Argus, an American firm that made camera and photographic products, was founded in 1936 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It initially was a subsidiary of the International Radio Corporation founded by Charles Verschoor.

Model A line was the first low-cost 35mm camera made in the United States. Introduced in 1936, Montgomery Ward sold 30,000 units in the first week. Argus’s C3 rangefinder camera (1938-1968) was in production for 27-years.

Contracts with the United States Defense Department during World War II and the Korean War kept Argus afloat. In the late 1940s, when inexpensive Japanese cameras flooded the American market, Argus diversified its product line. The company made optical equipment, projectors, and specialty equipment.

The company introduced the Argus PA slide projector. It was made in Ann Arbor. Later, slide projectors were made by other companies and sold under the Argus brand.

In 1949, the company was renamed Argus Cameras, Inc. Robert E. Lewis, the new manager, ended all camera products except the Model C3 camera. Introductions of new models such as the TLR Agroflex failed to attract customers.

Sylvania acquired Argus in 1959 and sold it in 1969. Argus could not compete with cameras from Germany and Japan. Camera production had ceased by the end of the 1960s.

In 2003, the brand was re-established by the Argus Camera Company, LLC, located in Inverness, Illinois. Argus Camera Company was a subsidiary of the Harford Computer Group, Inc. The company makes inexpensive digital cameras, two of which are the Bean and the Sprout, designed for children.