# Argus one-upmanship



## compur (Jun 1, 2012)

... or maybe it's one-*down*manship ...

Anyway I found this Argus C*2* at a yard sale today, much less common than the C3 though the differences are minor.

Pretty good condition too considering it's about 70 years old -- it has a working shutter & rangefinder and clean VF and the focus even works smoothly without taking the skin off your finger when you use it.


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## BlackSheep (Jun 1, 2012)

Nice find!

Now you & invisible can have a "2 vs 3- - -  Best Photo" competition 

ETA oh, but I forgot - invisible couldn't keep his C3. You win!


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## nreed_94 (Aug 7, 2012)

I have an early C3, back when the knob was chrome instead of black.  Probably 1941 or so.  They take very nice pictures for old cameras, you will really enjoy it.  I used a roll of Ilford Delta, and the results were great.  Nice find!!  The C2 is much less common, and to find it at a yard sale is very lucky.


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## invisible (Aug 7, 2012)

I saw this thread only now. Yeah, my C3 is gone. This one's a real beauty though. It's humanly impossible not to love those dials on the front of the body


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## The Barbarian (Aug 9, 2012)

Now, of course, you'll need to find the C, with an uncoupled rangefinder, and the early C, with a dual range speed switch.

That last one still eludes me.


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## jaicatalano (Aug 9, 2012)

That is a beauty. How much did you pay for it?


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## compur (Aug 9, 2012)

I got this a while back. As I recall it was $25 and included a 100mm lens and some other items.


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## Derrel (Aug 9, 2012)

Nice observation about the finger-wheel-focusing being smooth enough in operation to NOT take the skin off ye old finger!!! I had a brick back when I was a kid, around 35 years ago, and the focusing wheel was VERY hard to move. I THOUGHT that what I had was a C-3, but it looks much more like this C2 you are showing...the camera disappeared some 20 years ago. I picked up a nice C3 a few months back at GOodwill for $19...1958 model as near as I can tell, immaculate case and body and glass, but some hazing on the viewfinder/rangefinder windows....alas...my guess is that the hazing resulted from tanning agents in the leather slowly out-gassing and slowly hazing things up as the camera sat,stored inside the everready case for a few decades...

I notice your C2 has some somewhat "odd" intermediate speed markings, like 1/75 and 1/150; kind of a cover-a-lotta-bases speed scale!!! 300/200/150/100/75,etc.!!


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## compur (Aug 9, 2012)

Yeah, I don't recall if the speeds on this one are standard with C2s or unusual.  It's been so long since I've had a C2.

Lately, Argus cameras seem to be increasing in value a bit so I buy them if the price is right. I attend local cameras shows regularly (where I buy & sell) and some of the the Argus models have become pretty popular with young people, especially the "bricks" and some of the TLRs.

I was at a flea market last Sunday and one of the sellers had a dozen or so Argoflex E TLRs (the one that accepts 120 film) that he was willing to sell for $10 each but every single one had a non-functional shutter. Those are pretty easy cameras to work on but I cringed at the thought of having to clean a dozen shutters when I already have so many backlogged project cameras as it is... So, I passed.

Over the years I've owned 2 Argus "Golden Shield" cameras (basically a spiffed-up C3 with a special little plaque on the front). These are pretty rare and sought after by Argus fans.  I also once had an Argus A with a Schneider lens (a previous owner modification) and other oddball Argus items including the "Giant Argus C3" which I sold to the Argus Museum in Ann Arbor some years ago.


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## The Barbarian (Aug 9, 2012)

> I picked up a nice C3 a few months back at GOodwill for $19...1958 model  as near as I can tell, immaculate case and body and glass, but some  hazing on the viewfinder/rangefinder windows....alas...my guess is that  the hazing resulted from tanning agents in the leather slowly  out-gassing and slowly hazing things up as the camera sat,stored inside  the everready case for a few decades...



Look here:
Repairing the Argus C3 (1947)

Just don't clean the front rangefinder window with alcohol or lighter fluid.  It will cease to be transparent.


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## charlie76 (Aug 9, 2012)

Argus One???  Any engineers here?  Argus One is a software that bridges SUTRA (saturated-unsaturated transport yadda yadda) into the GUI......anyone?


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