Thursday, February 08, 2007

Brash American 1956 Argus C44 versus Precise German 1952 Zeiss Ikon Contax IIIa

My second vintage camera in as many months. This is a dangerous trend!
Brash American 1956 Argus C44 versus Precise German 1952 Zeiss Ikon Contax IIIa
Brash American 1956 Argus C44 versus Precise German 1952 Zeiss Ikon Contax IIIa
Lens German f2.8 versus German Zeiss f1.5
flash x-sync versus strange cable
Maximum shutter speed
1/300 versus 1/1250 of a second
Minimum shutter speed
1/10 versus 1/1
Meter
No versus Yes
Self timer
No versus Yes
Rangefinder
slight edge to the Zeiss
Smoothness of focus, film advance and speed
clunky versus as smooth as silk
Distance scale for hyper focal length
easy to read by looking down at camera versus badly placed hard to read scale.
Setting f stops
easy because end of lens does not rotate versus difficult because end of lens with f stop rotates making the controls rotate around the camera also because of the smoothness of the focus unless you lock the focus (easy to do) changing f stop could affect focus position.
Sound of shutter starter pistol versus silencer
Ease of changing lens
very difficult versus less difficult
Ease of loading film
better design and built in takeup reel versus removable take up reel and clumsy loading partially outside the camera
Cost
$55 versus $280
Fun factor Argus as the Zeiss is just too  precision crafted to use as a fun camera
Reliability  Zeiss still going strong but the Argus is dead  may it  RIP 
Image Quality You be the judge but I suspect the legendary Zeiss f1.5 will win out


Which is Which Canon 350D, 1956 Argus C44 and 1952 Zeiss Ikon Contax IIIa?
Which is Which: Canon 350D, 1956 Argus C44 or 1952 Zeiss Ikon Contax IIIa? 


Highway to Nowhere
Argus


Flag Man
Argus


"The Girls Never Stop"
Argus


Ivy Path
Zeiss


Sea Wall In Artic Aqua
Zeiss


Ilford ISO100 Test
Zeiss


Art Square
Zeiss

Answer to which is which lens question:

Top: 1956 Argus C4 50mm lens at f11 at 1/100sec
Middle: 1952 Contax IIIa at the same setting
Bottom: Canon 350D 24 - 105L set at 40mm equivalent f9 1/40sec with polarizer