Testbench
ENSIGN MIDGETS
The Ensign Midget family with boxes, slip cases, film and an instruction book the size and shape of the camera
FILM STARS
The mighty Mi
John Wade recalls how Ensign reacted to the rise of 35mm and traces the life of the Midget
B
ack in the 1930s there was a craze for miniature roll film cameras. This was largely down to the launch, in 1925, of the Leica, the first truly viable 35mm camera. Once photographers accepted that a decent-sized image could be obtained from such a small negative, the race was on for manufacturers to jump on the bandwagon. A few began making their own 35mm cameras, but a significant number introduced new, smallerthan-usual roll film models whose negative sizes approximated the 35mm frame. And so, in 1934, the Ensign Midget was born. There are five models. All are relatively easy to find today. They are very collectable and, for the photographer with a little patience and ingenuity, they can still be used.
46
The five Midgets
The cameras were designed by Swedish engineer Magnus Neill, who had designed the Ticka watch-type camera, and perhaps more significantly, the Ensignette, with which the Midget shared some aspects of its design. His intention was to make a camera that folded to a clean design that left no extraneous bulges, bumps, levers or knobs. Two models were initially launched. Both shot Before the Midget: the Ticka watchtype camera and Ensignette, both designed by Magnus Neill
3x4cm images and each had a similar design. Folded, the camera measures just 9x4x1.5cm. Gripping two serrated panels top and bottom of the lens panel and pulling forward until four struts click-stop positively into position extends the depth from 1.5cm to 6cm. The Ensign Midget name is emblazoned each side of the lens in an attractive art deco style. To close the camera, the struts are pulled out slightly and the lens panel pressed back into the body.
