The Argus C Series (1938-1966)

Left-Right: Argus C, C2 and C3

Left-Right: Argus C, C2 and C3

Argus C2 (Left) and C3 (Right)

International Radio Corp. had created a best-seller in 1936 when it brought out the Argus A camera and two years later followed up with what developed into one of the longest selling 35 mm cameras.

The 1938 Argus C was a bakelite and metal "brick" with a 50mm f/3.5 three element lens, a behind-the-lens leaf shutter, and a built-in range finder.  Designed by the Belgian-American designer Gustave Fassin, it bore a slight resemblance to the Zeiss Ikon Contax, which had an all-black, squared-off body of similar dimensions.  The lens on the Argus C was a classic Cooke Triplet design in a helical focusing mount and could focus as close as three feet.  The lens was not removable.  The shutter was a set-and-release leaf shutter located behind the lens, and had speeds from 1/5 to 1/300 second.

The film advance and rewind was the same as on the Argus A series.  The film moved from right to left.  To advance the film you pressed the film advance catch, turned the film advance knob about a quarter turn, released the film advance catch, and wound the knob until it stopped.  To rewind the film you just turned the film rewind knob until the film was back inside the cassette.  The hinged back has a latch like the one on the model A. 

Shortly after the C came out, Argus produced the improved C2 model.  A gear was added to couple the range finder to the lens.

In 1939 the Argus C3 added a synchronized flash attachment and there things stood for the next 27 years.  Some cosmetic and mechanical changes were made over the years, but fundamentally the Argus C3 remained the same.  The post-war cameras did have coated lenses and the f/stops were changed from the continental system (f/18, f/12.7,  f/9, f/6.3, f/4.5, f/3.5) to the domestic system (f/16, f/11, f/8, f/5.6, f/4, f/3.5).  About 2 million C3s were sold.

Argus C advertisement in Popular Photography, April, 1938

Argus C33 (1959-1961)

The Argus C33 was introduced by Argus in 1959 and discontinued in 1961. You could buy one from Sears for ninety dollars, which in 1959 had the purchasing power of 780 of 2019's depreciated dollars. It was introduced only a year after the C44R, which had similar features but in my opinion was a better looking design. The boxy shape was similar to the venerable C3, which had been introduced in 1939 but outlasted the C33 by five years.  The mechanics were like the following Argus Autronic auto-exposure cameras.

Front

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Back

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Right

Film Chamber

The C33 came with a coated Argus Cintar f/2.8-f/22 50mm lens, made by Argus in the USA, and could use an f/4.5-f/22 35mm lens or an f/4.5-f/22 100mm lens, both made by Steinheil in West Germany. The top of the camera had an accessory shoe for the Argus Zoom Viewfinder to use with the 35mm and 100mm lenses. The shutter speeds were 1/300, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 second plus bulb. The matching Argus flasholder plugged into the left side of the camera, using the same socket as on the C3. An Argus CM-2 light meter attached to the shutter speed knob. The light meter was settable for film speeds from ASA 2.5 to 1250 and was coupled to the shutter speed dial. The photographer would select a shutter speed, point the camera at the scene and set the lens to the f-stop indicated by the meter. This is a clunky camera to hold.  The C33 appeared on the market the same time as the Eastman Kodak Company's Kodak Signet 80.

Argus Autronic I (1962-1965)

The Argus Autronic I was made by the Argus division of Sylvania Electric in the early '60s. It and the similar Autronic II were the last US made 35mm cameras to be introduced by Argus.

Front

Back

Top

Film Chamber

Shutter Speed and Aperture Settings

Film Speed Setting

Flash Exposure Setting Guide

Exposure automation in 35mm cameras began to be popular in the 1960s. "Electric eye" cameras used selenium cell light meters and electromechanical aperture diaphragms for shutter priority auto exposure. This camera has an f/2.8-f/22 50mm Argus Cintar lens in an imported German Compur shutter. The shutter speeds run from 1/500 second to 1/30 second plus bulb. The light meter can be set for ASA film speeds from 10 to 400. Film advance is by a single stroke lever. The back hinges down to open for loading film. The film counter should be manually set to the number of exposures on the roll, and counts down to zero. There is a rewind release lever on the bottom of the camera and a rewind crank on the top. The shape of the camera is reminiscent of the ever-popular C3 "Brick" and the mechanics are like the previous C33. The viewfinder has a coincident range finder with a triangular range finder patch. The camera focuses with a knob on the front surrounding the shutter release button. There is a threaded cable release socket in the shutter button. The matching flasholder plugs into the side of the camera. The camera is clunky and uncomfortable to hold.

Argus tried to eliminate any references to photographic esoterica like f-stops and shutter speeds. The lens barrel is marked with aperture numbers from 3 to 9 instead of f/2.8 to f/22. The shutter speed settings are marked "Flash", "Scene", "Action" and, in one concession to the photographic art, 500. The bulb setting for long exposures is not marked at all, but exists to the left of the "Flash" setting. The range finder knob is marked with flash setting numbers from 1 to 8 instead of feet. For flash photography the photographer was instructed to focus on the subject and then set the aperture to match the number on the range finder. The same method for setting flash exposure was used on the Match-Matic C3. The instruction book did give the shutter speed and f-stop equivalents to the camera markings for those who wanted to know.

The Autronics have a deserved reputation as unreliable cameras.  Argus stopped making the Autronics in 1965, and the venerable C3 in 1966. The Argus branded cameras that followed were all made overseas. By the time the Autronics came out Argus had already dipped its toe into the import ocean by importing the V-100 camera and lenses for a number of cameras from West Germany. Argus as a brand name gradually faded away and the last incarnation of Argus is long out of business.

Drop-in Filters and Adapters

Drop-in photographic filters came in a series of sizes that had been standardized by Eastman Kodak Company. Most medium format or miniature still cameras used Series V filters that were 1-3/16" (about 30mm) in diameter or Series VI filters that were 1-5/8" (about 41mm) diameter. There were larger sizes mainly for use with large format cameras, and some of the larger sizes are still manufactured. Series V and VI filters are no longer made, but are plentiful second hand. Many lenses took drop-in filters without needing an adapter, but in most cases the photographer used an adapter to fit the filter to the lens. The adapters used threaded inserts to hold the filters in place. Other accessories included auxiliary lenses, threaded retainer rings, lens hoods, holders for unmounted gelatin filters, and step-up rings. Threaded retainer rings were used to stack filters and auxiliary lenses. For example you could use a retainer ring to have a polarizing filter in combination with a close-up lens. Step-up rings were used to fit a larger filter on a smaller adapter, for example a Series V to Series VI step-up ring would be used to fit a Series VI filter or lens hood on a Series V adapter. Adapters were either push-on ones that slipped onto the lens barrel or screw-in ones that fit the threads inside the front of the lens. Kodak push-on adapters were called out by the outside diameter of the lens they would fit. Kodak screw-in adapters had arbitrary numbers that did not necessarily correspond to the thread size. For example, a Kodak No. 55 adapter fit a 28.4 mm diameter thread. You could get filters and adapters from Eastman Kodak, Ednalite, Enteco, Tiffen and others in the US. Tiffen still makes photographic filters. Drop-in filters went out of fashion for still cameras about 1970. Most recent filters screw into the front of the lens. Large drop in filters are still used on Hollywood motion picture cameras.

An adapter ring, a glass filter and a lens hood.

Kodak Pocket Rangefinder

Many focusing Kodaks were scale focusers. The photographer estimated or measured the distance to the subject and adjusted the lens using the distance scale marked on the lens. One gadget for measuring the distance was the Kodak Pocket Range Finder. The photographer made the two halves of the subject line up in the range finder eyepiece and read the distance from the scale visible in the eyepiece or on the front of the range finder. The range finder used a movable mirror to line up the split image of the subject. A lever with one end riding on the cam cut in the wheel that surrounds the top window adjusts the tilt of the mirror nearest the eyepiece according to the distance from the range finder to the subject. When the range finder is set to the same distance as the subject, both halves of the subject appear to coincide. A small magnifying lens enlarges the tiny distance scale etched in the top window. The scale is repeated on the front of the wheel surrounding the top window. The patent drawings differ a little from the actual production model. Once built-in focusing aids became standard for adjustable cameras separate range finders became obsolete. Nowadays electronic autofocus cameras do the focusing for the photographer.

Front, posing on a Kodak 35 scale focusing camera.

Back.

The view through the eyepiece.

The box it came in.

Patent drawing.

120 v. 620 Film

A 120 spool (left) and a 620 spool

There probably are perfectly good cameras lying unused in drawers because the owners can't find film for them. A workaround is available for cameras that take 620 film: re-spooled 120 film. Apart from the spool the film is wound on, there isn't any difference between a 620 roll and a 120 roll. Kodak discontinued 620 film in 1995, but 120 film is made to this day. All you have to do is unroll the 120 film, in the dark, and roll it onto a 620 spool. You can get old, metal 620 spools from eBay or from junk store box cameras. You also can get new, molded plastic 620 spools from Film Photography Project, but be aware that their plastic spools might not fit some old cameras. Re-spooling film is no harder than loading film onto a developing reel. This Youtube video shows how: 620 Film: How to use 120 film in your 620 camera. If you don't want to roll your own, you can get newly rolled 620 film from Film Photography Project or Film for Classics (sold by B&H). Ask your photo lab to return your 620 spools for reuse.

A little history: 120 film was first made for the No. 2 Brownie camera in 1901, and was adopted by many other companies for their cameras. Agfa also made the same size film, but called it B2 instead. Kodak decided to shrink the spool in 1931, and stopped making cameras for 120 film. Most Kodak 620 cameras were simple Brownies, although Eastman did produce some high quality commercial 620 cameras like the Kodak Medalist. The last 620 camera made by Kodak, the Brownie Flashmite 20, came out in 1960. Consumer 620 and 127 roll film cameras were replaced by the hugely successful Kodak Instamatic line in 1963. 120 film has continued to be made by Eastman and other companies for commercial or advanced amateur photographers.

[Update] 620 film is now available from the FPP store: https://filmphotographystore.com/collections/all/620-film

Post-war Kodak Retina IIa (Typ 016)

The Kodak Retina was a quality camera for amateur photographers. About 172,000 Kodak Retina IIa cameras were made in Stuttgart-Wangen, West Germany, during 1951-1954, by Kodak AG, Eastman Kodak Company's German subsidiary. The camera is not much larger than the original Retina of 1934. 35mm film cameras were best known as miniature cameras and a pocketable size was a selling point. The list price in 1951 was $168.50 or about $1,700 in depreciated 2019 dollars. This camera was followed by the model IIc.

Front, folded.

Front, open.

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Bottom

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Right

Back

Film Chamber

The lens on this camera is a coated, Schneider Kreuznach Retina-Xenon, f/2.0-f/16 50 mm that close focuses to 3.5 ft. The shutter is a Deckel Synchro-Compur leaf shutter with speeds of 1/500, 1/250, 1/100, 1/50, 1/25, 1/10, 1/5, 1/2 and 1 second plus B (bulb). The shutter will synchronize with flash bulbs (M setting) and electronic flash (X setting). There is a PC flash sync socket on the shutter. The shutter release is on the top of the camera and is threaded for a cable release. The film advance lever also is on the top and is centered around the exposure counter. The exposure counter is manually set to the number of exposures on the roll and counts down to 1 as the film is advanced. The film advance locks when the counter reaches 1. The rewind knob is on the top and has a film reminder, marked for some Kodak films, in the center.