Random Camera Blog: 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.