Ensign Selfix 820 Special

The Ensign Selfix 820 Special is a British folding roll-film camera that takes 120 film, produced by Houghton-Butcher (Ensign) in the post-war period. It sat at the upper end of the Selfix folder range when new, intended for photographers wanting a pocketable medium-format camera.

Inspect the bellows for pinholes by shining a torch inside a darkened room, and check that the self-erecting front locks rigidly without play. Test the leaf shutter at all speeds — slow speeds commonly stick on cameras of this age — and confirm the rangefinder/viewfinder optics are clear, as service support for these folders is limited to specialist repairers.

Generated summary, 28 Apr 2026 — not checked by hand; prices on this page come from the sales, not from this text.