Argus Matchmatic & C3
Image by the other Martin Taylor
The ‘brick’. At one time the C3 was the best selling camera in the USA and it was the one that popularized the 35mm format.
Argus Matchmatic & C3
Image by the other Martin Taylor
The ‘brick’. At one time the C3 was the best selling camera in the USA and it was the one that popularized the 35mm format.
My wife’s grandfather just gave me this camera for Christmas-c3. He used it in the 50’s and 60’s. It’s still in great condition. Mine came with the amber filter as well, can’t wait to use it.
The brick is mucch fun to use once you get used to it. It slows you down which, in the digtal age, can bea refreshing change.
I got my brick from E-bay. I agree it can be fun to use, and a great workout lifting it : ) I found setting the rangefinder was quite fiddly. Someone had removed the lens and couldn’t put it together properly, so I got a bargain.
My very first camera…a gift from my grandfather. Thanks for sharing.
This was the first adjustable camera I used. It had been my Dad’s and I used it when I was the photographer for my high school newspaper in 1974-5. It was heavy, and a bit of a pain because it had no built in metering, no flash shoe, and a not very fast lens. It took great pictures when the conditions were right, but I deeply envied the other photographers at night football games, shooting with Nikon F2s with telephoto lenses and mashed-photo electronic flashes, while I was trying to get good shots on the field with my C3 and flashbulbs. Eventually, I got a GAF-branded Chinon SLR, with a 1.4 lens, and I was a lot happier and took better shots.
Funny…I have both of these cameras too š And FYI, the black C3 you have there is the Color-Matic…which can be told by the colors on the shutter speed dial. Going to get a shot of my two soon too!
De que aƱo es esa camara argus??? si tienes alguna informacion que puedas darme seria bueno… como el valor que tiene una camara de esas en la actualidad… yo tengo una con su flash…. y quiero saber si hice una buena compra … saludos desde chile
The black one is about 1950, the Matchmatic is 1960. They are probably worth $30-50 each.
El negro es cerca de 1950, el Matchmatic es 1960. Ellos son probablemente un valor de $ 30 a 50 cada uno.
Harry Potter’s camera!! š
I teach photography. I tell my students that to truly learn the art one must begin with a fully manual, meterless camera. For a long time the C3 has been the least expensive manual camera; much less than any of the older, manual SLR’s, so the C3 is my recommendation. It’s also very user repairable. I’ve bought quite a number of C3’s on eBay for .99 plus shipping. The C4 isn’t much more, but is plagued with fatal shutter problems once the blades get dirty.