In praise of the lowly Argus C3

[Julio Fernandez]

I got mine from a friend in the U.S. way before Harry Potter put them in the limelight. These are uncommon in South America. 
 

It was my first successful shutter repair ever; the mechanism is really simple. The camera is robust; the ergonomics are a nightmare in comparison to more modern designs, but the Cintar lens is quite capable. 
 

 

[JDMvW]

[chuck_foreman1]

I was intrigued  with the pre- C§ models too. I was trying to guess the camera my father says was his firt 35 which was 2nd hand I believe... he was not thrilled with 35mm as it was often too small to work with and didn't enlarge well.. He'd rather had a Graflex etc.. but his father's half brother (step-uncle) somehow managed to get y 35 of some sort. 
I thought if he held it ..he might then confirm it was a?????  Given the means etc at that time.. what US 35mm 2nd hand might be around???  I did go after the Perfex too .. but it didn't click or seem too familiar to him..  Years ago in the early 80s I guess we went to the cameras store and they had one up more a display than a sale item. I recall he recognized by name and nostalically recalled it... I suspect at about the time of my birth (1957) he was "looking" at cameras seriously. He made some comments, feastures for the time, like coupled RF and changeable lenses.  The Camerapedia site shows the evolution of the Argus models and variations.. here's the link to the "camera porn" 
https://sites.google.com/site/fromthefocalplanetoinfinity/argus

 

[rick_drawbridge]

Some stuff here: 

 

[Rick_van_Nooij]

The Camerosity Podcast recently did a show concerning Argus and other American 35mm camera brands
I've yet to listen to it myself though.

[jason_withers]

On 5/16/2022 at 7:03 PM, rick_drawbridge said:

A great read, and thanks for posting the link. While I find the Brick an unwieldy camera to use, I've always felt it represents a great period in US history and deserves it's place among the icons. Practical, tough, not too many frills and got the job done... The Kodak Medalist and Signet 35 are in the same category.

According to this ad, the Kodak Signet 35 was a bit more expensive than the Argus C3 when they were both for sale in 1955, but I think that Ektar lens justified the higher price. It could best that Argus lens.