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Post by aceroadholder on Sept 27, 2010 21:44:24 GMT -5
From what I understand, Argus made 100-200 black C-4's... perhaps less. I would go to the Argus collector website and see if the serial number falls into the range of when they were made.
The effort it would take to make a really good fake isn't worth the effort.... it's an Argus, not a Leica. The collecting world for this camera is small... if you faked one, or tried to pass off a fake, your name would be on the wall of every collector world wide.
Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Sept 27, 2010 0:06:39 GMT -5
The photos that I have seen of the black C-4 show the color of the body to be as shown in the photograph here.... not really black, but sort of a blue/purple.
I have no trouble imagining a near mint black C-4... there are plenty of very nice C-4's up for auction all the time. Back in the day, a nice camera of any make was not a cheap proposition. People, recently out of the great depression, took very good care of most high end consumer items they purchased.
Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Sept 26, 2010 20:05:57 GMT -5
Tward, looks like you've hit the Argus jackpot. About as rare as hen's teeth, the black C-4 should bring you a tidy sum if you decide to sell. Talk with the gang over on the argus yahoo website and they should be able to tell you what the market is now. A really beautiful camera.
Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Sept 20, 2010 22:22:20 GMT -5
Of course, the most important fact about the Buick/Rover 215's is that the slipper pistons with the crowns shaved a bit are the "standard" replacement pistons for Phelon & Moore Panther M120 motorbikes. Here's mine: Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Aug 30, 2010 17:08:32 GMT -5
Dave, at the very least you can get some good B&W scanned pictures from your slides. Orlin inSC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Mar 29, 2010 16:51:26 GMT -5
Amazing! His $75 digital camera demonstrates once again: It's the photographer, not the equipment.
The guy is a superb modeler, but his photographic skills aren't bad either. Anyone who shoots miniatures need to have several of his pictures on the wall so they will know what is possible...and don't brag till their pictures look that good.
Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Jan 30, 2010 13:47:20 GMT -5
Peter, you're right about the progress in photography. But is it progress when you can compose a picture more easily with my 1941 Baby Brownie than with the Optio I-10?
My guess is these cameras are not intended for anyone who has the vaguest idea of what they are doing.. think Polaroid "swinger" on steroids... now, instead of 8-10 miserable snapshots, you are forced to look at 80-100 and say "That's nice."
To be fair, the output from most DSLRs would have the King, to paraphrase Bill Shakespeare, crying out, "An Argus C-3! An Argus C-3! My kingdom for an Argus C-3!"
I have plenty of pictures that have been e-mailed to me to justify my crabby attitude!
Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Jan 29, 2010 17:13:33 GMT -5
I'm with you guys, lack of a viewfinder or a place to attach one is hopeless. Pentax is having its troubles. I understand that Hoya has them up for sale again. Abandoning their dealer network in North America has proven to be a fiasco. My independent camera store owner says that Fuji and Leica are the only two manufacturers he can deal with anymore. Everyone else wants you to stock their entire line to be a dealer... so to get what will sell, you have to have a boatload of money tied up in dust gathering turkeys you can't sell because of cutthroat internet sales.
Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Jan 10, 2010 20:32:12 GMT -5
Well, we are supposed to get ANOTHER week of below freezing temperatures... Then sleet and freezing rain at weekend. This is just miserable. Tried again to refit the fuel pump on my truck (aka Japan's revenge for loosing WWII) yesterday. It was so cold, the plastic heat insulator broke for the pump. I finally just gave up till it gets warmer. If I could have gotten my hands on the idiot in Japan that designed this thing I would have choked him... after my hands thawed out!
Orlin in South Carolina, USA
ps: Wait a moment, there's a polar bear at the door... wants to come in and warm his paws I think.
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Post by aceroadholder on Jan 9, 2010 15:37:19 GMT -5
I give in.. it isn't a Matchless... the rear brake rod is under the brake drum pivot, whilst the Matchless is on the top side.
Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Jan 8, 2010 22:37:28 GMT -5
I reckon it to be a 1938 Matchless G3L 350cc. Don't think it is ex-WD with the girder forks.. though it could be an early delivery to Colonial Forces. The noticeable characteristics in the photo are that the engine is over-head-valve with a girder fork making it a pre-war Matchless. The primary chain cover is typical Matchless with screws around the perimeter and a screw-in primary chain inspection port in the alloy cast chain cover. The Matchless primary actually held oil, whereas the stamped tin covers that Norton and others used.... not so much.
Orlin "with too many Norton parts in the shed" Pettit
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Post by aceroadholder on Dec 31, 2009 0:22:50 GMT -5
Peter, I'm not sure if young ladies that fall for that should be laughed at or be pitied. On the other hand, have you seen that advert in Photography Magazine that explains how the only thing standing between you and the greatness of Ansel Adams is not having the newest camera from the Whizzo Camera Company?... It must be true.. it was in print and everything.
Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Dec 30, 2009 17:14:20 GMT -5
John, the build quality seems to be the same on both cameras. Yashica, whose build quality has always been good AFIK, seems to have had TLR's nailed down. I've not heard any complaints about them. I bought my Mat-124 at the PX in Bien Hoa RVN.. $45 I think new. About a weeks pay. That's perhaps the reason there are a lot of them around for sale. My guess is most have never been used very much. Note that the 124-G has gold contacts for the meter.. never had a problem with mine, but may make the meter operation more reliable perhaps.
I have a Rolli TLR that is a Cadillac, whereas the Yashica's are Buicks. The Rolli is built sort of like the new German bowling ball.. German engineers were able to design it so that it has only has eleven moving parts!
Ron, I've tried to find Miss Teresa, but no luck. I was going to give her copies of the pictures I have of her. She has never seen them. Teresa had that "something" that made any photograph of her really interesting.
Perhaps I'm getting old, but most twenty-something women these days don't seem nearly as mature as Teresa did at 17.
Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Dec 29, 2009 0:08:05 GMT -5
I have a Model A and a Mat 124. They are both excellent moderate priced MF cameras. The 124 has a crank film advance and shutter cocking. The 124 has a 1/500th sec. shutter speed vs. 1/300 on the "A." The 124 has match needle metering and the "A" has no meter. The 124 will accept 220 film by adjusting the film pressure plate for correct frame counting. Here is a picture from 1965 taken with the Model A. The lovely red haired young lady is Teresa, whom I've not seen in 40 years. Orlin in SC/USA
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Post by aceroadholder on Dec 27, 2009 12:47:22 GMT -5
The STL100 seems to be prone this meter problem. Mine was only two years old when this problem surfaced.
Quite frankly, I'd remove the battery and go with a hand held meter or use the sunny-16 rule... my recollection is that the meter wasn't very good in low light situations to start with.
The rest of the camera is quite functional and gives good service. The compact f1.8 50mm Argus/Cosina M42 mount lens is a very good piece of glass. I use it often on my other cameras. If your camera has this lens, it was well worth the $10 just for the lens.
If your really must have the meter, bite the bullet and send it (and about $100) to a repair shop for overhaul. The contacts require disassembly of the camera to get at them... you need a trained repairman to get it done.
Orlin in SC/USA
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