Argus C3 Rangefinder
If you’re looking for a strange looking, heavy and a bulky camera that will slow you down almost to a halt, Argus C3 is definitely the right camera for you!
The Argus is a square boxy rangefinder from the late 30’s which weighs about a ton and feels like a real burden after just a few minutes of carrying it around, but amazingly enough this is still not its greatest attribute.
In order to take a picture you need to focus through a small round window next to the viewfinder which is half yellow and half clear and pretty much impossible to see anything through it. After the illusion of focusing you switch to the viewfinder, select your shutter speed, fiddle with the hidden fstop settings and you are now ready to make the exposure. But wait; hold on, you can’t take the picture yet. First you need to cock the shutter, and if you forgot and missed that wonderful Kodak moment, oh well, I’m sure another one will come your way very soon.
And to make life a bit more complicated, in order to advance your film to the next frame you need to release the film advance catch and only then you can wind the film while the frame counter moves to the next number.
What can I say? A delightful little camera.
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July 9th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
i’ll take a pass on the bulky camera … you should hire some cabana boys to help you out and carry that stuff!
July 15th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
The C3 was in production and selling at least into the ’50s. My Dad bought one (I was born in ’46) and shot all the family vacations on Kodachrome (I guess it was K25 at the time, unless there was an earlier one). I can personally testify about how long it took to get an exposure off. It was almost the size and shape of a brick, and nearly the same weight. If you got mugged while using one, you could inflict some really serious harm on the mugger.
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:09 pm
They don’t call the C3 ‘The Brick’ for nothing!
But seriously, it’s like anything. Once you get used to it, it’s not that hard to use. What, you’re focusing through the range finder? Get your hyperfocus on and just fire away. Yes it’s a bit weird on the cock, shoot and wind routine, but you get used to it.
I own two of these things. Each cost me $8! It was one of the most produced cameras ever made. And they look really cool. Not the best for street photog, but certainly a contender.
I think I’d prefer this to the Russian FEDs I used to have.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
hhmm.. I’ve always wondered about the C3 (or any other of ‘the brick’ argus cameras)… will definitely end up getting one I guess.
Sounds very much like the way my Graflex Graphic 35 works – only that the focusing part is done by aligning the horizontal split image (and like the C3 – the viewfinder is incredibly small!).. but like most things – one can get around all the ‘quirks’.. I try to make shure the shutter is cocked, aperture and speed set, and then focus…
Right now though.. I’m just ‘into’ using my ‘Oly PEN cams (I have a lot of the different models – cos, they can be picked up for peanuts on eee-bay – but I’m using the EE-3). btw: have you ever used half-frame cams?