Hartford Computer Group, parent company of VisionTek, a well-known supplier of graphics cards and memory solutions, today announced its acquisition of certain assets of Argus Camera from Rally Capital Services, the trustee-assignee for the benefit of the creditors of Argus Camera.

The Argus acquisition is part of Hartford’s broader consumer brands acquisition strategy. The company possesses strengths in the areas of marketing, sales, and distribution.

Argus is the second retail brand acquisition for Hartford. The company picked up VisionTek at the end of 2002. VisionTek re-entered the market in March of this year and met with instant success, securing relationships with more than a dozen key resellers including CompUSA, Fry’s, Micro Center and Amazon.com among others, the company said

Argus Camera was founded in 1936. The company introduced the first low-cost 35mm camera and was also named the Great American Camera Company by The Smithsonian. Argus products are sold at many leading national retailers including CompUSA, Fry’s Electronics, Ritz Camera, and Wal-Mart. Argus offers a wide range of photographic products, including digital cameras, 35mm cameras, APS cameras, and single use cameras.

According to CIPA, the Camera and Imaging Products Association, worldwide shipments of digital still cameras climbed 79% in May of this year. The Taipei Times reports that global demand for digital cameras is surging, buoyed by lower-priced cameras, better picture quality and a wider range of models. Shipments of digital cameras by manufacturers were almost double those of older film-based models in the first five months of the year.