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Friday, September 13, 2019
Vokar (1946-1948)
The immediate post-Second World War era saw the revival of pre-war camera companies as well as the emergence of a few new companies to make products to fill the gap left by the yet to recover German camera industry. Vokar Corp. (formerly Electronic Products Manufacturing) had developed a couple of camera models immediately before WWII and was able to get a 35 mm camera in production during the Fall of 1946. The slightly different Vokar II came out in 1948. The Vokar had a body assembled from pressed metal parts with a three element f/2.8 50 mm lens in a leaf shutter that ran from 1/300 to 1 second plus bulb. It had a combined coincident range finder and viewfinder. The lens focused as close as 4 ft. The Vokar cameras were not successful - they didn't survive long enough to appear in the 1950 Popular Photography camera directory. The most successful Vokar product was a chemical solution to fix scratches on film. It is still available under the name Edwal No-Scratch. The Vokar camera isn't a bad looking design. Like a lot of 35 mm cameras of the era, including the original Leica, the Vokar doesn't have strap lugs. To wear it around your neck you need to put it into its leather carrying case. The shutter speeds slower than 1/300 second stick on my camera, which is a sign that the shutter needs cleaning. I don't think I am going to try to make this a user camera.
Zeiss Ikon Contax IIa (1951-1961)
The Zeiss Ikon Contax IIa is an interchangeable lens range finder 35 mm camera that is an updated version of the pre-war Contax II. This "black dial" version of the Contax IIa was made about 1951 in Stuttgart, West Germany.
Front, with a folding van Albada finder in the accessory shoe.
The Contax IIa has a metal, vertically traveling focal plane shutter. You set the shutter speed using a single dial that is concentric with the film winding knob, the exposure counter and the shutter button. Shutter speeds are 1 second, 1/2, 1/5, 1/10, /25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500 and 1/1250 second. Supposedly the shutter is good for 400,000 actuations.
The "black dial" version of the camera was synchronized for flashbulbs at 1/25 second or for electronic flash at 1/50 second. You needed to attach either the model 1361 sync switch for flashbulbs or the model 1366 sync switch for electronic flash. The switch screwed into a socket on the back of the camera and had a 3 mm PC sync socket for the flash unit. The reason for the different switches was that a flashbulb takes 20 milliseconds to reach full brilliance, while an electronic flash takes just a millisecond to reach full brilliance. The different switches allow for the difference in timing. The "color dial" version of the Contax, which came out in 1954, automatically switches between bulb sync and electronic sync when the correct shutter speed is selected.
The normal lens was an f/3.5, f/2.0 or f/1.5 50 mm lens, depending on how much you wanted to pay. The f/2.0 version seems to be the most common. You could get additional lenses ranging from 21 mm up to 500 mm focal length, matching auxiliary finders, reflex focusing attachments, close-up equipment, etc.
The Contax had an internal focusing helicoid for the 50 mm lens, which permitted the 50 mm lenses to be quite small. To remove a 50 mm lens you rotated the lens to the infinity focus setting, where it would latch. You held down the latch on the lens mount, rotated the lens counterclockwise and lifted it out.
Because when focusing they moved in and out at a different rate than the 50 mm lenses, the wide angle and telephoto lenses had their own focusing helicoids built into the lens. They attached to the external bayonet mount and coupled to the range finder. Both the camera and the lens had to be focused at infinity to attach or remove the lens. Close focusing macro lenses and long telephoto lenses attached to the Flektoskop or Panflex reflex focusing attachment. These attachments had a reflex mirror and a focusing screen built in, just like an
The f/2 50 mm Sonnar lens in the picture was manufactured in Jena, East Germany. The Zeiss plant there had been nationalized by the East German government after WWII, but continued to make products with the Carl Zeiss name for a while. Carl Zeiss, Inc., New York, imported lenses from the East German company; therefore, East German Zeiss lenses are not hard to find in the USA. Carl Zeiss, Inc. had been owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation and functioned as the US agent for all Zeiss products. It was enemy alien property during WWII and was taken over by a federal Office of Alien Property Custodian. It continued to operate under federal control until it was returned to the Carl Zeiss Foundation about 1960.
The Contax IIa had some nicer features than the Leica IIIf which came out around the same time. The Contax had a combined viewfinder and range finder eyepiece, while the Leica had separate viewfinder and range finder eyepieces. The Contax had a single shutter speed dial, while the Leica had separate fast speed and slow speed dials. The Contax was easier to load because the whole back came off for loading film. On the Leica you had to remove the bottom plate and slip the film between the pressure plate and the film gate. Despite its features and excellent lenses, the Contax was less popular than the Leica. For one thing, the Contax was more expensive. The US list price in 1951 for a Contax IIa with an f/2 50 mm lens was $405, which had the buying power of about $4,000 depreciated 2019 dollars. A Leica IIIc with an f/2 50 mm lens cost about $350 ($3,500 equivalent). The improved 1954 Leica M3 and cameras from Japanese companies, notably Canon and Nikon, further cut into Contax sales and rather than update the Contax, Zeiss Ikon developed new single lens reflex cameras. SLRs proved to be for more popular than range finders; however, this did not prevent the Carl Zeiss Foundation from shutting down Zeiss Ikon in 1972. German precision cameras simply were no longer competitive with Japanese cameras. Leica managed to survive by going after the luxury market with astronomically priced cameras.
The Contax branded cameras made in 1974-2005 were built by Yashica (later Kyocera) under license from Zeiss. Zeiss still makes lenses and optical equipment.
Front, with a folding van Albada finder in the accessory shoe.
Back
Shutter Speed, Winding Knob, Exposure Counter and Shutter Release
The Contax IIa has a metal, vertically traveling focal plane shutter. You set the shutter speed using a single dial that is concentric with the film winding knob, the exposure counter and the shutter button. Shutter speeds are 1 second, 1/2, 1/5, 1/10, /25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500 and 1/1250 second. Supposedly the shutter is good for 400,000 actuations.
The "black dial" version of the camera was synchronized for flashbulbs at 1/25 second or for electronic flash at 1/50 second. You needed to attach either the model 1361 sync switch for flashbulbs or the model 1366 sync switch for electronic flash. The switch screwed into a socket on the back of the camera and had a 3 mm PC sync socket for the flash unit. The reason for the different switches was that a flashbulb takes 20 milliseconds to reach full brilliance, while an electronic flash takes just a millisecond to reach full brilliance. The different switches allow for the difference in timing. The "color dial" version of the Contax, which came out in 1954, automatically switches between bulb sync and electronic sync when the correct shutter speed is selected.
The normal lens was an f/3.5, f/2.0 or f/1.5 50 mm lens, depending on how much you wanted to pay. The f/2.0 version seems to be the most common. You could get additional lenses ranging from 21 mm up to 500 mm focal length, matching auxiliary finders, reflex focusing attachments, close-up equipment, etc.
The Contax had an internal focusing helicoid for the 50 mm lens, which permitted the 50 mm lenses to be quite small. To remove a 50 mm lens you rotated the lens to the infinity focus setting, where it would latch. You held down the latch on the lens mount, rotated the lens counterclockwise and lifted it out.
Because when focusing they moved in and out at a different rate than the 50 mm lenses, the wide angle and telephoto lenses had their own focusing helicoids built into the lens. They attached to the external bayonet mount and coupled to the range finder. Both the camera and the lens had to be focused at infinity to attach or remove the lens. Close focusing macro lenses and long telephoto lenses attached to the Flektoskop or Panflex reflex focusing attachment. These attachments had a reflex mirror and a focusing screen built in, just like an
The f/2 50 mm Sonnar lens in the picture was manufactured in Jena, East Germany. The Zeiss plant there had been nationalized by the East German government after WWII, but continued to make products with the Carl Zeiss name for a while. Carl Zeiss, Inc., New York, imported lenses from the East German company; therefore, East German Zeiss lenses are not hard to find in the USA. Carl Zeiss, Inc. had been owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation and functioned as the US agent for all Zeiss products. It was enemy alien property during WWII and was taken over by a federal Office of Alien Property Custodian. It continued to operate under federal control until it was returned to the Carl Zeiss Foundation about 1960.
The Contax IIa had some nicer features than the Leica IIIf which came out around the same time. The Contax had a combined viewfinder and range finder eyepiece, while the Leica had separate viewfinder and range finder eyepieces. The Contax had a single shutter speed dial, while the Leica had separate fast speed and slow speed dials. The Contax was easier to load because the whole back came off for loading film. On the Leica you had to remove the bottom plate and slip the film between the pressure plate and the film gate. Despite its features and excellent lenses, the Contax was less popular than the Leica. For one thing, the Contax was more expensive. The US list price in 1951 for a Contax IIa with an f/2 50 mm lens was $405, which had the buying power of about $4,000 depreciated 2019 dollars. A Leica IIIc with an f/2 50 mm lens cost about $350 ($3,500 equivalent). The improved 1954 Leica M3 and cameras from Japanese companies, notably Canon and Nikon, further cut into Contax sales and rather than update the Contax, Zeiss Ikon developed new single lens reflex cameras. SLRs proved to be for more popular than range finders; however, this did not prevent the Carl Zeiss Foundation from shutting down Zeiss Ikon in 1972. German precision cameras simply were no longer competitive with Japanese cameras. Leica managed to survive by going after the luxury market with astronomically priced cameras.
The Contax branded cameras made in 1974-2005 were built by Yashica (later Kyocera) under license from Zeiss. Zeiss still makes lenses and optical equipment.
Casts of the Elgin Marbles, the Parthenon in Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee.
Agfa Memo (1939-1941)
The Agfa Memo was made by the Agfa Ansco Corp. in Binghampton, NY, from 1939 through 1941, the Second World War putting an end to camera production for the duration of hostilities. It is a folding 35 mm camera that used normal 35 mm film in the unique Ansco film cartridge. The Agfa Memos have front cell focusing lenses and set-and-release shutters. The cameras came with different lenses and shutters, depending on the price. My full frame model has an f/3.5 lens and the half-frame model has an f/4.5 lens. Both have shutters that run from 1/2 second to 1/200 second plus bulb and time. "Bulb" means that the shutter remains open as long as the shutter release is pressed. "Time" means that the shutter opens when the release is pressed and closes when the release is pressed for a second time. The shutters were not synchronized for flash. Each camera has a depth-of-field calculator on the top and a tripod socket on the bottom. The viewfinder is a reverse galilean viewfinder. The top also has an accessory shoe for an auxiliary range finder. In 1939 the advertised price was $25 for the f/4.5 lens model and $35 for the f/3.5 lens model, equivalent in purchasing power to about $465 and $650 in depreciated 2019 dollars.
The film advance is a slide across the back of the camera. A push of the slide advances the film one picture and increments the exposure counter. The film travels from a supply cartridge to a take-up cartridge. The film in the full frame memo goes from right to left while the film in the half fame memo goes from left to right. The cartridges hold film for 24 full frame, 24x36 mm pictures or 48 half-frame, 24x18 mm pictures. The Memo cartridge first appeared in 1927 for the earlier Ansco Memo camera and had some success. The similar Agfa Karat cartridge (new in 1936) was half as large. The Agfa Memo could use either cartridge, but the Memo cartridge was too large for the Karat cameras. The Kodak Daylight Loading Magazine (new in 1934) became the standard for 35 mm film, and most of the other 35 mm cameras on the market could use Kodak magazines.
Ansco was one of the oldest photographic supply companies in the US. Scovill Brass, founded in 1802, began to make daguerreotype plates very soon after the daguerreotype process was invented and continued to make various photographic devices until it merged with the E and H T Anthony Company in 1902 to form Anthony and Scoville Co. (later Ansco). The E and H T Anthony Company was a leading photographic supply company in the last half of the 19th Century. Dry plates from a small start-up company, Eastman Dry Plate Co., were just some of the many products E and H T Anthony sold. Eastman Dry Plate because Eastman Kodak and grew much larger than Ansco by 1928, when Ansco merged with the German Agfa company, part of the giant I G Farben combine. Agfa Ansco Corp. was enemy alien property during WWII and came under the control of the federal government's alien property custodian. After WWII Agfa Ansco was reorganized as General Aniline and Film, later GAF, and GAF still exists as a roofing products manufacturer. Agfa merged with the Belgium firm Geveart after WWII, and Agfa-Geveart is still in business.
Full Frame Memo with f/3.5 Lens
Back
Half Frame Memo with f/4.5 Lens
Back
Inside
The film advance is a slide across the back of the camera. A push of the slide advances the film one picture and increments the exposure counter. The film travels from a supply cartridge to a take-up cartridge. The film in the full frame memo goes from right to left while the film in the half fame memo goes from left to right. The cartridges hold film for 24 full frame, 24x36 mm pictures or 48 half-frame, 24x18 mm pictures. The Memo cartridge first appeared in 1927 for the earlier Ansco Memo camera and had some success. The similar Agfa Karat cartridge (new in 1936) was half as large. The Agfa Memo could use either cartridge, but the Memo cartridge was too large for the Karat cameras. The Kodak Daylight Loading Magazine (new in 1934) became the standard for 35 mm film, and most of the other 35 mm cameras on the market could use Kodak magazines.
Ansco was one of the oldest photographic supply companies in the US. Scovill Brass, founded in 1802, began to make daguerreotype plates very soon after the daguerreotype process was invented and continued to make various photographic devices until it merged with the E and H T Anthony Company in 1902 to form Anthony and Scoville Co. (later Ansco). The E and H T Anthony Company was a leading photographic supply company in the last half of the 19th Century. Dry plates from a small start-up company, Eastman Dry Plate Co., were just some of the many products E and H T Anthony sold. Eastman Dry Plate because Eastman Kodak and grew much larger than Ansco by 1928, when Ansco merged with the German Agfa company, part of the giant I G Farben combine. Agfa Ansco Corp. was enemy alien property during WWII and came under the control of the federal government's alien property custodian. After WWII Agfa Ansco was reorganized as General Aniline and Film, later GAF, and GAF still exists as a roofing products manufacturer. Agfa merged with the Belgium firm Geveart after WWII, and Agfa-Geveart is still in business.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
A Small Herd of Ponies
Back row: Pony 135, Pony 135 model B, Pony 135 model C
Front row: Pony II, Pony IV with flash
Introduced: 1950
Discontinued: 1954
Lens: Kodak Anaston f/4.5-22 51mm in a collapsing lens mount.
Shutter: Kodak Flash 200 (1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/200 plus bulb)
Flash connection: ASA bayonet
Kodak Pony 135 model B
Introduced: 1953
Discontinued: 1955
Lens: Kodak Anaston f/4.5-22 44mm in a collapsing lens mount.
Shutter: Kodak Flash 200
Flash connection: ASA bayonet
Kodak Pony 135 model C
Introduced: 1955
Discontinued: 1958
Lens: Kodak Anaston f/3.5-22 44mm in a rigid lens mount.
Shutter: Kodak Flash 300 (1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/300 plus bulb)
Flash connection: ASA bayonet
Kodak Pony II
Introduced: 1957
Discontinued: 1962
Lens: Kodak Anastar f/3.9-22 44mm in a rigid lens mount. The aperture ring is marked only in EV numbers.
Shutter: Single speed flash (about 1/60)
Flash connection: Kodalite pin and screw
Kodak Pony IV
Introduced: 1957
Discontinued: 1961
Lens: Kodak Anastar f/3.5-22 44mm in a rigid lens mount. The aperture ring is marked in EV numbers on the top and f/stops on the bottom.
Shutter: Kodak Flash 250 (1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 plus bulb). The shutter speed ring is marked in EV numbers on the top and fractions of a second on the bottom. Add the aperture EV to the shutter EV to get the exposure value. The Argus Match-Matic that came out in 1958 uses the same method for setting the exposure.
Flash connection: Kodalite pin and screw.
The Pony IV has a retaining ring for Series V drop-in filters built in. The other Pony cameras use a slip-on 1-1/8 inch (28.5mm) Series V filter adapter.
The exposure value (EV) is equal to the base 2 logarithm of the square of the focal ratio times the reciprocal of the shutter speed. A focal ratio of 16 and a shutter speed of 1/125 (log2(16 x 16 x 125)) gives an EV of 15.
The Ponies, with the exception of the Pony II, are still reasonably usable. I think the single speed shutter of the Pony II is just a little too limiting. Because the shutter and aperture settings on a Pony IV are interconnected, you need to remember to set the shutter speed first. If you set the aperture first, setting the shutter speed will change the aperture.
There was a 1949 Kodak Pony 828 that took Bantam 828 film, which had eight 28mm x 40mm pictures on a 35mm wide roll. It closely resembled the first Pony 135. The Pony 828 was discontinued in 1958.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Eastman Kodak Tri-X FIlm
2019 is the 65th anniversary of the release in 35 mm size of Tri-X film, probably the most popular black and white film ever made.
If you saw a black and white news photograph the chances are it was taken on Tri-X. Tri-X sheet film had first appeared in the Kodak catalog in 1940. The name Tri-X most likely came from the fact that the film followed Super-XX film, which was Kodak's previous high speed roll film. Tri-X was changed in 1960 to have a shorter development time of only 8 minutes in D-76 developer instead of 12 minutes, and the film was changed again in 2007 to have slightly finer grain and the development time reduced to 6-3/4 minutes. Tri-X is well known for its versatility. It can be pushed from its normal 400 speed to 3200 speed and still yield good pictures in poor light. Pushing film means increasing the development time to compensate for less exposure than normal. The result is a printable negative, but with increased contrast and grain.
[Update] 2019 also is the 85th anniversary of the daylight loading 35mm film cartridge. Before 1934 still cameras that took 35mm film used proprietary cassettes and photographers would reload their own cassettes. Dr. August Nagel, who ran the Kodak-Nagel camera factory in Stuttgart, Germany, designed a disposable film cartridge and also a camera to use it, the Kodak Retina. Dr. Nagel had both the German and the US patents for the daylight loading magazine (as Kodak used to call it). Eastman Kodak had the manufacturing expertise to make daylight loading magazines by the million. The Kodak film magazine also fit Leica and Zeiss cameras. 35mm in daylight loading cartridges is the most popular film size now available, although sales of all sizes of film are much smaller than they once were.
A Box of Tri-X
If you saw a black and white news photograph the chances are it was taken on Tri-X. Tri-X sheet film had first appeared in the Kodak catalog in 1940. The name Tri-X most likely came from the fact that the film followed Super-XX film, which was Kodak's previous high speed roll film. Tri-X was changed in 1960 to have a shorter development time of only 8 minutes in D-76 developer instead of 12 minutes, and the film was changed again in 2007 to have slightly finer grain and the development time reduced to 6-3/4 minutes. Tri-X is well known for its versatility. It can be pushed from its normal 400 speed to 3200 speed and still yield good pictures in poor light. Pushing film means increasing the development time to compensate for less exposure than normal. The result is a printable negative, but with increased contrast and grain.
[Update] 2019 also is the 85th anniversary of the daylight loading 35mm film cartridge. Before 1934 still cameras that took 35mm film used proprietary cassettes and photographers would reload their own cassettes. Dr. August Nagel, who ran the Kodak-Nagel camera factory in Stuttgart, Germany, designed a disposable film cartridge and also a camera to use it, the Kodak Retina. Dr. Nagel had both the German and the US patents for the daylight loading magazine (as Kodak used to call it). Eastman Kodak had the manufacturing expertise to make daylight loading magazines by the million. The Kodak film magazine also fit Leica and Zeiss cameras. 35mm in daylight loading cartridges is the most popular film size now available, although sales of all sizes of film are much smaller than they once were.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Argus A2B (1939-1942 and 1946-1950)
The Argus A2B is an Argus A with an extinction exposure meter built in. This example is the post-WWII version that was made in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 1946 to 1950. The pre-war version had an uncoated lens in a slightly different shutter. The viewfinder is a reverse galilean type. The lens is a coated Argus Anastigmat f/4.5-18 50 mm triplet. The lens collapses into the camera body and is zone focusing. You turn the lens barrel until it unlatches and extends for distant shots and turn it more until it pops out a little farther for close shots. In the unmarked close focus position the camera is focused for 8 ft. to 16 ft. In the unmarked distant focus position the camera is focused for 16 ft. to infinity. Instead of aperture settings from f/4.5 being marked in the normal sequence of 5.6, 8, 11 and 16, the f-stops are marked 6.3, 9, 12.7 and 18, which are sequential one-stop steps from 4.5 and one-third of a stop slower than the standard sequence. The shutter is a self-setting leaf shutter with speeds of 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/150 second plus bulb and time. The back comes off for loading film. The film runs from right to left, which was typical for Argus, but opposite most other cameras. After the film is loaded you manually set exposure counter to zero by turning the dial in the direction of the arrow. It counts up from zero when the film is advanced. To advance the film you push a catch on the top of the camera, turn the film winding knob a quarter turn, let go of the catch, and continue to wind the film until it stops. You press the shutter release on the side of the lens to take a picture. Pressing the shutter release cocks the shutter and releases the shutter in one motion.
The exposure meter has a strip of graduated filter material. To use the exposure meter the photographer holds the camera at arm's length and points it at the scene, then takes a quick look at the meter to see the darkest spot that still shows a little light. By setting the calculator for the film speed, general light conditions and the light visible in the meter, the photographer can calculate the shutter speed and aperture setting almost as accurately as by simply guessing. The film speeds are Weston exposure index numbers instead of ASA numbers. The Weston numbers were determined by film tests made by the Weston Electrical Instrument Company, who manufactured photoelectric exposure meters, and were about 80% of the corresponding ASA film speed. For example, a film with an ASA speed of 100 had a Weston speed of 80.
The post war version of the A2B was outdated when it appeared, but it was inexpensive, it worked and it was available.
[Update] Here is an example of the pre-war A2B (1939-1942). The trim and shutter are slightly different from the post-war version and the lens is uncoated. The shutter release is a plunger that can be unscrewed for a cable release. The plunger often is lost. Argus had a special cable release for the A2B because a standard cable release with a narrow pin can get hung in the shutter mechanism and damage it. The Argus cable release had a wide plunger that would not damage the shutter. The shutter speeds on the pre-war version were marked 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/200 plus B and T. The exposure calculator had matching shutter speeds.
[Update] The pre-war A2B was missing the film advance catch, which I've replaced with one from an Argus A that had a bad shutter.
Front
Back
The exposure meter has a strip of graduated filter material. To use the exposure meter the photographer holds the camera at arm's length and points it at the scene, then takes a quick look at the meter to see the darkest spot that still shows a little light. By setting the calculator for the film speed, general light conditions and the light visible in the meter, the photographer can calculate the shutter speed and aperture setting almost as accurately as by simply guessing. The film speeds are Weston exposure index numbers instead of ASA numbers. The Weston numbers were determined by film tests made by the Weston Electrical Instrument Company, who manufactured photoelectric exposure meters, and were about 80% of the corresponding ASA film speed. For example, a film with an ASA speed of 100 had a Weston speed of 80.
The post war version of the A2B was outdated when it appeared, but it was inexpensive, it worked and it was available.
[Update] Here is an example of the pre-war A2B (1939-1942). The trim and shutter are slightly different from the post-war version and the lens is uncoated. The shutter release is a plunger that can be unscrewed for a cable release. The plunger often is lost. Argus had a special cable release for the A2B because a standard cable release with a narrow pin can get hung in the shutter mechanism and damage it. The Argus cable release had a wide plunger that would not damage the shutter. The shutter speeds on the pre-war version were marked 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/200 plus B and T. The exposure calculator had matching shutter speeds.
Pre-war A2B
Pre-war A2B
[Update] The pre-war A2B was missing the film advance catch, which I've replaced with one from an Argus A that had a bad shutter.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Argus 40 (1950-1954)
The Argus 40 was made by Argus Cameras, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 1950 to 1954. According to the date of manufacture printed on the inside of the camera, this example was made in April, 1953. The 40 came in several minor variations. The first ones did not have a name on the front (and were known as the "Model Argoflex"), some were marked "Argoflex" with no number, and the last ones were marked "Argus 40."
The viewfinder is a waist level brilliant viewfinder. A brilliant viewfinder consists of two positive lenses and a diagonal mirror. The image in the viewfinder is right side up, but reversed left to right. It is brighter than the image on a ground glass in a reflex viewfinder, but it does not show whether the camera is in focus. The taking lens is a coated Argus Varex f/4.5-22 75mm Anastigmat triplet lens with front cell focusing. The lens looks like the ones on the E, EM and EF. This is a scale focusing camera. The photographer estimated or measured the distance to the subject and set the distance on the lens. If the photographer set the distance to 25 ft. and the aperture to f/8 (both marked in red), the depth of field is great enough for subjects beyond 12 ft. to be in focus. The shutter is a self setting leaf shutter with speeds of 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/150 second plus bulb. As reminders, the 100 setting is marked red for black and white film on sunny days and the 25 is green for flash. The camera has a tripod socket on the bottom and provision for a cable release on the shutter. The shutter is synchronized for flash bulbs. After the shutter button is pressed the film has to be advanced before the button can be pressed again, to prevent accidental double exposures. The photographer can make a deliberate double exposure (or try again with the same picture if the flash failed to fire) by moving a small lever next to the shutter button. The Argus 76 flasholder plugs into the left side of the camera. The pins on the Argoflex 40 do not match the pins on the C3; therefore, a photographer can not use the same flasholder for both cameras. The camera takes 12 pictures on a roll of 620 film and has the familiar little red window on the back. The photographer spaces the pictures on the film by looking through the window at the picture numbers printed on the backing paper. The list price in 1950 was $33.95 (equivalent in purchasing power to $360 in 2019).
The 40 was followed by the simplified Argus Super Seventy-Five, which had a focusing lens, three selectable apertures and a single shutter speed (https://fourelementsinthreegroups.blogspot.com/2019/09/argus-super-seventy-five-1954-1958.html).
Front
Right
Back
Left
Top
With Flash
The 40 was followed by the simplified Argus Super Seventy-Five, which had a focusing lens, three selectable apertures and a single shutter speed (https://fourelementsinthreegroups.blogspot.com/2019/09/argus-super-seventy-five-1954-1958.html).
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