In the Soviet Union, they were built by Fed and Zorki. Here, Kodak and Argus were the companies that made photography accessible to ordinary folks. Kodak can certainly take credit for getting the ball rolling, but Argus overtook the juggernaut of Rochester in regard to style and popularity.
I haven't done much with any of my Argus family members. As generations of photographers discovered, it is hard to take a bad picture with the C3. The Argus twin-lens reflexes are more challenging. The lenses are quite good, but the features - or lack thereof - require more focus than I've been able to muster so far.
The main issue with the first model Argoflex is the dim viewing screen which inspires little confidence during the shooting process. The camera also has a lens that is very subject to flare. The brilliant viewfinder of the Super 75 is a vast improvement, but the non-coupled focus screen and the shutter limited to Time and Instant settings limits possiblities.
So, those are my excuses, though they aren't very good ones. I've had better results with much simpler cameras. I thought I might look for some further inspiration by acquiring one more example from the Argus A line, which was the company's first big success that really revolutionized photography in the U.S. I've been prowling around ebay recently in search of a good, affordable specimen, so hope to have something new to show soon.
Argoflex
