Argus Argoflex Seventy-five
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Argus Argoflex Seventy-fiveEntry/Object ID
147Tags
WorkhorseDescription
A beautifully designed American camera manufactured in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that utilizes a clever "trick" of industrial design to mimic professional equipment. While it is styled to resemble a high-end Twin-Lens Reflex (TLR) camera like a Rolleiflex, it is technically a "pseudo-TLR" because the two lenses are not geared together. The top lens does not aid in focusing the bottom lens; instead, it serves as a "brilliant" viewfinder, reflecting a large, bright image onto a ground-glass screen to make composing shots significantly easier than the tiny "peep" holes found on standard box cameras of the era. The body is constructed from Bakelite—an early heat-resistant plastic—and features a fixed-focus Lumar 75mm lens with a simple "Instant" or "Time" shutter setting. This model was famous for using 620 film, a format Kodak introduced to ensure brand loyalty by using slightly thinner metal spools than the universal 120 format. It effectively brought a "professional" aesthetic and a superior viewing experience to the everyday family snapshot market during the post-war era.Category
120 Film, 620 Fim, TLR, Camera
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