The Houghton Ensign 2 1/2 box camera is a wooden-bodied medium format box camera produced around the 1910s to 1920s by Houghton-Butcher in London. It uses Ensign 2½ roll film (equivalent to Kodak 116) producing 4¼ x 2½ inch (10.8 x 6.3 cm) images, with 8 exposures per roll. The camera features a simple T & I rotary shutter, a fixed meniscus or rapid achromatic lens, and waterhouse stops with apertures of f/16, f/22, and f/32. It has two brilliant viewfinders for portrait and landscape modes and a wire-frame viewfinder, with film advanced through a red window using a T-bar winder. Finished in black or decorative brown leatherette, with the name embossed on the front panel, it weighs about 740g and includes a tripod socket for both orientations. The camera is known for its classic Art Deco styling, robust wooden construction, simple mechanics, and was typically used for straightforward photography in its era. Cleaning requires some disassembly, and it provides a vintage medium-format shooting experience.
1912-1920 / Houghton Ensign 2 1/2 Box / Antique Camera
CamerasThe Houghton Ensign 2 1/2 box is a wooden-bodied medium format box camera from the 1920s that uses Ensign 2½ roll film (equivalent to Kodak 116), producing 4¼ x 2½ inch images with a simple T&I shutter, meniscus lens, decorative leatherette finish, and dual viewfinders for portrait and landscape modes.
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