Where is it now?

[mike goldberg]

What a great idea for a Thread. Thanks Jorge...

Our first RF, over 40 years ago, was the Argus C-3, affectionately known as "The Brick" because of its boxy shape. When we immigrated to Israel in 1970... I had a Nikon F, so I gave the C-3 to my older son, then age 7; see photo below. The boyz are nearby, but where is the C-3? Well, you can still get them on eBay.

Is the Argus Cintar 50mm F3.5 a match for German & Russian glass? No way, but hey man, it's vintage. So, let's see some C-3 pix.
Ciao, mike

 

[mike goldberg]

of C-3, father & son...

of C-3, father & son...

Hello again,
Hope it's OK to add to the Thread I opened here...

This morning I met with my son, the 7 or 8 year old holding the C-3 in the ancient family snapshot, with his younger brother grinning over his shoulder. The Argus C-3 is long gone, lost in the grasses of some kibbutz in the Galilee.

We breakfasted in a favorite coffee shop. When I arrived, he was writing in his Apple MacBook Laptop, and he showed me pix via webcam, taken 20 minuites before [!]... of a project he's working on in Germany. He was very interested in seeing my Kiev 4a. Further, he was delighted to hear about the Leica M8, not that I have one 😉

So, we talked about me and the thousands of RFF members who still shoot film... and our meeting point with the new technology, digital media, digitization and A/D conversion. Since 1999, I've been up & running with the computer, and just a few weeks ago bought a 47-year old RF camera made in the former USSR. Indeed, this is a curious mix!

And, as father & son finished off breakfast with Cappuccino & Espresso, he wanted to know more about his parents' decision to immigrate to Israel 36 years ago. So, there you have it; the Argus C-3 Forum, opened in Oregon by Jorge, some 9,000 miles from Jerusalem... helped to bring father & son a bit closer.

Gracias, mike

 

[Robert Price]

I have my grandfathers C3. I still use it from time to time also. what a great camera to use, and fix for that matter. Every time I use it it reminds me of him. I would be sad to lose it for sure.

Great photo of the kids, and great story too.

 

[Dougg]

My Argus C3 doesn't carry any fond family memories, and has been used only for one roll of Kodacolor 200 in 1983 shortly after I got it. Was $10 from Camera Show, a used camera shop in Seattle on Aurora Ave (Hwy 99) near Green Lake. My purpose was multiple exposures using color separation filters (red/green/blue), which was educational, but I've not been tempted to use it again. But, who knows? 🙂

 

[JeffGreene]

Great story!

Great story!

Mike:

The C3 is truly a brick. Mine was originally my father's and still works. Haven't used it in a few years, but your tale of reunion with your son prompted a call on my part to my father, currently 94. He's still using the old Nikon Photomic T he bought in the late sixties. I shared your post and we had a fabulous chat about photography, his and mine, and my son Ben's recent trip. I just picked him up in Hamilton, NJ following a 10 day trip to your country. He had a great time, but unfortunately had refused my offer of one of my GSN's and film for the trip. His digital Canon SD500 gave up the ghost after he was there only two days. My son's an engineer and wasn't interested in carting "old technology" around Israel. Live and learn!

In any case, I've attached some quick and dirties of the Greene family "brick". Thanks again for sharing!

 

[Austintatious]

Fathers & Sons and photography

Fathers & Sons and photography

I would also like to thank Jorge for adding this forum to the RFF format.
When I was born, my Dad went to Sears and bought an Argus C-3 on time payments.
He wanted to take slides of his first born child. When my little brother came along, Dad got a Yashica-Mat from my uncle returning home from being stationed in Japan as a US Marine. The photo I use as an avatar is my Dad taking a self portrait with it.
He later got a Nikon F3, then went digital.
I guess I got the photography bug from my old man. Although we don't agree on much politically or philisophically, we do have common ground in this area at least.
In December I "won" a really nice C-3 on the Bay, with case, just $11.50.
The camera works well and looks good for its age. Fussy to use, but still a lot of fun.
Here is a photo a Dad and me taken with it and a couple of my "new" Brick that I bought to honor him.

Thanks again Jorge !

Charles

 

[george1956]

Argus C-3 an American camera, but images could be very good

Argus C-3 an American camera, but images could be very good

I got my C-3 after my Aunt Mattie died and we cleared out her home. Her and her late husband used to travel and take pictures in the 1950s of the coastal Carolina areas and went to Cuba with it twice. I got several boxes of old Kodachromes and Ektachromes that today are still not faded much, but somewhat tinged with age, and I've been scanning a few to put on the 'net. The Argus cameras, and a Shutterbug article detailed their manufacture in the 1950s when millions, maybe over 10 million were sold from all the models made, and were American made, but not up to other rangefinders made in Japan and Europe. I tend to think of it as being similar to diviing or skating, that the difficulty is rated and figured into the product (images). I think you had to have more on the ball to use the 50mm f3.5 lens to cover slow speed slide film and get a great image. My Uncle Neal was pretty good with it, but probably wanted a better camera for ease of use. When I look at the old slides, I came out thinking that he was very good photographer that got the most out of his camera. Anyway, I've only run a roll or two thru my C-3 but it gives me great memories to go with the notebook full of vintage slides in pages.

george1956

 

[mike goldberg]

C-3 stories...

C-3 stories...

Truly wonderful, are the memories & stories that have flowed from the C-3's. Alas, it was a relief to begin working with a Nikon F & 50/2 when I discovered Kodachrome.
Ciao, mike 😀

 

[Topdog1]

What beautiful, rhapsodic memories. Cameras are truly magical. I wonder if anyone will have that kind of feeling toward their dad's digital camera down the road? If not, what a shame.

/Ira

 

[GeroV]

What beautiful, rhapsodic memories. Cameras are truly magical. I wonder if anyone will have that kind of feeling toward their dad's digital camera down the road? If not, what a shame.

/Ira

Ira,
we'll have to wonder if they'll even be able to use today's digital cameras in thirty years, and personally, I kind of doubt it. Amazing considering that you can put a roll of 35mm into a Leica standard and still keep shooting, after all these years.

 

[Robert Price]

HAHAHA, a 30 year old digital camera that still works?! Now that I will wait to see. I hope that my son will one day look at my C3 and say "WOW! It still works!"

 

[Topdog1]

The biggest problem in getting 30 year old digital cameras to work will be the batteries. There won't be any since they're all proprietary. By then I'm sure we'll be using tiny hydrogen-based fuel cells to power everything. But who would want to turn on a 30 year old digital camera any more than turn on a 25 year old PC?

/Ira

 

[RayPA]

What beautiful, rhapsodic memories. Cameras are truly magical. I wonder if anyone will have that kind of feeling toward their dad's digital camera down the road? If not, what a shame.

/Ira

I don't believe that attachment toward an object, based on quality of build or purpose, will exist. Things aren't being made to be appreciated, really, for anything other than what they do right now and the features that are packed into them—right now.

Hmmm...does that mean 30 years on we'll be less materialistic?

.

 

[Sailor Ted]

Ira,
we'll have to wonder if they'll even be able to use today's digital cameras in thirty years, and personally, I kind of doubt it. Amazing considering that you can put a roll of 35mm into a Leica standard and still keep shooting, after all these years.

A film camera is just that- a camera and film. A digital camera is just that- a camera and digital film. No one wants to shoot 35 year old analogue film and no one will want to shoot 35 year old digital film. The lenses perhaps will be of use 35 years from now however as technology continues to evolve, the form of the RF camera may become less and less compatible with digital sensor technology, or it may be a non issue and so we will continue to use our M mount lenses- no one knows from the vantage point of today. The point is not that people will not want to use a 35 year old digital camera so much as it is that no one wants to shoot with 35 year old film.

 

[george1956]

traditional and digital

traditional and digital

i believe you are basically correct. I also think though that film could remain viable into the future because it offers a choice between traditional (film) and digital in that some may like having the choice of either approach. i also have witnessed the trend for some fine art and documentary photographers using large format black and white and the release of many new cameras and some new sizes in large format. i still believe that film and traditional darkroom black and white printing is still superior to digital processes. and, it can be done with less expense. i do agree that digital has largely taken over the marketplace and that most new cameras that are being sold are digital. in essence, i think you're right, but i would hedge a little and state that film still offers a viable approach to photographers.

 

[Sailor Ted]

I agree film is viable and will continue to remain so for some time however no one wants to shoot on expired film- certainly not decades expired. Old digital cameras are just that- old and expired digital film. This is why it’s not a fair comparison to make between old film cameras that can shoot modern day film and digital cameras projected decades into the future. A more realistic and accurate comparison would be between a film camera whose format is long abandoned and a digital camera from today projected into the distant future. How many film cameras do you see in use with long extinct film formats?

 

[TVphotog]

To get this thread back on topic, I learned on a 'handme down' C3. I still have it. Occasionally, I take it out for a spin around the block. It was my grandmother's camera and she was proud to introduce me to photography. I inherited most of her camera equipment. Unfortunately, she sold her leica M3 before the camera bug really bit me. I still use one of the three Olympus RCs that I got from her. I even got the Argus C1(?? is that the correct designation??) That thing is a quirky little bakelite camera for sure. I have run a roll of film through it, but have yet to get it developed. The Argus is fun to pull out a big news story and have the AP and newspaper guys look at me like I am crazy. After a couple of minutes though, their curiousity gets the best of them. Same with the FSU rangefinders. I too, carry around a digi for the quick shots.