Argus c3
Sep 22, 2015 12:46:50 #
OldEarl wrote:
The C3 is the one that looks like a brick. I carried its predecessor for awhile and actually had a C-4. The C-4 was an attempt to get away from the bakelite body and did not live up to the reputation.
My brother had a C-3 "Brick" and I shot with a Kodak Pony. My High School had a C-4 which I used for two years as Newspaper and Yearbook Photographer during the Eisenhower Administration years.
They all worked well and delivered good photographs. We learned exposure and scale focusing and that, 1/125 sec shutter, a small aperture, depth of field and print film latitude covered a multitude of sins.
Sep 22, 2015 13:12:31 #
jiminnee wrote:
What is an Argus C3 worth? I had heard sometime ago they might be a bit of a collectors item,but don't really know.
Not a collectors item as far as I know, too many out there. I bought a used one for 15 dollars in 1946, my first 35mm camera. That one is long gone, however, I did purchased two at different antique shops about 2 years ago for 15 bucks, The same price I paid in 1946.
Sep 22, 2015 13:41:35 #
Dick Z. wrote:
Not a collectors item as far as I know, too many out there. I bought a used one for 15 dollars in 1946, my first 35mm camera. That one is long gone, however, I did purchased two at different antique shops about 2 years ago for 15 bucks, The same price I paid in 1946.
You say not a collectors' item... yet many camera collections seem to contain at least one Argus C3! Although certainly not rare, this particular camera model does have some historical significance in photography.
Sep 22, 2015 13:45:08 #
The C-3 was my first 35mm camera (the first camera was a Baby Brownie). I didn't know it was as bad as described.Teen age ignorance. It worked for me and made me anxious for something better, though.
Sep 22, 2015 13:49:39 #
rook2c4 wrote:
You say not a collectors' item... yet many camera collections seem to contain at least one Argus C3! Although certainly not rare, this particular camera model does have some historical significance in photography.
That's true, I have 2. What I should have said is, Not worth much, money wise. I loved my original C3 and bought it on layaway, 1 dollar a week.
Sep 22, 2015 14:09:13 #
I borrowed an Argus C3 once when I was a kid. It was the most difficult camera I had ever handled. Set the shutter and aperture, wind the film, cock the shutter, focus with the split-image rangefinder and then look through the viewfinder to take a picture. I missed lots of photo opportunities and had a bunch of double exposures on the roll.
Sep 22, 2015 16:16:23 #
13oct1931
Loc: Lebanon, Indiana
PM, once again I shall attempt to get UHH to convey my message: "I stand corrected." I knew there were other cameras. For some 80 plus years I have thought the C-3 was the first 35mm.
I have an ancient Kodak "pocket camera" that predates the C-3. The Kodak is still in the box/ with instruction book.
Alyn
I have an ancient Kodak "pocket camera" that predates the C-3. The Kodak is still in the box/ with instruction book.
Alyn
Sep 22, 2015 17:03:07 #
jiminnee wrote:
What is an Argus C3 worth? I had heard sometime ago they might be a bit of a collectors item,but don't really know.
Not worth much, but it does bring back memories.
Sep 22, 2015 17:50:51 #
OlinBost
Loc: Marietta, Ga.
They don't call them a "Brick" for nothing. I have a C3 and a C2. The C3 I had converted to a more modern flash and on the C2 I have a telephoto lens. I also have color filters for them. Net worth ... not much.
Sep 22, 2015 18:11:11 #
When I did private photography courses in the 70's and 80's I used C3's as starter cameras. Even then I was buying them for $10 or less. The practice was a great equalizer, none of that "His pictures are better because he has a better camera" BS.
Sep 22, 2015 18:43:23 #
jiminnee wrote:
What is an Argus C3 worth? I had heard sometime ago they might be a bit of a collectors item,but don't really know.
http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Argus/Argus-C3.html
--Bob
Sep 22, 2015 21:07:06 #
Rufus
Loc: Puget Sound area, WA
My first camera was an Argus A and cost new $10 in 1939. I still have prints of my grade school classmates I made then. Owned many cameras since then but getting that one was a high point in my young life. (I'm 89 now)
Sep 22, 2015 22:56:30 #
In 1966, I bought my first 35mm camera. It was an Argus C3. I learned photography with that. Taking photo, developing the film and printing the images. I used it for several years. I still have it and it still works.
I see them in antique stores going for about $25 - $35 dollars and up to $45-$50 if they are in the original box with the flash attachment/
I see them in antique stores going for about $25 - $35 dollars and up to $45-$50 if they are in the original box with the flash attachment/
Sep 22, 2015 23:02:29 #
I had an unusual one called a, "Flashmatic". I believe. It was tan and came with a flash (bulb) unit. It had flash numbers engraved on the distance scale on the lens barrel. I think I paid $3-$4 for it in the '80's. I also later found a 100mm f4 lens that fits C3's and discovered that's what the "inside" frame lines are for in the viewfinder of the C3.
Sep 23, 2015 01:20:51 #
jiminnee wrote:
What is an Argus C3 worth? I had heard sometime ago they might be a bit of a collectors item,but don't really know.
not worth much.
took the back off my fathers C3 and replaced it with a box and lightbulb,
It was my first enlarger, used it for years.
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