TESTING…TESTING

I recently acquired a pretty nice example of a Pentax K2, a member of the first generation of Pentax’s K-mount SLRs. I paid about $80 including shipping for it, and it’s the black paint version, which looks really nice.  The price was below what most of these go for online, and I was assured by the seller that the meter worked.  Well, after it arrived I found that it was good electronically, but the ASA ring was not turning. After doing a little research, I put a few drops of light oil around the base of the lens mount/ASA ring, and it then moved like it was supposed to.  The K2 is an aperture-priority and manual exposure camera, so I still needed to test it with film before I used it seriously.  

I loaded a 24 exposure roll of the FPP’s She-Wolf 100 black and white film (it’s Fomapan 100) and spent a few days shooting with the camera.  After I developed the film, I scanned it with my Epson V700, and I’m very pleased with the results. The metering is very accurate, and I know that I can trust the camera to expose properly.  Here are a few unedited images from the roll so that you can see.

This brings me back to the title.  A used film camera today is likely to be at least 20 years old, and more often than not, over 40 years.  The K2 came out in 1975, which makes it 51 years old.  Now, for me, 1975 was the year I graduated high school and started college.  It’s not ancient history to me, because I lived it. However, to a lot of young adopters of film cameras, it IS ancient history.  All too often I see people on Reddit asking if a certain camera is okay to use, or “what is the best camera?” or “is this any good?”  Some cameras have aged better than others, and so much depends upon the brand, the way it was used and stored, and whether the new owner knows what they are doing.  Old cameras that have been well-kept and stored properly are great. Old cameras that have sat in damp basements, storage units, or dusty hot attics may have a whole slew of problems, or they may not. You won't know for sure until you have the camera in your hands.  

To test a camera:

Find out if it requires a battery to operate the shutter.  Cameras like the Canon AE-1, Pentax ME, Nikon FE, Minolta X series, all require a battery to operate the shutter and the light meter.  If a camera’s shutter is independent of the light meter, all the better.  However, that’s not so much an endorsement of those camera as it is a basic step that you should know before using any camera.  

The Spotmatic only needs a battery for the TTL meter. 

Don’t have a manual?  Go to www.butkus.org and you should be able to download a manual.  Want to know more about the camera? Go to camera-wiki.org

The Minolta X7A requires a battery to operate at all.

If the shutter works without a battery, then dry-fire the shutter at the various speeds and listen to the sound at each speed.  If the shutter is working properly, you’ll discern the different shutter speeds as you change them.  If you can open the back of the camera and look through it, you’ll see the shutter curtain (if it’s an SLR) open and close for each setting, which ought to be obviously different at low and high speeds.

Find the proper battery to test your camera, and see if the light meter works. Depending on the camera, you’ll see a +/- display, differently colored LEDs, or a small pointer at different shutter speeds.  This is why it is important to have the manual, so you will know if things are working properly.  If the meter is not working, check the battery contacts in the camera and clean them with a pencil eraser.  If you see corrosion, then, you'll need to clean that off.  Make sure that you have inserted the battery with the + side facing the proper direction.

I keep an old roll of film that’s been exposed many, many times as a test roll to see if the film transport works properly as well as the rewind.

Does the self-timer work (if it has one)?  I know people get caught up in the “Pentax K1000” for a basic camera, but the K1000 does not even have a self-timer!  There are better all-manual SLRs out there at a lower price, such as the Vivitar V2000 or V3800, both of which use K-mount lenses.

Are the lenses clear? Is there dirt in the viewfinder? Older SLRs are prone to having a bunch of dust on the ground glass of the focus screen from the decomposing foam of the mirror bumper.  Lenses may have a haze inside, dust, or fungus. You may need to remove the lens and hold it up to the light to see that.

Once you are sure that the camera works, shoot a 24 exposure roll of film with it, and it can be on as mundane subjects as you want. This is to test the camera.  Once you are satisfied that it works properly, you can take it on that trip that you planned to use it on.  Never bring an untested camera on a trip!  

Sometimes you only spot that something’s wrong until after you shoot a roll of film, so thtat’s why the test roll is important. If you are buying from a dealer, they should have tested the camera before they sold it.  If you bought it from someone on eBay, then you have to assume that no testing has been done unless it was explicitly stated in the description of the item.  Since way too many sellers now use eBay’s AI option to list, every camera is a tool to produce wonderful contemporary images that will delight you.  Buyer beware.

All-electronic point and shoots are always a gamble.

A well-maintained camera that is not fully electronic should last a long time.  Even now, the first DSLRs are over 20 years old, and by some standards they are e-waste.  Some people covet them because of the CCD imaging system.  The same rules apply to them - if they were well-cared for they should still work fine, but then you have the to find the batteries and in some cases, small enough capacity CF or SD cards that will work with them.  Unless your plan is to make prints larger than 8x12 inches, a 6 MP DSLR is certainly a capable camera.  In the case of any digital camera - you can only test them with a battery and a storage card, and again, buyer beware.

C-4 Yourself...the results are in.

 Results from the Argus C-4

Back in mid-February I wrote a little post on the Argus C-4, and I finally finished the roll of Eastman 5231 that I'd loaded.  It was great to give that camera some use, as I am pretty sure that I haven't used it in almost a decade. Here are a few examples of the scans from the roll.  Overall, I'm pretty happy with the results.  The Eastman 5231 is a great match for this camera.  While it's a cine film, it's pretty much the same as Plus-X.  Developed in D96.

Bill Pivetta outside of our local camera store.

People fishing below the destroyed Craig Lake Dam on the Swannanoa River in East Asheville.
Hurricane Helene's damage is still quite evident. 

Resilience of nature.

I-240 bridge over the French Broad River

Rail trestle over the French Broad river

Good results from one of the best cameras produced by Argus!

An Isolette, you say?

Over the years, I’ve used and handled a lot of Agfa Isolette folding cameras.  It’s been at least 20 years since I used my first one, and while these scale-focus cameras may not be to everyone’s taste, the 6x6 negatives on 120 film, made with a camera that can fit in a jacket pocket are something to be appreciated.  However, the problem with many of the Agfa/Ansco folding cameras is that the focus helical used a grease that in time, has solidified into something that is more like concrete.  In some, I have seen the focus ring turn, but with no connection with the helical.  On top of that, the paper bellows may have pinholes. So, yes  these cameras can have problems.

But not this one.

My friend Louise in New Hampshire sent me this lovely Agfa Isolette that looks as new as can possibly be.  It’s been CLA’d and checked over, and I have never seen an Isolette as nice as this.  I’m thankful that people think highly enough of me to send me such gifts.  Knowing that the camera was ready to use, I loaded a roll of expired Fuji Acros 100 film, and over the course of a few days, shot the 12 exposures.  

This is a fun camera to use.  It has B, 1/25, 1/50 and 1/200  sec shutter speeds with an Agnar 85mm f/4.5 lens. The smallest aperture is f/32! There is a PC flash sync port on the Vario Shutter, and the scale focus goes from about 1 meter to infinity.  You need to cock the shutter for each use, so it can make multiple exposures on a frame, if you so desire.  

In use, it’s pretty simple - frame your subject, cock the shutter, and press the shutter button, but only after you have figured out your exposure and distance.  I’m pretty good at estimating distances, as well as using sunny-16, so  I don’t need a rangefinder or a meter.  However, I dug out a shoe-mount rangefinder from my boxes of stuff, and it would be useful for anything under infinity.  So, I’ll try that out for the next roll.

This Isolette 1 was made from 1951-1958, so it’s a camera that is at least as old as I am.  I think that it’s probably in better shape than I am, too.  Maybe I can get a CLA for myself!

There is plenty of information about the Isolette series of cameras, so I suggest that you do some research before you go and buy one, because not all Isolette models have the same specifications.  Camera-wiki has a good bit of information.

The following images were shot on expired Fuji Acros 100, developed in Flic Film's Black White and Green developer for 12 min.  Scanned on my Epson V700.

Thank you, Louise!

Barns at Bailey Mountain Preserve, Mars Hill, NC

The I-240 bridge over the French Broad River

Rail trestle over the French Broad River - note the guy walking on it!

Nothing like being able to have a beer at 3 pm with friends at Hi-Wire Brewing in the River Arts District of Asheville

Half A Cookie Is Still A Cookie Zine

 

If you've been following this blog, then you know that I like using the Pentax 17, a half-frame 35mm camera that was introduced in 2024.  I've put together a zine that has my insights on using the Pentax 17 and other half-frame cameras.  It's 6x9 inches, with 40 pages, including the covers.  Full-color and black and white photographs showcase my results from this great compact camera from Pentax.

You can purchase it from my Etsy store for $7.50 + postage.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/4459033552

The Argus C-4

A shot from 2003, showing the Argus C-4 and materials from the year it was introduced

The Argus Corporation has probably been most famous for the Argus “Brick,” the Argus C-3. That camera and its variants accounted for somewhat over 3 million units sold between 1938 and 1966.  The Brick is the utilitarian 35mm camera that is most associated with Argus. With its externally geared rangefinder, boxy shape and sharp corners, the C-3 is unmistakable.  However, the much improved and metal-bodied Argus C-4 looks remarkably svelte and modern, even in 2026.

The Argus that I have owned the longest.

The Argus C-4 was produced from 1951-1957, and in that time frame, there were about 300,000 units sold. By sheer numbers alone, it’s much less common than the C-3.  The C-4 features the coupled rangefinder as well as a front-mounted shutter speed dial that we see on the C-3. However, there the similarities stop.  The C-4 has a cast aluminum body and the rangefinder is coupled directly to the base of the lens, so you can adjust focus by turning the lens or the knurled wheel that surrounds the rangefinder window.  The shutter speeds are B, 1/10, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/300 sec. The exposure indicator dial is reset by hand.  The 50mm/2.8 Coated Cintar lens has apertures from f/2.8 to f/22, and focuses from about 3 feet to infinity. Those are pretty good specs for an early 1950s US-made 35mm camera.  The rangefinder focus patch is easy to see, and the viewfinder is certainly better than a Barnack Leica.  There is a hot shoe on the top with X and M sync switch on the top of the back of the camera. The shutter cocks when you wind on the film and is much improved over the C-3.  There is no light meter, but you could have purchased a clip-on meter at the time.  

Top view

Bottom view

When the C-4 was introduced it sold for $99.00 - that amounts to about $1200 in today’s money.  So, definitely not a low-cost camera at the time. The equivalent model from Kodak would have been the Kodak 35 rangefinder, which gets my vote for the ugliest camera ever manufactured by anyone.  The C-4 is a streamlined, easy to use camera, and the Kodak is not any of those things.

I think I acquired my first Argus C-4 around 2001, before I ever owned a C-3.  I still have that camera, and it works pretty well.  As shown here, it’s in good condition, and is the fourth variant of the C-4, as it has the “Colormatic” settings for the shutter speed dial, and a M/X switch for the flash, plus a flat metal strip on the bottom of the camera to lock/release the removable back. 

The back is removed to access the film chamber

Here's a roll of Eastman 5231 loaded to shoot with this week

It’s easy to use the C-4, as it is a simple to operate camera, and I would say the only downside is that the camera body does not have built-in strap lugs for a neck strap. I use the bottom half of the leather case to attach a strap, and that works fine.  The coated lens works well, and you can take excellent photographs with it. That loud shutter sound will definitely let you know that you made an exposure!

A complete Geiss-modified Argus C4 with all the lenses. A real rarity.

Argus introduced a follow-up to the C-4, the C-44, and C-44R, which were produced from 1956-1962.  Those models have interchangeable lenses.  There was also a C-4R which was slightly improved over the C-4 with a rapid film wind lever and rewind crank, as well adjustment to the more modern shutter speeds of 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125 and 1/300 sec.  It was only produced for a year, so is hard to find.  There is also the Geiss-modified C-4 (shown above), which was a third-party that offered a removable lens system that could be installed by the Argus factory, between 1954 and 1956.  Those cameras are also rather uncommon today.

A very nice example of the very rare black version C-4

Lastly, the most uncommon Argus C-4 version is the all-black C-4, a beautiful camera with a black anodized aluminum finish. Only a handful of them are known to exist, and I once possessed one of them.  It’s theorized that these black C-4s were prototypes for the US military, but in reality it’s unknown how many were made. They are among the rarest of the Argus cameras.  I sold mine for $1400 in 2011, and I imagine that the value has gone up since then. I acquired it in a box of donated cameras in 2009. 

If you want to know more about the Argus C-4 or all things Argus, look for a copy of Henry Gambino’s book, “Argomania. A Look at Argus Cameras and the Company That Made Them.” It was published in 2005, and is a wonderful resource.  Online, the Argus Collector’s Group has many Argus resources, and if you are ever in Ann Arbor, Michigan, you should visit the Argus Museum, the only camera museum in the US that sits in the same building as the factory that produced them. 

Argus C-44R on display in the Argus Museum.

If you find yourself an Argus C-4, I hope that you come to appreciate its quality of construction and that you too. take many wonderful photographs with it.  It was the camera for the serious amateur back in the mid-1950s. 

Here are a few images from my C-4 taken over many years.

2003, at the Carhenge site in Nebraska

AuTrain Falls, MI 2008

Emmett Co., MI. 2008

Emmett Co., MI, 2008

Ann Arbor, MI, 2007. With flash.

Ann Arbor, MI, 2007

Ann Arbor, MI, 2007.

Ann Arbor, MI, 2013