Question on shooting an Argus C3 film camera?

I feel like an idiot since I haven't shot film since the late 90's.



Recently bought an Argus C3 from a yard sale.



Couple of questions.



What does the "I" and "B" on the shutter release knob mean? I've had it switched to "B".



And I'm guessing you wind it one time around after snapping each shot? I feel quite stupid because I can't even tell it's snapping photos. I'm used to the DSLR's making the "snapping" sound. This one doesn't seem to do it.Question on shooting an Argus C3 film camera?
Wow!! I haven't heard those settings for a long time. " I" stands for instant and "B" stands for bulb.

Instant is exactly what it says. Bulb means that the shutter stays open while you hold the button down. This is used for time exposures that you time, or while the shutter is open, you hand fire a flash bulb and then close the shutter.

You're not getting any pictures, at least nothing you'll want to keep. Switch it to "I". If you don't hear the shutter click, it's not working. I have several hundred rolls run through one of those cameras. It used to be a real workhorse.Question on shooting an Argus C3 film camera?
The previous comments answer your question pretty much, but is sounds as if you could do with more comprehensive help:

There is a pdf copy of the manual online, you can download it for free, or make a donation to the website host there if you want to:

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/argus/argus鈥?/a>



The C3 "brick" is an interesting, iconic camera for sure, although sometimes referred to as the most user-unfriendly camera ever made :) Well, I don't think that's quite true; and many people have managed to take very good photos with it.

Enjoy your purchase. A piece of American photographic history.Question on shooting an Argus C3 film camera?
Instant and Bulb. Use Instant for normal photos and Bulb for time exposurers