AVERAGE or CLOUDY, etc. These are notoriously inaccurate factors to deal with. Still, the meter works well enough to produce a decent photograph.
Vintage Book On Photography
One great way to get into the mindset of using an antique camera is to read photographic books from the camera’s time period. In addition to being full of great period pictures, they offer great tips and techniques that were popular at the time.
There were several books written in the 1950s about Argus cameras, but the author has only found one which mentions any of the Argus A line. The earliest editions of “The Argus 35mm Guide”, by Dr. Kenneth Tydings, S.P.E., lightly touch upon the Argus FA. The majority of the book is spent discussing the more popular Argus cameras, such as the
The best vintage photography book is the “How To Make Good Pictures” series of books by the good people at Kodak. In order to educate the public about photography (and to advertise Kodak’s fine products), this book was widely printed and distributed at a low price. The earliest editions were printed in the 1920s or 30s, and an updated version was still being published, under the same title, in the 1990s. While it only discusses Kodak products, “How To Make Good Pictures” talks about all aspects of photography at the time of publication, like yellow filters for black and white film, red filters for infrared films, techniques like silhouetting, etc. Copies of this plentiful book can be easily found at photographic shows/swap meets, used book dealers, flea markets, and eBay. They don’t cost 50¢ anymore, but you can easily get them for under $10.
Cable Release
This is a relatively simple invention that allows you to fire the without disturbing the camera. One end gets screwed into the
Use a cable release when taking pictures from a tripod.
Small Tripod
They’re small and cheap. Most cost between ten dollars and thirty dollars, and are available at almost any camera shop. They are particularly helpful because they are unobtrusive and can fit into a pocket.
Beware of the truly cheap models because they are really junk. Ask to see one before you buy it, and try to get the most stable one you can find. This is one place where spending a few extra dollars won’t hurt.
Mechanical Self-Timer
These were small mechanical
Some timers even allow you to take timed exposures when the camera speed is set to “B”; up to a second or two. It is difficult to set the exposure time precisely, however, because you have to make successive adjustments to the timer settings until you are close
Download this book for free at http://www.TheArgusA.com/
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