The Argus C3 "Brick" - Dave's Classic Cameras

Even in this digital age, film cameras are anything but dead. Like many photographers who use digital, I still love film and film equipment. So I decided to write some articles here about classic film cameras that I've used. The articles will cover a wide range of camera types, including 35mm, 110 cartridge, 120/620 medium-format "folders," and instant (Polaroid).

And while some of the cameras (such as the Argus C3 profiled in this first installment) are often considered to be jokes or toys, they all share one or more traits:

• I have used them.
• They can produce excellent images (sometimes surprisingly so).
• They also may be great for existing-light or low-light shooting (a personal preference that guided many of my camera purchases).

So if you're still interested in shooting film, watch for these articles. They may lead you to gems that you may not have known about or considered using. And students in photography courses should especially track these articles. Most schools still prefer to teach photography using film, because it offers unsurpassed experience with photographic concepts (and makes digital techniques much easier to understand).

Once you get your hands on a C3 (or the earlier C2), you'll understand why people call it "The Brick." It's solid (built from metal and thick Bakelite plastic) and boxy. It's also perhaps the single most successful camera ever made. Argus sold millions of C3s (with slight design variations) across an unheard-of lifetime of 27 years (from 1939 to 1966). (By 1945, Fortune Magazine said that Argus had "overnight changed candid camera photography in the U.S. from a class hobby to a mass pastime.")

And the C3 cameras were built so well that you can still find working units languishing in thrift shops, yard sales, flea markets, and antique malls. On a recent drive through Pennsylvania, my wife and I popped into three "junk shops" in one town, and all of them had C3s in good working condition... one shop even had three. So the cameras are easily found and often available for a song.

All Argus film cameras (and there are many models) have a strong following, so there are plenty of web sites about them for guidance, user-manual PDFs, and sample images (one of the best belongs to the Argus Collectors Group: http://arguscg.tripod.com/). They even used to hold "Argus World Argosy" events (where a single Argus camera was shipped from user to user around the globe, so that each could take a photo and then pass the camera on), and "Argust Days" each August (where anyone could submit images taken with any Argus camera).

Another site for reviewing sample images from many different cameras is www.pbase.com. When you go there, click the black Search tab near the top of the window. In the window that opens, click the "Search by Camera" link. Then, for this article, scroll down the page and click Argus. Then click the Argus C3 link. It opens up access to (at this writing) 160 sample photos taken of or by this camera. Click a thumbnail to open the first image in a collection, and then click the previous and next links at the upper-right corner of the image window, to view other images.

The above is a great way to see what both amateur and pro photographers have done with a camera. And when you search for the Argus C3, I think you'll be mighty impressed!

But despite the camera's fandom, most photographers still snicker when they see a C3... probably because they've never actually used one. But these Bricks can capture fine and atmospheric images. This might be because, during World War II, Argus manufactured optical instruments for the American military, and understood rugged quality. In fact, their C3 was used by at least two pros:

• Photographer Duane Michals used it to take some well-known black-and-white portraits of Andy Warhol.
• The American-Italian photojournalist Tony Vaccaro achieved worldwide fame for the images he captured in Europe during and after WWII. He took most of his war photos with an Argus C3, processed the film in army helmets, and hung the negatives in trees to dry. He later won the Légion d'Honneur and the Chevalier of Arts awards; and many exhibits, books, and articles have been produced about his work. Not bad for a guy with guts, an "eye," and a lowly plastic Brick! Googling "Tony Vaccaro" will pull up more information about him.

Several years ago, a friend gave me his father's old Brick, which hadn't been used for decades. I eventually got around to testing it by shooting the view out my bedroom window. This view included trees both feet and miles away, and my test shots were focused on the near ones and then at infinity. When I received the negs from the developer, I was stunned to see that they differentiated individual leaves in the farthest trees! This camera (along with many others) has been called "The Poor Man's Leica," and in this one specific test, I can almost buy that. The C3's negatives were as sharp and detailed as those of the same view that I took with a Leica CL. Perhaps I received an unusually good C3...but I now have much more respect for it.

The C3 is not without its quirks, though, and you should download a user-manual PDF before trying one. Here's an online PDF that you can print or save to your computer: http://www.cameramanuals.org/argus/argus_c-3.pdf. And beyond the camera's shape, here are some of its most endearing quirks:

• It's entirely manual; no automatic anything. And unlike many other cameras of its era, its standard 50mm f/3.5 Cintar lens is not designed for "hyperfocal focusing." (This is an old pro trick for focusing a lens on objects at any desired distance, without ever looking through the viewfinder. Google the term for more info.) Because of this, most C3 user manuals include a Depth of Field table of the sharpest focus distances for each of the lens's focal settings.
• You cock the shutter by turning a lever on the camera's front, and this lever is in just the right place to smack your fingertips when you trigger the shutter. You'll quickly learn to keep your digits outta the way!
• From the C3's appearance you wouldn't expect this, but it's a "system" camera capable of accepting a small set of interchangeable screw-mount lenses. (Refer to the Web or the user manual to see how to change them.)
• There's an easily overlooked metal sleeve around the shutter button. You turn the sleeve to switch between Bulb and Instantaneous shutter modes. Also easily overlooked is a "FIlm Catch" button that (on some models) is on top of the camera near the Film Counter dial. This button must be pressed while rewinding the film.
• The camera is a tinkerer's dream. It's simply built, easy to disassemble, and has a small screw mount. So they're relatively easy to fix and modify. Aficionados have added different shutters, lenses, and wind/rewind knobs; turned 'em into half-frame and pinhole cameras; and even covered them with colored fabrics and beads (as fashion statements).
• The rangefinder focusing knob couples to the lens through gear linkages on the camera's front. As a result, you can focus the camera by turning either the rangefinder dial or the lens itself (which is often easier). (You must also remove and reinsert the middle gear when changing lenses.) The C3's gears, knobs, levers, buttons, and dials all give it a rather "scientific" look... even today.
• Taking double (or multiple) exposures is a snap. Just re-cock the shutter lever and reshoot as many times as you wish. (For best results, reduce the amount of light entering the camera for each exposure.)
• You need powerful fingers (or a screwdriver) to open the camera back. The metal latch that holds it closed is stronnnngggggggg! It's said that in one of her movies, Audrey Hepburn dropped a C3 on the floor and its back popped open. IMPOSSIBLE...the camera's plastic body would burst apart at the seams before that ever happened!

So if you love inexpensive classic cameras and the images they produce, grab a C3 the next time you see one!