Argus Camera ARGUS A2 manual

IRC’s engineers had extensive experience molding Bakelite and took advantage of this knowledge in designing the body of the Argus. Bakelite allowed the camera body to be cheaply decorated with a distinct Art Deco flair. Gustave Fassin, an engineer for IRC, is generally believed to have designed the Argus, though the patent is credited to Verschoor and makes no mention of Fassin.

The Argus, priced at only $12.50, was a success from its debut in early 1936; IRC later claimed to have sold 30,000 cameras in the first week alone. Prospects seemed so promising that Verschoor decided to give up radio manufacturing altogether and sold off the patent rights for the Kadette to the Radio Corporation of America, also known as RCA. To reflect this redirection in corporate focus, IRC changed its name from International Radio Corporation to International Research Corporation.

In 1937, the Argus A was followed by the Argus AF and the Argus B, which were two variations on the same theme. The AF, at $15.00, had an infinitely adjustable focusing mount but the same shutter and lenses, while the B, at $25.00, had a higher quality Prontor II shutter imported from Germany. The B was dropped that same year because of lack of consumer interest and the AF was withdrawn from production in 1938, presumably to prepare for the introduction of the A2F.

Riding on the heels of this unparalleled success, IRC introduced other models, such as the unrelated Argus A3 and Argus C. Also designed by Gustave Fassin, the Argus C-type camera would become the bread and butter of the Argus line. Nicknamed “the brick” for its boxy appearance, it would stay in production until 1966—an unbelievable 28 years! This was a sturdy camera with a coupled rangefinder and a respectable f/3.5 Cintar lens, and it was IRC’s very successful attempt at entering the market of medium-cost cameras. Kodak, in response to IRC stealing its market, heavily modified one of its cameras to compete with the C3. This jury-rigged contraption became the Kodak 35RF, which still couldn’t match the C3 in either price or features.

To make amateur photography easier, in 1939 IRC introduced the Argus A2B (at $12.50) and the A2F (at $15.00). These were nearly identical to the Argus A and AF with only an integral extinction meter and exposure calculator added. With this “miraculous” device, the user didn’t need a light meter or any knowledge of photography to take a decent picture. Just look through the meter, add the film speed and lighting conditions to the calculator, and an assortment of f-stop/shutter speed combinations are suggested to produce a serviceable picture! The Argus A2F was discontinued in 1941, probably due to the effort involved in manufacturing the focusing mount. Production of the A2B, with minor changes, continued until 1950.

To take advantage of the recently invented flashbulb, Verschoor decided to produce a model of the Argus that could use a flash, thus giving life to the Argus AA in 1940. The Argus A adapted poorly to the addition of a flash, however, as many of the components of the flash mechanism were carefully assembled by hand. The shutter had to be completely redesigned and the two-position focus gave way to “fixed focus.” The lens shrank in size to f/6.3, probably to make room for flash components. This weak adaptation did not last long, and the AA was dropped in 1942. By then, International Research Corporation had changed its name to Argus International Industries, Inc. in order to identify the company with its product.

Then came December 7th, 1941. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States began to mobilize for war. It is impossible to underestimate the effect that

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