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Anonymous
One of these wonderful little devices is on its way to me. Got it for 12 bucks total off of ebay. What say you /p/, any experience with ultra-old cameras? This argus af is from 1937, almost four times older than I am. Any of you have one, or used one before? Also, what should I expect from the anastigmat lens? I imagine it is nothing like the zeiss tessars from the same period, but I've read that its not bad in its own right.

Cant wait to get it and throw a roll of ilford xp super 400 bw into it and take it out to do some street shooting.
EXIF data available. Clickhereto show/hide.
Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeKonica Minolta Camera, Inc.Camera ModelDiMAGE A2Camera SoftwareAdobe Photoshop Elements 2.0Maximum Lens Aperturef/3.5Focal Length (35mm Equiv)175 mmImage-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution72 dpiVertical Resolution72 dpiImage Created2006:07:12 03:39:06Exposure Time2.5 secF-Numberf/11.0Exposure ProgramAperture PriorityISO Speed Rating64Brightness0.6 EVExposure Bias-1.3 EVMetering ModeSpotLight SourceUnknownFlashNo Flash, CompulsoryFocal Length44.61 mmColor Space InformationsRGBImage Width800Image Height600RenderingNormalExposure ModeAutoWhite BalanceAutoScene Capture TypeStandardGain ControlNoneContrastSoftSaturationHighSharpnessNormalSubject Distance RangeClose View
>> ac
Neat!

I don't have any cameras nearly that old. My oldest is a Yashica A from somewhere between 1958 and 1969.

So how's it focus? Is it just a sort of "Guess the distance, keep your aperture small" focusing mechanism?
>> Anonymous
>>43968

The AF here actually is rare in that it has sort of a primitive focusing ring, so the lens is basically fully focusable. Most other cameras of the time used spot/zone focus, usually in two or three settings, like the Voigtlander Brillant, which did 'near' 'landscape' and 'portrait', and those usually involved a lot of guessing. This one is a little better, but its still a bit tricky.

one thing I love about old cameras, like my rolleicord and this argus, is that their shutters have a T setting, which is great for night photo.
>> Anonymous
>>43984
>'near' 'landscape' and 'portrait'
Sounds like a lot of cheap and/or early digicams these days. My first digital camera was an Agfa ePhoto 780, and it has a little focus-adjuster switch on the back, that shows a flower, a head, and then a group of people standing together.

It probably only had less than a megapixel, and doen't work anymore, but I'd probably still shoot with it when the shot doesn't matter because it's one of the best-looking and best-feel-in-the-hand cameras I've worked with. It's junk by today's standards, but it looks and feels like a real camera.

>T setting, which is great for night photo.
What is a t setting? Is it like a bulb exposure, or is my guess completely off?
>> Anonymous
>>43985
"T" is for "time". You cock the lens, click the release and it'll stay open until you click it again. (sorta like a double-clutch).

"B" is for "bulb". You cock the lens, and click it, but you don't let go of the shutter until you set off the flash. The shutter is held open until you let go of the shutter release.

I use it on my Large Format to set up the picture on the rear screen.
>> Anonymous
>>43989
I've never heard that being called "T," but then again, I've never worked with a camera that does it.

Why don't they let all cameras do that?
>> Anonymous
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>>43990

Here's a picture of my LF. You can see the various lens settings along the top.

"T" still exists in some digital cameras. But the longer the lens is open, the more drain on the camera's battery.

Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeCanonCamera ModelCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTiCamera SoftwareACD Systems Digital ImagingLens Size35.00 - 80.00 mmFirmware VersionFirmware 1.0.4Owner NameunknownSerial Number0420129905Image-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution72 dpiVertical Resolution72 dpiImage Created2007:04:28 13:00:21Exposure Time1/60 secF-Numberf/5.6Exposure ProgramNormal ProgramISO Speed Rating400Lens Aperturef/5.6Exposure Bias0 EVFlashFlash, AutoFocal Length80.00 mmColor Space InformationsRGBImage Width1140Image Height1233RenderingNormalExposure ModeAutoScene Capture TypeStandardFocus TypeAutoMetering ModeEvaluativeSharpnessUnknownSaturationNormalContrastNormalShooting ModeFull AutoImage SizeLargeFocus ModeAI FocusDrive ModeSingleFlash ModeAutoCompression SettingFineMacro ModeNormalWhite BalanceAutoExposure Compensation3Sensor ISO Speed224Camera Actuations-1876164416Color Matrix129
>> Anonymous
>>43990

Well, almost all shutters up until the early forties had b and t settings, but from what i've read, shutter makers and the general populace started to think it was redundant to have both B and T since they did the same thing, and so they axed the T setting, leaving cameras to require a cable release for long exposures. I don't know how true that is, but it sorta makes sense. Nowadays, since only digital slrs use mechanical shutters, anything else would be a major battery drain, and even with the dSLR it's a battery drain, because the sensor is electronic and thus would be on the whole time the shutter is open.
>> Anonymous
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I like how convenient this solution is - set B time, push shutter release down and turn left to lock it, thus resulting in T time.

Also lol webcam.