Argus C3 Brick Images

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wlewisiii

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Just got time to scan a couple of images from the first roll through an Argus C-3 that I got from Brett (Joe Friday) in a trade awhile back. It's in very nice condition and, despite my lack of scanning skills, the lens aquits itself quite well. They are odd little cameras though, but in their credit they were decent inexpensive cameras that made 35mm practical for many people who couldn't have otherwise afforded it.


I'm not sure I'll use it much though and I dislike having cameras around that are gathering dust. Is there much demand for bricks though? :bang: :p :D

William
 
Not bad at all.
I gotta get some slower film so I can try out your old Exa I. Even found a waist level finder from my dad's old Exacta that makes it look just like my original Exa.
 
wlewisiii said:
Is there much demand for bricks though? :bang: :p :D
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I carried around a C3 for years back in the 50's and 60's. The old Kodachromes are still pretty good. I have some pics in my gallery which demonstrate the Cintar's abilities. :) Much demand........... there aren't enough of us "kookie" camera people to ever create a demand :D. :angel:
 
wlewisiii said:
Just got time to scan a couple of images from the first roll through an Argus C-3 that I got from Brett (Joe Friday) in a trade awhile back. It's in very nice condition and, despite my lack of scanning skills, the lens aquits itself quite well. They are odd little cameras though, but in their credit they were decent inexpensive cameras that made 35mm practical for many people who couldn't have otherwise afforded it.


I'm not sure I'll use it much though and I dislike having cameras around that are gathering dust. Is there much demand for bricks though? :bang: :p :D

William
Click to expand...

Hi William,

Andy Warhol allowed himself to be photographed with an Argus C3 so it can't be that bad. I can't remember the photographer's name... just a black and white sequence of 3 or 4 photos of Warhol standing in front of a wall. I'll try to dig through my photography books from the last century and see if I can find it.

BTW how do you like your Kiev 5?

R.J.
 
They are indeed odd funky little things, aren't they! :) You might keep it if only for curiosity value, maybe to shock guests needing shocking, a violent anti-digital statement, and/or for its ease of making double-exposures (which is why I got mine).
 
Definitely a camera that should come with a check list.. possibly the hardest 35mm camera to shoot quickly. I'm still shooting my first roll thru mine.
 
The C-3 is like the "Secret Handshake" of the RF community. How many of us have given or returned a smiling nod ;) when we see another brick out there in the streets?
 
If you shoot on the street with and someone gives you guff you could beat the hell out of 'em then take there picture while they are bleeding. I have two of them I turned one into a pinhole camera... which can also double as a boat anchor.
 
I started 35mm with one of these. Not something I would reccomend. But once I got some of the odder stuff figured out, I got decent images from it.
The first thing that stumped me was the little swithc/slider thingy that needed to be moved before winding on.
The second was keeping my fingers out of the way of the shutter cocking switch--that lesson I learned quickly, if painfully.
The last thing to get used to and--in my case the deal breaker--was the seperate view/rangefinders. Mostly because of my glasses/vision I had a very hard time framing and focusing.
Strangely, though, I don't mind using my Kiev/FED/Zorki cameras with an attatched viewfinders when I'm shooting other than 50mm. Go figure.
I still have the one I used then(it's my dad's and on permanent loan) don't use it much but will never part with it.
Rob
 
I found the book and it was Duane Michals...

I found the book and it was Duane Michals...

RJBender said:
Hi William,

Andy Warhol allowed himself to be photographed with an Argus C3 so it can't be that bad. I can't remember the photographer's name... just a black and white sequence of 3 or 4 photos of Warhol standing in front of a wall. I'll try to dig through my photography books from the last century and see if I can find it.

R.J.
Click to expand...

The book is Duane Michals: The Photographic Illusion Masters of Contemporary Photography © 1975 by Ronald H. Bailey and Alskog, Inc I have the hardback edition. There is a soft cover edition on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4558426348

There are several used copies available through Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...=sr_1_13/103-1920073-0136664?v=glance&s=books

The portrait sequence of Warhol appears on page 25. One of the photographs is used on this website: http://www.unicom.unizh.ch/unimagazin/archiv/2-97/dynamik.html

The book has an excellent technical section at the end with details on how many of the photographs were made:
"Michals used the simple Argus C3 for many years because he could make one exposure on top of another on a single frame of film with the assurance that the images would be in perfect register." The author also mentions Michals' use of an aluminum Tiltall tripod.

There are many other great photographs in this book that were made with the Argus C3 such as this one:
http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/imagesandideas/pages/artistpicture.cfm?page=142
 
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