Argus C3

Argus C3

"the Brick" image by Dirk HR Spennemann (Image rights) Manufacturer: Argus Date of Production: 1939 - 1966 Variants: Argus C3 colormatic, Match-Matic, Standard, Golden Shield, Argus C33 Type of Camera: rangefinder camera Film type: 135 (35mm film) Lens: Argus Coated Cintar 50mm 1:3.5 Shutter: leaf shutter Shutter speed range: Bulb, 1/10-1/300 Viewfinder: optical ASA/ISO range: - Flash: flash synchronized shutter Exposure Modes: manual Exposure Metering: - Focusing: built-in rangefinder is coupled to distance control Focusing areas: split image Film advance: knob Weight: 26.8 oz. (759.8 g) Dimensions: -

The Argus C3 rangefinder camera was introduced by Argus in 1939. It was a minor revision of the Argus C2, adding flash sync sockets to the side of the camera. However this model became Argus's runaway success story, staying in production through 1966 with only minor changes. Fondly known as "the Brick," the camera brought 35mm rangefinder photography down to a price affordable by amateurs who could not dream of owning a Leica or Contax.

Construction

The C3 is made of bakelite and metal framings and is of simple design. It has a diaphragm shutter built into the body of the camera so that it could utilize interchangeable lenses without the need for a regular, and more complex, focal plane shutter.

The Argus C2, left, lacked the flash-sync sockets of the C3, right image by Rick Oleson (Image rights)

1941-1944 model C3 with 7-speed shutter image by Siim Vahur (Image rights)

C3 back image by Siim Vahur (Image rights)

C3 with Fujitar 135mm f4.5 lens and clip-on viewfinder accessory lens  image by Rick Soloway (Image rights)

Inside construction image by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson (Image rights)

Links

• The Argus Collector's Group
• Argus C: the first best-selling 135 film camera (1938), at DCView (in Chinese, English translation)
• Manual for accessory lenses available on the Favorite Classics section of .kyphoto.com
• The Other Martin Taylor's review of the Argus C3
• Argus C3 Camera Manual (PDF) : Photo-Manuals.com
• manual at Michael Butkus Jr.'s
• Argus C3 at www.collection-appareils.fr by Sylvain Halgand (in French)
• history of the C3 at surprenantphoto.com [1]
• changes of the C3 from 1939 to 1957 at photo.net [2]
• serial numbers of C3 types at vieilalbum.com [3]
• Argus C3 User's manual at www.copweb.be [4]
• [5] Ken.Lyndrup.dk English version [6]
• [7] Ken.Lyndrup.dk Dansk udgave [8]

• Argus C3 at whitemetal.com
• When was my Argus camera made?, by Phillip G. Sterritt, at Photo.net
• Gustave Fassin's Argus C Patent, at Google Books
• Argus C3 and photos taken with it
• Argus C3, by Daniel Jiménez, at From the focal plane to infinity

Repairs

• How it Works: The Argus C3 Shutter
• C3 Repair Notes
• Repairing jammed sprocket in the Argus C3
• Repairing the Argus C3, by David Gaon, on Argus Collector's Group