Argus C3 Results...

PerezDesignGroup · August 25, 2004

Ok, these are definitely not 'other cool shots' but I promised to followup on my 1956 Argus C3 adventure so here we go.

Of the 24 exposures I took, only about 11 came out. Of those, only these were decent. This camera is extremely manual. It's so manual, in fact, that I need to advance the film myself by hand and it's hard to tell when to stop (no clicks or anything). In my case, I didn't go far enough and this led to many, many multiple exposures. But I kinda like 'em. That said...this was a hell of a learning experience. I'm glad the camera works and it looks like I could stand to learn a lot more. I'll definitely keep shooting with it. Just the anticipation of waiting for the pics was enough fun.

Oh, and I used (gosh this is embarrassing) *really, really* old film. I mean this film has been lying around for years and I just found it. I then said to myself "Self, why don't you use this *really,really* old film to make sure the camera works first" and I replied "Ok!".

1

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3

4

5

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7

Spooky, huh? :rofl

spink · August 25, 2004

wow, very intresting. Shooting with that camera must be loads of fun!

PerezDesignGroup · August 25, 2004

spink wrote:

wow, very intresting. Shooting with that camera must be loads of fun!

Oh yeah...and the stares I get from people are priceless. Especially when they catch me looking at the dials in utter confusion

My hopes are high that I'll be able to take some better pics next time. I'd rather spend $5 a week on developing than renting movies anytime

wxwax · August 25, 2004

PerezDesignGroup wrote:

Oh yeah...and the stares I get from people are priceless. Especially when they catch me looking at the dials in utter confusion

I like the last one quite a bit. How are you going to solve the problem of knowing where the next frame is on the roll?

Keep this up and I'm going to buy a Holga or something.

wxwax · August 25, 2004

I just ordered a Holga. We can match double exposures.

PerezDesignGroup · August 25, 2004

wxwax wrote:

I like the last one quite a bit. How are you going to solve the problem of knowing where the next frame is on the roll?

Keep this up and I'm going to buy a Holga or something.

I got the wind up thing figured out with my brother's help. I'm going to load the film and wind up and visually see when the next frame slides into place. I'll probably blow 2-3 exposures like this, but it sure beats blowing 11

I'm glad you got that Holga...that, as well as a Lomo are on my to-buy list

SeeMoon · August 26, 2004

I really like the last one! When is that abstract-challenge coming up?

I got a lomo (just a funky plastic one) and the first role of film developed as we speak. If they're half as nice as all these i'll show you.

PerezDesignGroup · August 26, 2004

SeeMoon wrote:

I really like the last one! When is that abstract-challenge coming up? I got a lomo (just a funky plastic one) and the first role of film developed as we speak. If they're half as nice as all these i'll show you.

A Lomo! You gotta post....c'mon

SeeMoon · August 28, 2004

PerezDesignGroup wrote:

A Lomo! You gotta post....c'mon

Now i wish i didn't say anything; got the pictures and the 3 (!) that got developed look like crap!

But, no worries..as soon as i'll have the scanner to work (didn't think i'd ever need one again) i'll show you!

PerezDesignGroup · August 28, 2004

SeeMoon wrote:

Now i wish i didn't say anything; got the pictures and the 3 (!) that got developed look like crap! But, no worries..as soon as i'll have the scanner to work (didn't think i'd ever need one again) i'll show you!

Hey, 3 is better than none!

Can't wait to see the pics. I went to a Spanish monastery on Thursday and Ill be sure to post my results as well.

wxwax · August 28, 2004

SeeMoon wrote:

Now i wish i didn't say anything; got the pictures and the 3 (!) that got developed look like crap! But, no worries..as soon as i'll have the scanner to work (didn't think i'd ever need one again) i'll show you!

Don't worry about that. I reckon it's part of the learning curve. I can't wait to screw-up with my Holga, just waiting for it to get here.

PerezDesignGroup · September 1, 2004

Second time was a charm. I went to a local Spanish Monastery ($5 admission) and took some pics with the Argus and the Gossen Scout II Light meter. I arrived around 1pm so the light was quite harsh. The light meter worked best with the cover closed by the way. Almost all the pics were taken with f16 at 1/300 if I remember correctly. I'm quite impressed considering this camera is from the 50's

http://art.smugmug.com/gallery/209097

Comments are super-welcome!

Dani · November 18, 2004

COOL!!!!!!!

I've got an old original Argus C3.. mines probably closer in year make to 1939.. its before they started putting the acc. shoe and light meters up top

works like a charm except for the focus.... it doesn't want to focus closer than 10ft or so unless its at f/16 then everything is sharp!

great cameras.. I got mine for 6 bucks and its in pretty much mint condition

PerezDesignGroup wrote:

Second time was a charm. I went to a local Spanish Monastery ($5 admission) and took some pics with the Argus and the Gossen Scout II Light meter. I arrived around 1pm so the light was quite harsh. The light meter worked best with the cover closed by the way. Almost all the pics were taken with f16 at 1/300 if I remember correctly. I'm quite impressed considering this camera is from the 50's

http://art.smugmug.com/gallery/209097

Comments are super-welcome!

PerezDesignGroup · November 18, 2004

I'm glad to see there are others out there. I ended up selling mine on ebay. I got considerably more money for it when I posted the photos I took with it. I was a bit disappointed with the actual range though. I felt very limited to daylight conditions only. And I also got a Canon EOS rebel 35mm which is my new favorite camera.

I'm also looking at some Canonet rangefinders and -maybe- a Pentax Honeywell.

Oh and some Kiev 645's and Fed 5B too. Love the Lomo's.

I'm becoming such a camera geek.

dkapp · November 18, 2004

wxwax wrote:

Don't worry about that. I reckon it's part of the learning curve. I can't wait to screw-up with my Holga, just waiting for it to get here.

Did you ever get that holga? I've almost bought one every week for the last 5 months

I just can't sell myself on getting a film scanner, or paying for developing.

Dave

dkapp · November 18, 2004

PerezDesignGroup wrote:

I'm glad to see there are others out there. I ended up selling mine on ebay. I got considerably more money for it when I posted the photos I took with it. I was a bit disappointed with the actual range though. I felt very limited to daylight conditions only. And I also got a Canon EOS rebel 35mm which is my new favorite camera.

I'm also looking at some Canonet rangefinders and -maybe- a Pentax Honeywell.

Oh and some Kiev 645's and Fed 5B too. Love the Lomo's.

I'm becoming such a camera geek.

I've been looking for lomo actions for photoshop. There is nothing exact, but a few come close. Let me know if you want me to dig up a few links.

Dave

PerezDesignGroup · November 19, 2004

dkapp wrote:

I've been looking for lomo actions for photoshop. There is nothing exact, but a few come close. Let me know if you want me to dig up a few links.

Dave

I got the original one before the Redscreen site went down.

http://www.perezdesigngroup.com/content/view/76/65/

PerezDesignGroup · November 19, 2004

dkapp wrote:

Did you ever get that holga? I've almost bought one every week for the last 5 months

I just can't sell myself on getting a film scanner, or paying for developing.

Dave

Catch this. Developing just the negatives (no prints) at the Eckerds (near my house) only costs $2.50/roll. Then you go home and scan them into the computer and print the ones you like.

I have the Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 and it's amazing. But I'm selling it and I'll most likely replace it with the Minolta Dimage DualScan IV ($265) or the Nikon CoolScan V ($500). Both appear like great investments but the Minolta doesn't have ICE thus resulting in the big price gap. Quality of scan is nearly identical from the research I've gathered.

The 5000 was simply too much scanner for my needs so I'm going to humble myself and get back as much as possible before it's price drops further.

wxwax · November 19, 2004

dkapp wrote:

Did you ever get that holga? I've almost bought one every week for the last 5 months

I just can't sell myself on getting a film scanner, or paying for developing.

Dave

Yes, I did. I've shot 3 rolls with it, but have been an absolute slug about getting them developed. I suspect none came out too well, because I was using film that was too slow.