Argus (camera company)
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,_535_West_William_Street,_Ann_Arbor,_Michigan_-_panoramio.jpg) Argus Building | |
| Industry | Cameras |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1936 |
| Defunct | 1969 |
| Headquarters | Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. |
Argus was an American maker of cameras and photographic products, founded in 1936 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Argus originated as a subsidiary of the International Radio Corporation (IRC), founded by Charles Verschoor.
History
[edit]The International Radio Corporation was founded in 1931 by local businessman William E. Brown Jr., George J. Burke (who was a judge at the Nuremberg trials),[1] and Charles Albert Vershoor.[2] IRC started out selling a line of radios, developed by Verschoor, that had a body made out of molded plastic instead of wood. The Model A, the company's first camera, was introduced in May 1936.[2]
In August 1942, the company stopped all domestic production and focused on producing military optics and radio equipment for the armed forces during World War II.[2]
The company changed its name to Argus, Inc. in 1944. Argus introduced the Argus A Model in 1947, a metal-bodied camera and the company’s first model with an automatic shutter cocking to prevent double exposure and a hot shoe for flash.[3]
By the end of World War II, Argus had won the Army-Navy “E” award five times for “excellence in design and manufacture of war-related material".[4][5] Argus Inc. changed its name to Argus Cameras, Inc. in 1949.[6]
Its best-known product was the C3 rangefinder camera, which enjoyed a 27-year production run and became one of the top-selling cameras in history. The company's Model A was the first low-cost 35 mm camera in the United States.
In 1956, the Argus 50mm f/2.8 Cintagon lens, designed for the C44 camera, was one of the first commercial lenses designed with the aid of a computer.[3]
In 1957, Sylvania Electric Products acquired the company but continued to operate as Argus. In 1962, Sylvania sold the company to Mansfield Industries, an importer of photography products.[3] By 1969 it had ceased camera production (some rebadged cameras continued to be sold under the Argus name through the 1970s).[citation needed]
More recently, the Argus brand has been reestablished, and is used on a variety of inexpensive digital cameras made by Argus Camera Company, LLC., located in Inverness, Illinois.
Models
[edit]
A series
[edit]- A (1936–1941)
- AF (1937–1938)
- B (1937)
- A2B (1939–1950)
- A2F (1939–1941)
- AA (1940–1942)
- FA (1950–1951)
C series
[edit].JPG)
- C (1938–1939)
- C2 (1938–1942)
- C3 (1938–1968)
- 21 (1947–1952)
- C4 (1951–1957)
- C44 (1956–1957)
- C3 Golden Shield (1958–1966)
- C3 Matchmatic (1958–1966)
- C3 Standard (1958–1966)
- C44R (1958–1962)
- C4R (1958)
- C33 (1959–1961)
Argoflex
[edit]
- Argoflex E (1940–1948)
- Argoflex
- Argoflex II (1947)
- Argoflex EM (1948)
- Argoflex EF (1948–1951)
- Argoflex Seventy-Five (1949–1958)
- Argus Seventy-Five (made in Australia)
- Seventy-Five (1949–1958)
- 40 (1950–1954)
- Argoflex Forty (1950–1954)
- Super Seventy-Five (1954–1958)
- 75 (1958–1964)
Autronic
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- Autronic 35 (1960 only)
- Autronic C3 (1960–1962)
- Autronic I (1962–1965)
- Autronic II (1962–1965)
Other models
[edit]
- K (1939–1940)
- M (1939–1940)
- A3 (1940–1942)
- CC (1941–1942)
- Minca (1947–1948)
- A5 (1953–1956)
- A-Four (1953–1956)
- C-Twenty (1957–1958)
- Lady Carefree (126, circa 1967)
- Carefree (126)
Digital
[edit]
- DCV-011
- DCM-098
- DCM-099
- DC-1088
- DC-1500
- DC-1512E
- DC-2185
- DC-2700
- DC-3000 (May 2000)
- DC-3185
- DC-3190
- DC-3195
- DC-3270DV
- DC-5190
- DC-5195
- DC-5340
- DC-6340
Awards
[edit]Argus had two cameras for children developed in partnership with TEAMS Design. The cameras, the Bean and Sprout, won a Bronze 2009 IDEA award[7] from Bloomberg BusinessWeek and the Industrial Designers Society of America in addition to an Appliance Design 2009 EID award.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "George Burke Dies Suddenly | Ann Arbor District Library". aadl.org. Archived from the original on 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ a b c "Argus Museum Ann Arbor". www.argusmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2024-07-03. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ a b c "Argus Cameras; The American Firm That Made Miniature Photography Affordable Page 2". Shutterbug. 2006-03-01. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ "Argus Eyes for Victory | Ann Arbor District Library". aadl.org. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ Argus Camera Co. (1943-06-26). Argus Eyes 1943 June 26.
- ^ "Argus, Inc., Is New Name | Ann Arbor District Library". aadl.org. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ "TEAMS Awards". TEAMS Design. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ "Appliance Design EID Awards". Archived from the original on 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
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External links
[edit]- Argus Museum Ann Arbor, MI
- Argus Camera Information Reference Site
- Argus A and Argus C3 at Marc's Classic Cameras
