The Argus C3
was one of these staples so common that are now in the Pantheon of the
American way of life. More than 2 millions of this heavy bakelite
camera have been produced
between 1939 and 1966. It has been made in five versions :
| |
Production |
Serial number |
|
Argus C3 (pre-war) |
1939 to
1944 |
03 10001 |
03 690326 |
Argus C3
(post-war)
Argus C3
Colormatic |
1944 to
1954
1954 to
1958 |
10699 |
1740000 |
|
Argus C3 (Regular) |
1958 to
1966 |
1921800000 |
1921803726 |
|
Argus C3
Match-Matic
|
1958 to
1966 |
1821800000 |
1821813368 |
|
Golden Shield |
1958 to
1966 |
1820372??? |
1820374??? |
|
|
| The hereunder model is an Argus C3
Colormatic produced post-war. |
|
|
It has a synchro and a flash socket.
The lens is the classical Argus
Coated CINTAR with a maximum aperture of 3.5 et f=50mm. The
focusing is done using a telemeter.
The main difference with
other C3s produced so far is the colored labelling of
the exposure speeds.
These labels must be positionned according to the corresponding distance
(see Range Finder) and exposure (see Lens ring) indications.
|
|
The color code is the
following :
 |
Red for exterior shoots
(B&W film),
|
|
Yellow for exterior
shoots (Color film),
|
|
Green for flash,
|
|
Black for regular use.
|
As it is
very frequent when the quantity produced are so large, several variant
of this camera have been produced.
The known
differences are :
|
Exposure counter wheel
in chromium-plated or plastic |
|
Different types of
rewind levers and releasers, |
|
Different
back sides (Sheet metal, sheet metal covered leather covered, Film type
reminder) |
|
Different labels on the lens ring :
f/3.5 - 50mm
Argus Cintar
f/3.5
- 50mm Argus Coated Cintar
Argus 50mm f3.5 Coated Cintar
|
|
|
Thanks to Jean-Max Lavergne for having provided me with
additional information onto C3 Colormatic. |
