My first experience with the "A" series came nearly 20 years ago with a model A2B. I found the camera in my father’s "camera drawer" (a treasure trove of junk cameras, unidentifiable parts, and things he couldn't bear to throw out but had no use for). I don’t actually know where it came from. For some reason I was fascinated with the design and decided to try and use it. I could never figure out how the extinction meter was supposed to work, and always just assumed something was missing. I also had the wrong idea about the spring action lens barrel. Most of the photos were unrecognizable, but the one good shot proved to me that decent results were possible.

I enter this review much better researched. My camera now is a late model A, about 1941, without the silly extinction meter, and I know how to use it. Everything works, except the bulb setting on the shutter and the click-stop on the frame counter. These things don’t matter. I paid $5.50 for this one.

My first impression on taking it out of the shipping box was that this is a remarkably solid-feeling camera, heavier than one would imagine. Beyond that, it’s a beautiful piece of industrial art. The simple, elegant design inspires confidence from the start - perhaps too much confidence. It really is a thing of beauty, much prettier than the A2B model.

Using the camera is a contradiction of simplicity and inconvenience. I find that working within the constraints of a 2-position focus is actually somewhat relaxing. After a pseudo bench test of the actual focus distance in my apartment, I came up with the result that with the lens wide open (f4.5), pretty much nothing is in focus at any distance, but the best result came at about 9 feet at the near focus position. That was the extent of my bench test. I didn’t try to define the far-focus position, but have decided from the results of subsequent shooting that it should be anything beyond about 16 feet. It's pretty easy to make the near/far call for each shot, but I occasionally still forget to think about it, and mess up a few shots that way.

The basic procedure for taking a picture with an Argus A is as follows:

1. Guess the exposure or use a hand-held meter and set the appropriate shutter speed and aperture.
2. Estimate the subject distance:
   If between 8 and 12 feet, extend the lens barrel fully so that the tabs are locked into the slots.
   If beyond 15 feet, rotate the lens barrel so that the tabs are not set into the slots.
   If subject distance is between 12 and 15 feet, move a little closer.
   If the lens is in the fully retracted position, nothing closer than Pluto will be in focus and you'll just get a fuzzy circle of light on your negative.
3. Look through the viewfinder.
4. Click very gently.
5. Wind to the next frame. Don't expect a click-stop, as this feature is probably broken.

The hardest part of using this particular camera is changing the shutter speed. Since the whole lens barrel rotates easily, it’s a pain to rotate the rather stiff ring to change speeds. You have to brace the barrel somehow to keep it from rotating instead of the shutter dial. I don't know if this is typical, or if only my camera has this stiff dial.

Another difficulty I found in using this camera was in releasing the shutter smoothly. The release lever is on the shutter, like many of my favorite cameras, but this one I find particularly hard to manage without moving the lens during the exposure. I found that it was more manageable when the lens barrel was rotated so that the release is positioned at the top of the camera rather the side. Luckily this is easily done. For more critical moments (if you find yourself with only an Argus A at a critical moment), I recommend using a cable release.

The joy of using an Argus A, however, is in not really worrying about technical details too much, and just enjoying the experience of taking snapshots with a beautiful old camera (made for amateurs to take holiday snapshots), basking in the approving nods of old men and inquisitive stares of everyone else.

The IRC lens is acceptably sharp at f9 and beyond. It has a small circle of coverage which results in light fall-off in the corners - an effect I actually find pleasing (a very mild version of the "Holga effect"). It makes for decent sky detail in high-contrast situations, since in many shots the sky is up in the corners of the film getting less light from the lens.

Technical issues aside, I truly enjoyed using this camera on my vacation to Okayama Prefecture last November (2006). It was the only camera I took for a weekend of shooting. I was concerned at first about the possibility of missing some golden shots, but thinking about it now, this is a perfect weekend-in-the-country kind of camera. I don’t expect to do anything groundbreaking and technical when I’m merely sightseeing with my wife and friends, and after all, sometimes you have to limit yourself technically in order to push yourself creatively. The Argus A is a willing partner in this.

At a glance:

- difficult to release shutter smoothly
- never really focused at fully open aperture
- shutter speed dial difficult to adjust
+ beautiful art deco design
+ worry-free 2-position focus
+ frees you of technical oppression
+ a piece of history (America's first 35mm camera)

Arus A links:

Argus Collector's Group page: list of models and variations

Hrad Kuzyk's page: lots of information here