First Outing with ‘The Brick’ (early post-WWII Argus C3)

First test roll of my father-in-law's ca. 1946-47 Argus C3 Brick. It needs a major cleaning; lots of dust and the range-finder dials need a drop or two of oil. Seems to be in acceptable working order, though. Happily, any 'bad' pictures were due to my playing with the aperture settings in low-light conditions on 100 iso film. The sprocket light-leaks on some shots are probably due to a film-loading issue (I didn't hold down the film release at first, so some sprockets ripped as I started to advance the film); they went away after half the roll. The counter mechanism will take some getting used to. The range-finder is surprisingly not too out of alignment, but I'll adjust it anyhow when we take it apart to clean. Overall, this is a fantastic camera, and I can't wait to become better acquainted. Odd note: More strangers commented on this camera as we were walking around with it than any other I've used! Home-processed black and white roll #12 (developer: Rodinal).

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