Dominic Harris Photography
ENSIGN SELFIX 220 AUTO-RANGE
This is the Ensign Selfix 220 AutoRange Rangefinder variation of the Selfix 220 Viewfinder camera. It is a camera for 12 6x6 or 16 6x4.5 negatives on 120 film.
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Despite its antiquity (being a bellows camera) and the complexity of it being dual format (6x6 or 6x4.5), I like this camera. It folds up nicely and compactly enough to fit into a 'big' jacket or coat pocket.
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The camera, first produced in 1939, has chromed top housing with round corners, a feature to be seen on cameras by almost every maker a decade after. This top cover houses a combined and coupled rangefinder, and there is a sliding mask in front of the square front window to accommodate the smaller frame size. The top of the body also now hosts a shutter release button - without thread for remote cable.
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This is another camera inherited from Dad, I think its a post war one made between 1945 and 1950, after which production of this model stopped. Like other cameras of Dad's it is in mint condition, almost new; the bellows (often a weak point with this type of camera) are in perfect condition, which considering the camera is about 70 years old is remarkable.
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Manufacturer / Brand: Ensign Ltd. in 1930, formerly Houghton-Butcher (Great-Britain) Ltd.
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The headquarters of the trading company Ensign Ltd. were destroyed by an air raid on the night of 24th September 1940. The assets of the company were taken over by Johnson & Sons, but the trademark Ensign was kept by the manufacturing company Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co., Ltd., which assumed the advertising and distribution of the Ensign cameras alone until 1945.
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In 1945, Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co., Ltd. associated with the film maker Elliott & Sons Ltd. (maker of the film brand "Barnet") and became Barnet Ensign Ltd. In 1948 Ross and Barnet Ensign were merged to Barnet Ensign Ross Ltd., which was finally renamed Ross-Ensign Ltd. in 1954
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The company stopped making cameras in 1961.
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So I'm glad that's clear now...
Year Built: Late 1938 to early 1950's
Serial Number: K10288
Film Format: 120 - Dual format capable of providing either twelve 6x6 or sixteen 6x4.5 pictures per roll of 120, by means of pivoting masks - a clever system that ensures the mask is always present on the camera and not lost. A sliding mask is also present on the finder for aiding with composition and focus.
Features:
The Ensign Selfix 220 was a pretty advanced design for its era. The camera also features an automatic frame counter, that can be reversed to fit the format of the negative and double exposure prevention mechanism.
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Focusing is achieved by means of an sliding lever at the front bed, inside the door under lens and shutter unit.
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The front door is opened with a button located on the bottom cover.
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The frame counter is probably the nicest feature, but also a bit annoying for beginners (like me!): when film is loaded, the first exposure is positioned using the red window, and from then on this window can remain closed and rely on the rotating frame counter for film advance. Despite being a dual-format camera, it has a single red window, which is located at an odd position: one must use the frame counter to advance film and position the frame.
Lenses:
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4.5 / 75mm ENSAR (Serial: 137316)
Comments & Tips: Save yourself a roll of film and suss out the film frame counter thingy before you start using the camera! Oh, and you'll probably need a good light meter...