pete.naylor
Ensign Commandos
The Ensign Commando Was Made From 1946 - 50 And Reputedly Got Its Name Because A Similar Camera Had Been Made For The British Military During WW2. It's A Dual Format 6 X 6 Or 6 X 4.5 Cm Folder Using 120 Reel Film, And Has An Unusual CRF Focussing Mechanism Actuating The Film Plane Internally, Rather Than The More Usual Movement Of The Lens. AFAIK, Only The Mamiya Six Shared This Feature, And The Jury Is Still Out On Who Came Up With The Idea First.
There Were Three Commando Variants, But You'll Have To Look Closely To Spot The Slight Differences. All Had Uncoated f3.5 75mm Ensar Triplet Lenses And Epsilon Shutters, And Were Solidly Made. They Were Also VERY Expensive, Costing Over 50 GBP In 1947, Which Equates To Well Over A Thousand Pounds in Today's Values. By 1949 Ensign Had Dropped The Price Of A Commando Down To 43 GBP, But That Was Still A Lot Of Dosh.
Astute Folks Will Also Note The Apparently Anomalous Situation Of All Three Variants Having A Cold Accessory Shoe, But No Flash Synch. That's Because The Shoe Is There Not For A Flash Gun, But To Take The Commando Close-Up VF Which Is Used Along With A Lens Dioptre. To See One Of These rare Items Fitted, And To Read About The Commando In Depth, You Can't Do Better Than Consult Adrian Richmond's Excellent Feature in His Ensign Website At:
www.ensign.demon.co.uk/commando.htm
'50 Quid For An Uncoated Triplet, Guv? I Reckons I'll Wait For That Selfix 12-20 Wot I Read About In The AP, Which Has A Coated 4-Element F3.5 Ross Xpres But Costs Half The Price ..... ' And They Did!
Ensign Commandos
The Ensign Commando Was Made From 1946 - 50 And Reputedly Got Its Name Because A Similar Camera Had Been Made For The British Military During WW2. It's A Dual Format 6 X 6 Or 6 X 4.5 Cm Folder Using 120 Reel Film, And Has An Unusual CRF Focussing Mechanism Actuating The Film Plane Internally, Rather Than The More Usual Movement Of The Lens. AFAIK, Only The Mamiya Six Shared This Feature, And The Jury Is Still Out On Who Came Up With The Idea First.
There Were Three Commando Variants, But You'll Have To Look Closely To Spot The Slight Differences. All Had Uncoated f3.5 75mm Ensar Triplet Lenses And Epsilon Shutters, And Were Solidly Made. They Were Also VERY Expensive, Costing Over 50 GBP In 1947, Which Equates To Well Over A Thousand Pounds in Today's Values. By 1949 Ensign Had Dropped The Price Of A Commando Down To 43 GBP, But That Was Still A Lot Of Dosh.
Astute Folks Will Also Note The Apparently Anomalous Situation Of All Three Variants Having A Cold Accessory Shoe, But No Flash Synch. That's Because The Shoe Is There Not For A Flash Gun, But To Take The Commando Close-Up VF Which Is Used Along With A Lens Dioptre. To See One Of These rare Items Fitted, And To Read About The Commando In Depth, You Can't Do Better Than Consult Adrian Richmond's Excellent Feature in His Ensign Website At:
www.ensign.demon.co.uk/commando.htm
'50 Quid For An Uncoated Triplet, Guv? I Reckons I'll Wait For That Selfix 12-20 Wot I Read About In The AP, Which Has A Coated 4-Element F3.5 Ross Xpres But Costs Half The Price ..... ' And They Did!