it wouldn't have bothered me as much as this. But stuff happens I guess. I'll just put it aside until I get the nerve to try to fix it...and in the mean time, I'll just watch eBay and antique shops for another C-44.

[Brian1664876441]

That is a bummer.

 

Once I dropped a Scheider 28mm F4 Retina lens into 3ft of marsh, from a boardwalk. I went in after it.

 

Lighter fluid, swabbed up might work. Depends how deep the soda went. Otherwise it is going to be a major teardown. There are always a couple of C-44's on Ebay and in the thrift shop. They seem fairly industructable, judging by the two that I've picked up. Changing lenses is--- different!

[Brian1664876441]

Which lenses do you use with the C-44?

[silverscape]

Brian, I actually never had any problems taking the lens off or installing it. I just followed the directions in the manual...turn it to infinity and then turn the lens again while pressing the little release button, and the lens comes right off. To put the lens back on, I just lined up the red dots on the camera body, set the lens to infinity, put it back on and then turn it again and it snaps back in place. It was super easy and just took me a few seconds. Maybe I just got lucky...I've read on some websites where other people had trouble getting the lens off and on. Maybe that was the C-44R? I have (had) the regular C-44. Also, I never tried any other lenses. I just had the one standard (50mm or whatever) lens. But that's the other reason I'm so frustrated about this. It seemed like everything worked on this camera just like it was supposed to. Geez...I get a vintage camera, probably about twice as old as me...it works all those years, and then survives about 1 year with me until I break it.

[Brian1664876441]

I think I've got a spare C-44 that is looking for a good home. Might even have a set of lenses for it. Check Email.

 

My sinister plot to keep the younger generation using film.

[silverscape]

Brian, I got your email...but I'm not sure if you got my reply. Either the Photo.net email forwarding system, or my email is acting a little goofy.

[richard_oleson]

Don't listen to Ken, he sounds a little crazy.

 

Back to important stuff, the C-44: first thing, as mentioned above, is to get it all cleaned out and unsticky. The C44 is not that complex, you can disassemble it thoroughly enough to clean out all of the sugar water. It may involve soaking some large subassemblies in water, since the soda is water-based, but you might try alcohol first and see if water can be avoided. Once you have it all clean, you may find that you actually DID break something inside. If you did, that something will be the link that connects the shutter mechanism to the blade assembly. The bad news is that this part is unrepairable; the good news is that it's replaceable, and the same part comes in all C44, C4 and Model 21 cameras. The hardest part to clean out may be the lens, I don't think I've ever disassembled the Cintagon so I don't really know.

 

If worse comes to worst, you might buy another C44 and have this one bronzed and mounted on a plaque in a place of honor.....

[Brian1664876441]

Chris- Got your reply. I'll be boxing it up and getting it out.

[razondetre]

The longer you wait the more solid that sugary soda stuff becomes and the harder it becomes to remove.

[silverscape]

Richard, that's exactly what I was worried about...I remember what you've said before here and on your website about how easy that part could break. As soon as I found out that the shutter wasn't firing anymore, and I looked at the shutter blades and saw that the soda had gotten onto the shutter blades, that was the first thing I thought about. It's just too bad I realized it too late.

 

Brian is so generous that he's got an extra C-44. It will go to a good home, and this time I'll be a lot more careful!

 

But I would still like to try to fix this one. So what would I need to do to see if the shutter can be cleaned (or if that link actually did break)? I think I read on your site or somewhere else, that I would have to take off the leather from the front and then take off some screws to get access to the shutter assembly?

[Brian1664876441]

Rick- is it possible to put the lens mount from a C-44 onto a C-4? They look very similar at first glance.

 

Chris- you'll be getting some to play with. A C4, two C44R's, and some lenses.

[jack_welsh]

Chris, sorry about the camera! From one October baby to another. (Mine was a few days ago) I hope you still have a great brithday!

[ralf_j.]

Sorry about your camera Chris. It may be worth while to tinker with it, but don't give up hope, they pop up on the bay quite often and it looks like some of the nice folks here are sending you something.

 

Also a friendly advice - stay away from sodas, they are bad for you and cameras ;-).

 

Have a happy birthday.

[richard_oleson]

The C4 and C44 are basically the same camera, but I don't know if swapping lens mounts between them would be a practical DIY project. You CAN, though, swap shutter components pretty freely, and the little breakable link is a pretty easy swap.

 

If anyone would like a copy of my sketches on these, please email me at rick_oleson@yahoo.com - some of them are on my website but the originals are higher resolution and easier to read, and they print out much better.

[jon_b.1]

If you want to get it fixed...and live in the L.A. area...take it to Walter's Camera Repairs on Cesar Chavez near Chinatown. http://walterscamerarepairs.com/

He is a great old guy, honest, and he won't charge you a dime to look at it. I might be worthwhile to spend a bit more fixing it, than to take a chance on another one.

I live near Freestyle also, and it is always a pleasant experience going in there.

[silverscape]

Thanks, Jon! I don't live in LA (I live in San Bernardino), but I would definitely be willing to take a trip out there. I just

looked at his website. It's really nice to know there is someone who will repair vintage cameras. No one around here

will even look at them. I tried to get a camera repair at a camera shop near where I live, and they don't even like to

deal with antique cameras, and said it would cost $100 just to look at it and get an estimate! They don't even want

to touch old cameras. So I'll definitely give that guy a call. I have some other cameras that I would like him to look

at too. Maybe this camera can be fixed, maybe it can't...but it's worth a try. And honestly, right now I think trying to

fix a shutter is just beyond me.

 

Besides, we need to support camera repair shops. If he's honest and reliable (and if I can afford it), then I would

gladly take a trip out there.

 

Yeah, Freestyle is great. I'm even happier with them since I went there. I've ordered a bunch of stuff from them

online, but this was the first time I ever actually went to the retail shop. They have everything, and the people

working there actually know what they're talking about. Most places you go to, the clerks are total morons. But

these guys were actually very knowledgable.