Argus Standard C3 (1958-1966)

In 1958 Argus gave the C3 a face lift and produced the Match-Matic C3 and the Standard C3 models. The differences are mostly cosmetic. Mechanically and optically both versions are like the previous C3. 

The Standard C3 is the plain-jane version with all-black leatherette and normal f-stop and shutter speed markings. More than 2 million C3s were made between 1939 and 1966. About 129,000 of them were the Standard C3 model. This example was made in 1959. The Sears catalog listed a Standard C3 camera for $39 ($250 in depreciated 2020 dollars).

The camera body is molded phenolic resin plastic. The front and back are die cast metal trimmed in black leatherette and chrome. The top of the camera has the film advance knob, the accessory shoe, the exposure dial, the film catch and the shutter button. The front of the camera has the shutter cocking lever, the range finder dial, the idler gear that connected the range finder to the lens, the lens, and the shutter speed dial. The bottom of the camera has the tripod socket and the film rewind knob. The back is hinged on the left and the latch is on the right. The camera does not have strap lugs. If you want to use a neck strap you put the camera in its case. Alternatively, you can use a strap that attaches to the tripod socket. The camera is more comfortable to hold when it is in its case.

The standard lens is an f/3.5-f/16, coated Argus Cintar lens with three elements in three groups. Because the lens rotates as it focuses the aperture ring has three scales around the perimeter so one is always easy to see from the top. There aren't any click stops. The lens will take Series V drop-in filters.

The shutter is a behind the lens leaf shutter with three blades. The shutter speed dial is marked from 1/300 to 1/10 second. For time exposures you turned the shutter button from "I" to "B" and used a cable release that screwed into the button. Argus used their "Color-matic" system to simplify exposure settings. For sunny day snapshots with ASA 10 Kodachrome film you used the yellow settings (f/6.3 and 1/50 second). With ordinary black and white film in sunny weather you used the red settings (f/8 and 1/100). The green setting (1/25) is for flash bulbs indoors or at night and has an icon of a flash bulb as an additional reminder. A label in the top of the leather case reminded you of the settings. With the standard 50mm lens you set the distance at 15 ft. (marked with triangles on the range finder dial) for subjects 10 or more ft. away to be in focus.

The viewfinder and range finder are separate. The viewfinder is a reverse galilean type that reduces the image by about half and shows the field of view of the standard 50 mm lens. The range finder is a split image type that is coupled to the lens by the idler gear. Turn the lens to focus. Your subject is in focus when the two halves visible in the range finder window are aligned. The range finder is not magnified.

The standard 50mm lens could be unscrewed and replaced with an Argus Sandmar 100mm telephoto lens or an Argus Sandmar 35mm wide angle lens. A viewfinder that slipped into the accessory shoe showed the correct fields of view for the 35mm and 100mm focal lengths. The accessory lenses were made by Enna-Werk, Munich, Germany. A Soligor 135 mm lens made in Japan was also available. The accessory lenses are coupled to the range finder by the same idler gear as the standard 50mm lens.

Argus made a flasholder that plugged into the right side of the camera. At some point the German company Kaiser made an adapter for flashes having standard PC sync connections. This adapter will work with electronic flashes.

An Argus LS-3 selenium cell light meter was available to fit the accessory shoe on the Standard C3. A modern light meter such as a Sekonic L-208 Twinmate will fit the accessory shoe.

To load film you open the back, put the film cassette into the right side of the camera and insert the leader into the take-up spindle on the left side of the camera. You next close the camera back and turn the film winding knob until it stops. To advance the film you push the film catch and turn the film advance knob about a quarter turn, let go of the film advance lever, and continue to turn the film advance knob until it stops. You do this twice more. The next step is to turn the exposure dial counterclockwise until zero is against the index mark. You are ready to make the first exposure. Check your focus, aperture and shutter speed, cock the shutter and press the shutter button, being sure to keep your fingers away from the shutter cocking lever. Advance the film immediately after taking a picture. There isn't any double exposure prevention or skipped frame prevention.
The C3 was one of the the most basic adjustable cameras you could buy.

Nikon Nikkormat FT2 (1975-77)

About 500,000 Nikkormat FT2 cameras were made by Nikon from 1975 to 1977. It sold with a standard f/2 50 mm lens, and an f/1.4 50 mm or f/1.2 55 mm lens was available as an extra cost option. The complete range of Nikkor F mount lenses available at the time could be used with the FT2. It came in all black or with chrome top and bottom plates.

The camera body is die cast from an aluminum alloy. The top of the camera has the rewind crank, a light meter readout, the flash shoe, the depth-of-field preview button, the exposure counter, the shutter button and the film advance lever. The front of the camera has the self-timer lever, the shutter speed dial surrounding the lens mount, the film speed index, the shutter speed lever and film speed lock, the lens release button, the mirror lock and the light meter coupling pin. The bottom of the camera has the rewind release button, the tripod socket and the battery cover. The back of the camera has the viewfinder eyepiece. The left side of the camera has the flash PC socket and the latch for the back cover.

The shutter has vertically traveling metal curtains. It runs from 1/1000 to 1 second plus B. The shutter button is threaded for a standard cable release. The self timer gives about an 8 second delay. The shutter speed is set by using the lever on the dial surrounding the lens mount. The lever gets in the way of the lens release button when the shutter is set to 1/4 or 1/8 second. The instruction booklet advises against leaving the shutter cocked overnight or longer.

The viewfinder has a split image prism surrounded by a microprism ring at the center of the ground glass. There is a circle showing the center weighted area of the light meter. The meter needle is at the right and the shutter speed is visible at the bottom. The focusing screen is not interchangeable, although I think there were factory options for different focusing screens.

One improvement from the previous Nikkormat FTn is that the light meter on the FT2 was powered by a silver oxide button cell instead of a mercury cell. This means that the light meter uses a currently available battery. The battery compartment has the typical screw cover with a slot for a coin to turn the cover. The light meter can be set for film speeds running from ASA 12 to ASA 1600 using the index on the shutter speed ring. You pull out the catch on the shutter speed lever and slide the film speed index to the correct number for the film you have loaded in the camera. You need your fingernails to slide the index. The light meter uses a cadmium sulfide cell to read light through the lens. You get a good exposure under most circumstances by centering the needle visible in the lower right of the viewfinder or the one on the top of the camera as you adjust the shutter speed and lens aperture. The light meter uses the normal Nikon 60/40 center weighted system. The film advance lever acts as the meter switch. The meter is on when the film advance lever is pulled back to uncover the red dot on the top of the camera and off when the film advance lever is pushed in to cover the red dot.

The camera back is hinged on the right and has a latch on the bottom left. Loading film is like most manual 35 mm cameras. The film winds onto the take-up spool emulsion side out. The film counter resets to "S" for start when you open the back of the camera. It takes 3 pulls of the film advance lever to get to frame 1. The exposure counter is under a little magnifying glass on the top of the camera. To rewind the film you press the release button on the bottom of the camera and rotate the rewind crank on the top left.

To remove the lens you press the lens release button and rotate the lens to the right. To replace the lens you push the light meter pin all the way to the right and set the lens to f/5.6. You need to make sure the meter ears on the lens engages the meter pin on the camera when you put on the lens, then turn the lens counterclockwise until the lens release clicks. Finally you do the “Nikon Shuffle” by turning the lens aperture ring all the way to the left and then all the way to the right. This will set the camera to the maximum aperture of the lens (f/5.6 to f/1.2, depending on the lens). You can check this by looking at the scale on the right side of the lens mount. A small red dot appears on the scale to confirm that the meter is set to the maximum aperture of the lens. If the lens does not have meter ears it is still possible to meter using the stop down method by pressing the depth of field button on the top of the camera. The meter coupling pin has to be pushed all the way to the right for this to work.

The mirror can be locked up using a slide on the lens mount above the lens release button. This allows mounting some Nikkor fisheye and wide angle lenses that protrude into the mirror box. Mirror lockup also can reduce vibration from mirror slap when you are using a telephoto lens.

This example is in decent shape despite the little dent in the back and works fine. It is a mass unit of a camera, weighing in at two and a quarter pounds. Nikkormat was the name for export models. The version for the domestic Japanese market was called Nikomat. The Nikkormat is your classic manual focus, manual exposure camera with a through the lens light meter. Nikon made the Nikkormat as a camera for photographers who wanted to use the excellent Nikon lenses but didn't want the professional F2 camera, or wanted a backup for their F2.

The Nations Silo on Centennial Blvd, Nashville, TN. Artist Guido van Helten painted a portrait of Lee Estes on an old grain elevator.

Kodak Stereo Camera (1954-1959)

The Kodak Stereo Camera was introduced in 1954 and discontinued in 1959. The original list price was $84.50. The camera was intended to produce stereo slide pairs on 35mm Kodachrome slide film. About 100,000 cameras were sold. My camera has serial number 010213, which probably would make it a 1954 product. This was not Kodak's first venture into the stereo photography market. In the first quarter of the 20th century the company made stereo Kodaks and Brownies that produced prints for parlor stereo viewers.

Front

Back

Top

Bottom

Film Chamber

The camera has a mostly plastic body with some aluminum parts. The top of the camera has the rewind knob, the flash sync ASA bayonet connector, the exposure counter, the shutter speed slide, the aperture lever, a film reminder dial, the shutter button and the film advance knob. The front of the camera has the left and right lenses, the cable release socket, the viewfinder window and a spirit level. The back of the camera has the viewfinder eyepiece. The spirit level is visible in the viewfinder to help with holding the camera level. The camera must be level to get the stereoscopic effect in the finished slide. The right side has the latch of the camera back, which is hinged on the left side. The bottom of the camera has a shutter cocking slide, the tripod socket, and the rewind release.

The lenses are matched, front cell focusing, f/3.5-f/22 35mm Kodak Anaston lenses with three elements in three groups, similar in design to the lens in the Kodak Pony 135. The right lens has a distance scale and a depth of field scale. The left lens has suggested settings for Close ups (4-7 ft.), groups (7-15 ft.) and scenes (15 ft. and beyond). The lenses are interconnected so they focus together and have the same aperture settings. The lenses are threaded for Series V drop-in filters. Useful filters would be skylight (Wratten 1a) and color correction (Wratten 85 or Wratten 80a) filters.

The shutters are two-blade leaf shutters that are cocked by advancing the film. The manual shutter slide on the bottom of the camera can be used to cock the shutters when the camera is unloaded, or for deliberate double exposures, or to retake a picture indoors if the flash bulb failed to fire. The shutters are interconnected to fire together at the same settings. Shutter speeds are 1/200, 1/100, 1/50 and 1/25 second plus bulb. The shutters are synchronized for flash. An ASA bayonet flash connector is provided.

The exposure calculator on the top of the camera is for use with ASA 10 speed Kodachrome film outdoors on sunny, hazy or cloudy bright days. Kodachrome was in many ways ideal for stereo slides because of the vivid colors and fine grain. Probably Fujifilm Velvia would be the closest modern slide film. The shutter speeds and apertures are adequate for modern ISO 50-100 color slide films outdoors. If you use the calculator you just need to remember that modern film is 5 or 10 times faster (2-1/3 or 3-1/3 stops).

The Kodak Stereo Camera uses 35 mm slide film. In the mid-fifties, Kodak sold 35 mm Kodachrome slide film in 20 exposure rolls for regular cameras, which would give 15 stereo pairs, and 36 exposure rolls, which would give 28 stereo pairs. Kodak also sold Kodachrome film in a length that gave 20 slide pairs and included developing and mounting. A currently available roll of slide film for 24 single pictures would give about 18 stereo pairs. The exposure counter has setting marks for 15, 20 or 28 exposures and counts down to zero. The centers of the 15/16 inch wide images in a stereo pair are 2-13/16 inches apart and the film advances 1-7/8 inches on each shot, with the result that stereo pairs are interleaved as follows on a 36-exposure cassette of film:

Start | 1 right | blank | 2 right | 1 left | 3 right | 2 left | 4 right | 3 left | ... | 26 right | 25 left | 27 right | 26 left | 28 right | 27 left | blank | 28 left | end.

As an aid to mounting the images, the film gates are notched to mark which images were left and right in a stereo pair. The right image had two notches while the left image had one.

Kodachrome slide film and Kodak stereo slide mounting services are long gone. E-6 process slide film is still available and slide mounts and slide mounting services are still available from internet sellers. The slide mounts are about 4 inches wide by 1-5/8 inches high and have openings, left and right, that are about 21 mm wide by 23 mm high and are spaced about 62 mm on centers. The spacing between the slides is about the same as the distance between your own two eyes, but slightly less than the distance between the lenses on the camera, which increases the stereo effect. The openings in the slide mounts are slightly smaller than the images on the film to allow a little room for adjustment. The slides fit into a stereo viewer or can be projected and viewed through special glasses. The best stereo effect is with subjects 7 to 20 feet away from the camera. Stereo macro shots would require prisms to create convergence in addition to the closeup lenses. Macro sets did exist for the Stereo Realist camera, but I don't know whether they would work on the Kodak Stereo. Distant subjects are too far away for a natural stereo effect.

The modern era of stereo photography began in 1947 when the David White Company brought out the Stereo Realist camera. The Realist set the standard for the format and was the most popular and longest selling stereo camera. The Kodak Stereo used the same format as the Realist, as did other stereo cameras that were brought out by companies such as Bell and Howell/Three Dimension Company, Graflex and Wollensak/Revere. The View-Master Personal Stereo Camera used the same format as the familiar View-Master reels. Kodak was late to the party with its stereo slide camera. At first it outsold even the Stereo Realist, but sales of all stereo cameras declined when the novelty began to wear off and the camera was discontinued in 1959. The Stereo Realist continued 12 more years, I think basically until they ran out of parts. David White Instruments is still in business.

In the digital age you could scan your film and create stereo images for a computer screen or make stereo cards for an old-fashioned parlor stereo viewer. Stereo slide mounts and viewers are still available.

Slide Viewer and Camera

Stereo Slide

LegacyPro Ascorbic Acid Powder B&W Film Developer

LegacyPro Ascorbic Acid B&W film developer is similar to Eastman Kodak Xtol developer - both use Sodium Erythorbate instead of Hydroquinone as one of the developing agents. Replacing the Hydroquinone with Sodium Erythorbate makes it possible to mix the developer with room temperature water instead of hot water. Because Erythorbic Acid is a stereoisomer of Ascorbic Acid, you see LegacyPro or Xtol described as being based on Vitamin C. That is not exactly the case because Erythorbic Acid and Ascorbic Acid don't have the same biological activity. However, both work for developing film. Vitamin C powder from the health food store is an ingredient in the home-made Caffenol developers that use instant coffee as a developing agent.

One drawback to LegacyPro (and Xtol) is that the smallest available package is enough to make 5 liters of stock developer. Five liters can develop twenty rolls of film and has a shelf life of about 6 months in unopened full bottles and 2 months in partially full bottles. Unless you are developing film at a pretty steady pace, the developer could go bad before you use it up. Unfortunately, LegacyPro doesn't give any warning that it is getting too old by changing color like most other developers. One day it works and the next day it doesn't. One method to keep the developer as fresh as possible it to divide the mix into several bottles and open only one at a time. You can avoid losing a roll of film due to old developer by doing a chip test. Put a small piece of film in some developer and stir it for a few minutes. The film should turn completely black if the developer is OK to use. One good thing about LegacyPro is that you don't need hot water to mix it. It is also much less expensive than getting your film developed at a lab.

LegacyPro is supposed to produce negatives with fine grain and good sharpness (acutance). The Massive Dev Chart (look up Eco Pro) gives recommended times for developing just about any black and white film.

Kodak Chevron (1953-1956)

The Kodak Chevron was a range finder camera that took twelve 2-1/4" square pictures on a roll of 620 film or eight 28 mm x 40 mm pictures using an adapter for 828 film.

Front

Back

The camera body was die cast aluminum. The front of the camera had the shutter release, the cable release socket, the shutter speed dial, the aperture lever, the flash sync setting lever, the ASA standard flash sync bayonet post, the shutter cocking lever, the focusing dial, a depth of field scale, the film advance release lever,and the windows for the range finder and view finder. The top had the strap lugs, the exposure counter, a dial to set the viewfinder for full size 2-1/4" pictures or 828 size 28 mm x 40 mm pictures, and a film plane position mark. The back of the camera had the film advance lever, the eyepieces for the viewfinder and range finder, a film reminder dial, the iconic little red window, and a lever to open the shutter that normally closed the window. The sides of the camera had sliding latches for the camera back.

The lens was a coated ("Lumenized" in Kodakese) f/3.5, 78 mm Kodak Ektar with four elements in three groups. The lens was threaded for Series V filters and accessories.


Kodak Ektar f/3.5 78 mm Lens, from the Kodak Data Book "Kodak Lenses, Shutters and Portra Lenses", 5th Ed., 1955, p. 40

The shutter was a Kodak Synchro-Rapid 800 shutter, which soon after WWII was the first leaf shutter to break the 1/500 second shutter speed barrier. The shutter used a set of 5 swiveling blades to achieve this speed. In most leaf shutters the shutter blades oscillated from closed to open to closed again and remained closed while the shutter was cocked. In the Synchro-Rapid 800 shutter the blades swiveled in only one direction when the shutter went from closed to open to closed. They swiveled back to the starting position when the shutter was cocked. Because the main shutter was not self capping while the shutter was being cocked, a second pair of shutter blades closed the aperture during cocking. The Synchro-Rapid 800 had the reputation of being unreliable. The fact that you could damage the shutter by turning the shutter speed to 800 (or off 800) while the shutter was cocked probably contributed to its reputation for unreliability. The instructions cautioned against doing that.

Kodak Synchro-Rapid 800 Shutter,from the Kodak Data Book "Kodak Lenses, Shutters and Portra Lenses", 5th Ed., 1955, p. 40

The back came off for loading film. The side latches slid down to unlatch the back. The supply spool was on the right and the take up spool was on the left. If the exposure counter wasn't set at "N", you needed to press in the film advance release lever and turn the exposure counter clockwise until the "N" was next to the index mark. You then loaded the film and pushed the film advance lever until the number 1 for the first exposure showed through the red window. At this point you turned the exposure counter clockwise to put the "1" next to the index mark and you were ready to take the first picture.

The Chevron used a split image rangefinder. The rangefinder eyepiece was immediately below the viewfinder eyepiece and with a little practice it was possible to see through both eyepieces at once.

The shutter needed to be cocked manually before you could take a picture. The shutter release was interlocked with the film advance to prevent unintentional double exposures. If you wanted to make a double exposure you would use a cable release.

To advance the film you would press the advance release lever momentarily to unlock the mechanism, then use your left thumb to push the film advance lever until the film stopped for the next picture. After the twelfth shot the exposure counter moved to "N" and the film advance stayed unlocked to allow you to roll the film completely onto the take up spool.

This example was made in 1953 according to the date code on the lens ("RM" = '53) and was serviced by the Kodak service center in Oak Brook, Illinois, in December, 1966, according to the sticker inside the film take up chamber. It still is in good condition. For some reason the shutter has the correct aperture scale for an f/3.5 lens on the front, but the aperture scale for an f/4.5 lens on the top. Possibly the f/4.5 scale was put on when the camera was repaired. Kodak did use the same shutter for some f/4.5 lenses.

Aperture Scales

This camera is a good picture taker. If you were used to handling a range finder camera you would have found this camera pretty easy to use. It is a lot different from the automated cameras of today.

H. G. Hill Park, Nashville, Tennessee

The Chevron was introduced in October 1953 and discontinued in December 1956. The original list price was $215, which was reduced to $195 in 1954. $195 had the same purchasing power in 1954 that $1894 has in 2020. This was an expensive camera. I think the short time the Chevron was on the market indicated that sales were disappointing. This was the last high-end, medium format camera Kodak produced. The Chevron looked a little like a hybrid of the Kodak Medalist (1941) or Medalist II (1946) and the Signet 35 (1951). The rivals to the Chevron were the many 2-1/4" x 2-1/4" (also called 6x6) cameras available at the time. The camera market was moving, with Japanese camera makers like Nikon beginning to take the place of the long dominant German manufacturers, and American manufacturers exiting the precision camera market.

The Unobtainables.

While not entirely unobtainable, some American 35 mm cameras are very rare and expensive - too rare and expensive for me.

1. The Kodak Ektra Camera by Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY. In the late '30s, Eastman Kodak Company set out to make a system camera of the same class as the Zeiss Ikon Contax or the Ernst Leitz Leica. The result was the Kodak Ektra Camera, which had the misfortune to come out in late 1941, just before civilian camera production was stopped because of WWII. Kodak did not revive production after the war because the selling price would have to have been more than the market could bear in order to cover the cost of making the camera. Roughly 2,500 cameras were made with an original list price of $325.00, which had a buying power of about $5,400 depreciated 2020 dollars. Examples appear on eBay occasionally for more than $2,000. Kodak Ektra on Flickr by Benjamin C.

2. The Bell & Howell Foton by Bell & Howell Company, Chicago, IL. Bell and Howell decided after WWII to bring out an expensive system camera that was a market failure because of the price. The original list price in 1948 was $700, which had a buying power of about $7,700 depreciated 2020 dollars. Leitz and Zeiss could sell excellent cameras for half the price and the Foton did not sell well. Bell & Howell Foton on Flickr by John Bosko.

3. The Kardon camera by Premier Instrument Corporation, New York, NY. Premier Instrument Corporation won from the U.S. Army Signal Corps a contract to make a U.S. version of the Leica IIIa, but the end of the war reduced the Army's requirement for new cameras and the civilian version did not sell well. The list price for the civilian version in 1950 was $262.50 exclusive of the 25% federal excise tax, or $328 with tax, which would be about $3,300 in 2020 dollars. Examples appear on eBay for over $2,000. Eastman Kodak Company made the standard lens for the Kardon and put the same lens on one version of the Retina II made by Kodak AG in Germany in the immediate post-WWII period. Kardon Camera on Flickr by Christopher Chen

4. The Detrola 400 by Detrola Corporation, Detroit, MI. Detrola was making radios and 127 format cameras in the '30s when it decided to produce a 35 mm camera in imitation of the Candid Camera Corporation of America's Perfex line. The advertised price in 1940 was $69.50. The product was unsuccessful and only about 800 were made. Detrola 400 on Flickr by Rick Oleson.

5. The Zephyr Candid Camera by Photographic Industries of America, New York, NY. Supposedly made in 1938. I've seen only a copy of advertising art. Advertisement on Flickr by sunivroc

LOMO Lubitel 166 Universal (1993)

The LOMO Lubitel 166 Universal is a twin lens reflex camera for size 120 film. "Lubitel" in Russian means "amateur." LOMO stood for "Leningrad Optical and Mechanical Association" (roughly). My camera was made in 1993 according to the serial number, 93032341, on the bottom. The first two numbers give the year the camera was made. It is marked "Made in USSR" although by 1993 the USSR was already two years gone. Possibly a million Lubitels were made.

Front

Back

The camera has a molded plastic body with a tripod socket and an accessory shoe. The camera makes either twelve 6x6cm or sixteen 6x4.5cm pictures on a roll of 120 film, but my camera is missing the 6x4.5 attachments. The lens is an f/4.5 75mm coated triplet in a leaf shutter. Close focusing distance is 1.3 meters. Shutter speeds are 1/250, 1/125. 1/60, 1/30, 1/15 and bulb. The shutter is synchronized for flash and has a self timer, although the self timer on mine does not work. Other features include a film speed reminder dial and a waist level brilliant finder with a ground glass circle in the center for focusing. The ground glass can be magnified by a flip-up magnifier in the finder hood. The front of the finder hood folds in to make a sports finder. There is a little red window in the back of the camera to read the picture numbers on the backing paper.
The Lomography company in Vienna, Austria, offers new Lubitel 166+ cameras, made in China, for rather a lot of money. If you're pining for a Lubitel, it would be cheaper to find an original on eBay instead of going for the expensive imitation. LOMO apparently is still in business in St Peterburg, Russia.

[Update] The taking lens accepts 40.5mm thread-in filters.

FPP 620 Film

The Film Photography Project store now has 100 speed black and white and color negative film in 620 size. The film stock is 120 film, as it says on the backing paper, wound onto plastic 620 spools. Because they are molded from plastic instead of stamped from metal, the end flanges on the FPP spools are about half a millimeter thicker than the end flanges of a metal 620 spool. This makes the FPP spools tight in some cameras. When FPP spools are tight on the take up side you can use a metal 620 spool as the take up spool. If the FPP spool is tight on the supply side you might be able to sand down the plastic flange to get more clearance. Put fine sandpaper on a hard, flat surface and move the flat end of the spool in a circular motion against the sandpaper to sand the spool evenly. I haven't tried this because sanding down the spool ends has the potential of getting bits of plastic all over your film. If you send your film out for processing, ask the lab to return your 620 spool for reuse. The snap top containers the FPP film comes in are usable for either 620 or 120 film.

FPP 620 ISO 100 Black & White Film

Here are my experiences so far with unmodified cameras.

Plastic FPP spools were OK on both the supply and take-up sides in these cameras: Argus Argoflex E (120 film also fits in pre-WII and some post-WWII Argus E cameras), Argus 40, Argus 75, Argus Super 75, Kodak Brownie Target Six-20, Kodak Chevron, Kodak Medalist II, Kodak Six-20 Brownie.

These cameras needed a metal 620 spool on the take up side: Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model (You might be able to bend the small metal tab that prevents the back from closing.), Kodak Reflex II, Kodak Six-20 Bull's Eye.

These cameras needed metal 620 spools on both the supply and take up sides: Ansco Anscoflex, Argus Argoflex EM and EF.

If you prefer to have film already on a 620 spool instead of rolling your own and you can use this film in your camera, the FPP 620 film is a good choice. Rolling your own 620 does save money at the cost of a little time and patience. This Youtube video shows you how: 620 Film: How to use 120 film in your 620 camera

The flanges on the FPP plastic spool (right) are thicker
than the flanges on the Kodak metal spool (left).

Anscoflex (1953-1956)

The Anscoflex is a simple camera with a waist level brilliant viewfinder. The body is plastic and aluminum. It is similar to the Eastman Kodak Duaflex camera, the Argus Argoflex Seventy-Five and others. It takes twelve 2-1/4" square pictures on a roll of 620 film. 620 film is no longer made, but you can use currently available 120 film re-spooled onto 620 spools. A yellow filter attachment and a portrait lens attachment were available and a 1-1/16" Series VI filter adapter will fit. The later Anscoflex II had the yellow filter and close-up lens built-in.

Front - Open

Back

The lens on the Anscoflex is an uncoated, approximately f/16, approximately 75 mm periscopic lens. A periscopic lens has two matched meniscus elements with the concave surfaces facing each other and the aperture stop in between. The shutter is a rotary shutter with a single, approximately 1/30 second, shutter speed. The film advance and shutter release are interlocked to prevent double exposures. You advance the film by turning the film advance knob in quarter turns back and forth to ratchet the film forward while looking for the picture number through the little red window on the back. You open the viewfinder and uncover the taking lens by sliding the tall front plate up. The viewfinder shows the scene right side up, but reversed left to right. The back is opened for loading film by pressing the red button near the viewfinder. The inside of the film chamber has a label suggesting size 620 Ansco "All-Weather" film, which at the time had an ASA speed of 64. The flasholder screws onto the left side of the camera. A tripod socket is on the bottom. The tripod socket is there mainly to attach the camera to its case. Because there is no provision for a time exposure or a delayed action for a "selfie" there isn't much need to attach a tripod.

The camera was styled by Raymond Loewy and Associates and was made by Ansco in Binghamton, NY. Ansco, part of General Aniline and Film Corporation, was the American film company that ran a distant second to Eastman Kodak Company. GAF got out of the camera business in 1977 and now is solely a building materials manufacturer.

Through the viewfinder.

Battle of Nashville Monument through a red Wratten 25 filter.

Kodak Six-20 Bull's Eye Camera (1938-1941)

The Kodak Six-20 Bull's Eye Camera looks like a plastic version of the metal Six-20 Brownie Special. Both cameras take eight pictures on a roll of size 620 film.

Front

Back

Open for Loading Film

Latch

The shutter on the Bull's Eye can be set for instantaneous (about 1/50th second) or time exposure, and is not synchronized for flash. The lens is a fixed focus, uncoated meniscus lens that makes a reasonably sharp picture of subjects eight or more feet away. The aperture is about f/15. The Bull's Eye holds the film in a curve to sharpen the corners of the picture. The camera does not have a tripod socket. To make a time exposure you need to put the camera on a table or some other steady support. There is a knob on the side of the camera to let it rest evenly on a flat surface for portrait oriented pictures. The latch to open the camera for loading film is on the bottom. The cone lifts straight up from the camera. The film runs from right to left.

Kodak offered a portrait attachment that allowed pictures of a subject about 3-1/2' distant for a head and shoulders portrait. There also was a yellow pictorial filter used mostly to darken the skies for landscape pictures. A 1-5/16" Series VI adapter also fits to allow the use of Series VI lens accessories.

The Bull's Eye name came from Samuel N. Turner's Boston Camera Manufacturing Company. Mr. Turner was the first to put picture numbers on roll film and he put the once familiar little red window on his Bull's Eye cameras to show the numbers. Eastman bought the company in 1895 to get the film patent. A number of Eastman cameras have some variation of "bullseye" in the name. There is a 1950s Brownie Bull's-Eye Camera that is a fancier model than this one.

Like any other Brownie the Six-20 Bull's Eye takes a good picture as long as you stay within the limits of a camera without any adjustments for focus, aperture or shutter speed. Because modern films are better than the ones available 80 years ago, this Bull's Eye probably takes a better picture now than when it was new. Unlike a few other 620 film cameras, you can't squeeze a 120 spool into this one - you will need to re-spool your 120 film onto a 620 spool.

McKeown's Price Guide to Antique & Classic Cameras describes this model as "uncommon". The original list price for the Six-20 Bull's Eye was $3.00.

Compare to a similar picture made with a No. 2 Brownie in the post for February 22, 2020.

Zeiss Ikon Contaflex I (1953-1958)

The post-WWII Contaflex was Zeiss Ikon's single lens reflex camera for amateur photographers. This Contaflex I was made in the mid-'50s at the Zeiss Ikon camera factory in Stuttgart, West Germany.

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The camera body is made from a light metal alloy and has chrome and black leather trim. This camera has a non-interchangeable, Carl Zeiss Tessar f/2.8 45 mm lens in a Synchro Compur leaf shutter. The lens is a front cell focusing design. The distance scale on my camera is marked in feet for the export market. The focusing screen has a split prism focusing aid. The camera body has a removable back for loading film, like the back on the Contax, and a removable film take up spool. Spools and cassettes made for the Contax also will fit the Contaflex. If your take up spool is missing you can tape the film to the spool from a regular 35 mm film cassette. The camera has knob wind film advance. The reflex mirror is not instant return. After you take a picture the view finder is blacked out until you advance the film, which lowers the mirror and opens the shutter for focusing and aiming the camera. Advancing the film also cocks the shutter for the next picture.

Argus Model K (1939-1940)

According to advertising copy, the Argus Model K was made to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the invention of the daguerreotype by Louis Daguerre, but in reality may have been made simply to use up parts for the abortive Model D. The Model D was going to be a spring motor drive, automatic film advance camera like the made-in-Germany Berning Robot, but Argus did not manage to get beyond the prototype stage. The list price of the model K in 1939 was $19.50 (about $365 in depreciated 2020 dollars). The Model K is uncommon; only about 1,800 were made.

Argus Model K and Box

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The camera body is die cast metal with leatherette covering and chrome trim. The front of the camera has the lens, the rim-set shutter speed dial, the shutter release, the focusing dial and the windows for the viewfinder and extinction exposure meter. The back of the camera has the film advance button and the eyepieces for the viewfinder and extinction exposure meter. The latch for the film door is on the left side. The top of the camera has the film advance knob, the exposure counter and the cover for the film cartridge chamber. The bottom of the camera has the film rewind knob, the tripod socket, the aperture dial, and the shutter speed dial.

One thing that makes the Model K different is that the viewfinder is on the bottom. The photographer holds the camera against his forehead to take a picture.

The lens is an uncoated, f/4.5-11, triplet anastigmat. The shutter is a self-setting leaf shutter with speeds of 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/200 second plus bulb and time. The shutter has a socket for a cable release. Close focus is 3-1/2 ft. The lens and shutter are like the ones on the Argus A.

The first steps in loading film are taking off the film chamber cap, dropping the film cassette inside, and replacing the film chamber cap. Then the photographer inserts the film leader into the slot on the take-up spool and rotates the film advance knob until the film catches. The film counter is manually set and counts up from zero. To advance the film the photographer pushes the film advance button on the back of the camera, turns the film advance knob about a quarter turn, releases the film advance button, and turns the film advance knob until it stops. To rewind the film the photographer turns the rewind knob until the film is back inside the cassette. The sprocket wheel freewheels while rewinding. There isn't a rewind clutch. All of the pre-WWII Argus 35 mm cameras rewind this way. The film runs from right to left, which is opposite the way it goes in most other 35 mm cameras.

The extinction meter works by extinguishing the light visible through the meter eyepiece. The photographer turns the film speed knob on the bottom of the camera to match the value that is set on the shutter, aims the camera at the scene and adjusts the aperture dial until the center dot of light visible through the meter eyepiece just about disappears. The meter has no way to account for the sensitivity of the film, unlike the meter on the A2. Light is attenuated by strips of film attached to the film speed knob and aperture dial. The film strips have graduated densities that correspond to the control settings. The lowest densities are for f/4.5 and 1/25 second and the highest densities are for f/11 and 1/200 second.

The shutter on mine is oily and needs to be cleaned in order to work, not a job I want to do right now, and the film strip for the aperture dial on the extinction meter has come loose.

[Update] I got the shutter to run. Sample pictures to follow.

Kodak Signet 80 (1958-1962)

The Kodak Signet 80 is the last of Kodak's 35 mm cameras with the Signet name, and the only Signet with interchangeable lenses. It was made in Rochester, NY, from 1958 to 1962, and had a list price of $148.50 on introduction.

Kodak Signet 80 with 35 mm lens and auxiliary viewfinder

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The Signet 80 has a squared-off, metal and plastic body. The top of the camera has the light meter dial, an accessory shoe and the shutter release, which is threaded for a cable release. The front of the camera has the window for the viewfinder, the front cell for the light meter, the shutter speed dial, the latch for the interchangeable lenses, and the film counter. The right side of the camera has the film advance lever and the latch for the film door. The left side of the camera has the "Kodalite" pin and screw fittings for a flash attachment, and a PC flash sync socket. The back of the camera has the combined viewfinder-rangefinder eyepiece, the film rewind clutch and a holder for Kodak film exposure reminder cards. The bottom of the camera has the tripod socket and the film rewind crank.

The shutter is a behind-the-lens leaf shutter that runs from 1/4 second to 1/250 second plus bulb. The shutter synced with bulbs at 1/30 second and with electronic flash at any speed. As far as I know Kodak did not offer an electronic flash attachment for the Signet 80.

The Signet 80 came with an f/2.8 50 mm normal lens. You could get an f/3.5 35 mm wide angle lens and an f/4 90 mm telephoto lens. An auxiliary viewfinder was available with frame lines for the 35, 50 and 90 mm lenses. Removing the lens takes setting the lens to infinity focus, sliding the lens latch away from the lens and lifting the lens straight out. Replacing the lens takes matching the pin on the side of the lens to the notch on the lens mount, putting in the new lens and sliding the latch back toward the lens. You needed to focus from infinity to 2.5 ft. and back again to make sure the pin on the back of the lens engaged the index hole on the rangefinder coupling.

Each lens has a retaining ring for Series V drop-in filters, an exposure value scale, a shutter speed scale, an f-stop scale, a distance scale and a depth of field scale. The shutter speed scale and exposure value scales work with the built-in light meter. You can use just the f-stop scale on the bottom of the lens if wanted. All the lenses focus to 2.5 ft.

The built-in light meter is a selenium cell with a match needle dial. You set the ASA value of the film, ranging from 10 to 6400, on the inner dial and turn the outer dial until the red pointer matched the white needle. The indicated exposure value shows next to the red arrow on meter dial. For the exposure value system to work you needed to set the shutter speed ring on the lens to the same setting as the shutter speed dial. After you set the scale on the lens to the shutter speed, you set the aperture to the indicated exposure value.

The film advance is by a thumb lever on the right side of the camera. It takes two pushes on the lever to advance on frame and cock the shutter. The film counter is in a small window below the lens and counts up. The film counter resets to "E" for empty when you open the film back. You have to advance a couple of blank frames before you get to the first frame. The camera is unusual because it does not have a film take-up spool. Instead, the photographer inserts the film leader in the slot of the take-up chamber and the film simply curls inside. Loading film was problematical for a lot of amateur photographers. Customers often brought their cameras to the camera shop to have them loaded with film by the clerk. The Signet 80's "injection" system was just one of Kodak's attempts to simplify film loading, leading up to the cartridge loading Instamatic and Pocket Instamatic cameras of a few years later. The Signet 80 system may not have been entirely satisfactory because the slightly later Kodak 35 mm cameras, the Automatic 35 and Motormatic 35, use take-up spools.

The Signet 80 is a good picture taker. The viewfinder is bright and the rangefinder works well.

Clarus MS-35 (1946-1952)

During the immediate post-WWII era a number of small and not so small American manufacturers entered the market for 35 mm cameras, lingered for a while and then exited the market or closed completely. One of the small ones was Clarus Camera Manufacturing, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Clarus model MS-35 vaguely resembles the earlier Perfex cameras made by the Candid Camera Corporation of America, Chicago, Illinois, but without the slow speeds or the extinction meter of the Perfex.

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The Clarus has a fairly heavy metal body with chrome and black "Redolite" trim. The top of the camera has the film advance knob and the exposure counter dial, the shutter release, the shutter speed dial, an accessory shoe and the film rewind knob. The camera came with a 2-inch (50 mm) lens. The accessory shoe was to hold auxiliary viewfinders for interchangeable lenses ranging from a 35 mm wide angle to a 101 mm telephoto. The front has a window for the viewfinder and two windows for the range finder. The back of the camera has separate eyepieces for the viewfinder and range finder. The bottom of the camera has a socket for a tripod. The latch for the film door is on the right side. This example has a coated Wollensak-Clarus 2-inch (50 mm) f/2.8-22 lens in a focusing mount. The close focus is 3.5 ft. The lens unscrews and could be exchanged with wide angle and telephoto lenses. These are uncommon. The focal plane shutter runs from 1/25 to 1/1000 second and has a bulb setting. The shutter speed dial rotates as the film is wound and as the shutter is released. The shutter needs to be cocked in order to set the shutter speed correctly. To rewind the film you hold in the shutter button and rotate the rewind knob clockwise. This is the only 35 mm camera I've seen that used the shutter button as the rewind clutch.

For the first year it was made the Clarus suffered from a number of design and manufacturing faults. They were eventually corrected, but the company never recovered from its initial stumble. The one I have is one of the later examples. The moving range finder mirror has come loose and the top will need to be taken off to fix it.

[Update] I cemented the moving mirror to its support, now I need to recalibrate the range finder.

Inside the Top

The moving mirror is near rhe right end of the camera as seen from the front. It is attached to a lever that is moved by the lens as it focuses. The moving mirror reflects an offset view of the subject to a stationary mirror near the shutter speed dial. When the subject is in focus the reflected view of the subject coincides with the direct view of the subject. The stationary mirror is adjustable to make the two views coincide at the correct distance. To adjust the range finder you need to focus on an object using a ground glass and a magnifying loupe at the film plane and then nudge the adjustable mirror until the reflected image and the direct image coincide.

Argus C20 (1957-58)

The Argus C20 resembles an Argus A4 (see the post for September 16, 2019) with a range finder added. The body is molded from phenolic resin. The lens is a front cell focusing f/3.5-22 44 mm Argus Cintar and the shutter is an imported AGC (Alfred Gauthier Calmbach) set and release leaf shutter with four speeds (1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/200) plus bulb. The lens is coupled to a split image range finder. The film advance is by a thumb wheel with a lever you push to the right. The back comes off for loading film. The film counter is manually set to the number of pictures on the roll of film and counts down to zero. To rewind the film you press the advance lever to the left and turn the rewind knob. An Argus C3 flasholder plugs into the left side. This camera apparently was not a success, being in production only two years. It wasn't much different in capability from the long selling Argus C3.

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