Argus (camera company)

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Argus
IndustryCameras
Founded1936; 88 years ago (1936)
Defunct1969; 55 years ago (1969)
HeadquartersAnn 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

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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

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Argus C3

A series

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  • A (1936–1941)
  • AF (1937–1938)
  • B (1937)
  • A2B (1939–1950)
  • A2F (1939–1941)
  • AA (1940–1942)
  • FA (1950–1951)

C series

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Argus 21
  • 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

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Argoflex Seventy-Five
Argus Seventy-Five (Australian made)
  • 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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Argus Autronic 35
  • Autronic 35 (1960 only)
  • Autronic C3 (1960–1962)
  • Autronic I (1962–1965)
  • Autronic II (1962–1965)

Other models

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Argus Lady Carefree, plastic camera for 126 mm film cartridges, c. 1967
  • 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

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Argus DC1500
Argus DC3000
  • 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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ "George Burke Dies Suddenly | Ann Arbor District Library". aadl.org. Archived from the original on 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  2. ^ a b c "Argus Museum Ann Arbor". www.argusmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2024-07-03. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  3. ^ a b c "Argus Cameras; The American Firm That Made Miniature Photography Affordable Page 2". Shutterbug. 2006-03-01. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  4. ^ "Argus Eyes for Victory | Ann Arbor District Library". aadl.org. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  5. ^ Argus Camera Co. (1943-06-26). Argus Eyes 1943 June 26.
  6. ^ "Argus, Inc., Is New Name | Ann Arbor District Library". aadl.org. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  7. ^ "TEAMS Awards". TEAMS Design. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Appliance Design EID Awards". Archived from the original on 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2009-10-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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