dan_cluley

<p>Phase 1 C44-R <br /> These versions were made from the beginning of 1958 through the 3rd quarter of '59. <br /> The majority of the lens barrel does not turn, but you can focus these by turning the lens mount itself which is just behind his left thumb.<br /> Based on the position of his right hand, this example does not have the cool looking semi-coupled light meter.</p>

<p>The Argus CM2 meter could be used on the C44R, the 1958 only C-four R and the C33. It couples onto the speed dial on the camera front, and turning a ring on the meter sets the shutter speed and moves the f-stop scale. <br>

I'm not sure it's that much easier than the handheld type, but it is one less thing to drop. ;)</p>

<p>I like the looks of the earlier squarish viewfinder better, but the turret type is the one to use if you wear glasses.<br>

Obviously the Leica is a MUCH nicer camera, but to the average amateur was it really worth 3-4 times as much money? The Argus strategy of a "good" camera for a lot less than a "great" camera was pretty successful until the Japanese got going in the '50s</p>

<p>No, the shutters on the C-four family of cameras were never quiet. ;)</p>

<p>The rangefinder has some sideways adjustment where it attaches to the main camera body, and this affects the mesh between the teeth on the focus wheel, and the lens mount. Yours may be a little too tight. Is the focus wheel easier to turn without the lens mounted?</p>

<p>I don't have any idea what Leica prices were, but in '58 a C-44R body with the standard f2.8 50mm lens was $100. <br>

The 100mm & 35mm lenses were about $55-60 each. The turret viewfinder was $25, the semi-coupled light meter was $17.50 you have to have one of those for the full C-44R experience. :)<br>

Finally, the f1.9 50mm lens was $90 which explains why they are pretty uncommon. The f2.8 lens is decent but noticeably soft when wide open, but the 1.9 is very nice.</p>

<p>I know some people dislike the lens mount on these, but I used a variety of C-44 and C-44R bodies as my primary cameras from 2001-2011 and can change those lenses almost as fast as my K-mount stuff. </p>

<p>To continue the Argusfest, I built a C-3 out of parts and covered it with miniature brick paper.</p>

<p><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dcluley/brickbrick_zps3f785f0d.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Not too uncommon with the C-4 The shutter spring has either broken or become unhooked.<br>

The Argus Collector site has a set of parts drawing for the mostly similar C-44R <a href="http://www.arguscg.org/manuals/c44/parts/">http://www.arguscg.org/manuals/c44/parts/</a><br>

It's also a good idea to clean the shutter blades if you are going to use a C-4. After a couple of decades they tend to get a little gummed up and this puts stress on the rest of the shutter mechanism (including that spring)</p>

<p>Dan Cluley</p>

<p>If it is not making any noise at all, then my guess is the spring has broken.<br>

What happens with the C-four is that when the shutter blades get oily they bind up. If the link doesn't break, then the mechanism doesn't completely cycle. If you continue to wind it, the spring gets too much tension and the hook breaks off one end.<br>

The bad news is, you still have to take the camera all apart, the good news is you can probably bend a new hook and keep the existing spring.<br>

I recomend cleaning the shutter blades on any "new" C-four or one that hasn't been used in a few years before trying it out.<br>

Dan Cluley</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>Joining the ACG is definitely a great idea, but in the meantime, anyone can look at their site <a href="http://www.arguscg.org/">http://www.arguscg.org/</a> and specifically this page <a href="http://www.arguscg.org/manuals/c3/">http://www.arguscg.org/manuals/c3/</a> which has a number of different articles on adjusting & repairing the C-3.</p>

<p>Without seeing yours, my best guess is that the bellcrank under that hole in the front needs to be adjusted to push the vertical piece up against the speed cam at the higher speeds.</p>

<p>No matter how many speeds are listed on the dial, the cam beneath is a continuous curve, so you can set the shutter anywhere inbetween the marked settings.</p>

<p>Dan Cluley</p>

<p>Joining the ACG is definitely a great idea, but in the meantime, anyone can look at their site <a href="http://www.arguscg.org/">http://www.arguscg.org/</a> and specifically this page <a href="http://www.arguscg.org/manuals/c3/">http://www.arguscg.org/manuals/c3/</a> which has a number of different articles on adjusting & repairing the C-3.</p>

<p>Without seeing yours, my best guess is that the bellcrank under that hole in the front needs to be adjusted to push the vertical piece up against the speed cam at the higher speeds.</p>

<p>No matter how many speeds are listed on the dial, the cam beneath is a continuous curve, so you can set the shutter anywhere inbetween the marked settings.</p>

<p>Another cool Found film post. :)<br>

I'd say definitely a Pinto in the early shot, however there is a Vega in the last one, just ahead of the VW.</p>

<p>Dan Cluley</p>

<p>Odds are good that it is a problem with the spring. If the link between the shutter mechanism and the blades is broken, it will click like it is working, but the blades won't move.</p>

<p>You probably won't need to worry about taking the shutter blade assembly apart (this is the biggest pain to reassemble) </p>

<p>The 3rd drawing on Ricks page (the one showing how the top comes off) is where you want to start. </p>

<p>Remove the leatherette from the front of the camera, follow Rick's drawing to take off the knobs and the top and remove the 4 screws on the front. At that point the shutter module should come out of the rest of the body. If you are careful, you can leave the flash wires alone, and just keep the top attached to the shutter module.</p>

<p>This will give you acces to the backside of the shutter mechanism, and you should be able to see what's going on with the mainspring. I've seen them just come loose, but often the hook at one end or the other will break. It may be possible to bend a new hook rather than replace the whole spring.</p>

<p>Before using it, you will definitely want to clean the shutter blades!!! Over the years, oil from the lens grease migrates into the shutter blade mechanism, and gums things up. This is what puts strain on, and eventually breaks the little link piece.</p>

<p>Ideally you should do a full dissasembly and clean each piece individually, but yeah, they are tricky to get back together. So a couple of good flushes with lighter fluid will probably be good enough for now.</p>

<p>If you have some slop on the other lenses as well, then most likely the rangefinder has just shifted a bit. The whole rangefinder assembly can be moved slightly from side to side, and this adjusts the gear mesh. It's a pretty easy fix.<br>

I would also recomend cleaning the shutter blades, as they tend to get a little gummed up over the years, and lead to breaking of an irreplacable part of the mechanism.<br>

This is a link to Rick Oleson's page with some dissasebly drawings for the C-four .<a href="http://members.tripod.com/rick_oleson/index-127.html">http://members.tripod.com/rick_oleson/index-127.html</a><br>

This is the Argus Collector's Discussion group. <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arguscg/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arguscg/</a><br>

Dan Cluley</p>