A Quarter Plate Ensign Popular Reflex Tropical Model£240
25 Mar 2026 · Chiswick Auctions · lot 208 · Photographicapremium removed
◆ ? title doesn’t name the Tropen+ lens
Houghton Ensign Popular Reflex Tropen (Tropical)
camera
The Houghton Ensign Popular Reflex Tropen (Tropical) has 2 recorded sales: £240 (25 Mar 2026, Chiswick Auctions) and £1,413 (10 Mar 2018, Leitz Photographica Auction). That is too few for a typical price.
Recorded sales
Only 2 sales — too few for a typical price, so here they are.
Houghton 'Ensign Popular' Reflex - Tropical Model£1,413
10 Mar 2018 · Leitz Photographica Auction · €1,600 · lot AI_32_36115hammer ↗
◆ ? title doesn’t name the Tropen+ lens
Sales only
Hammer prices, buyer’s premium removed; eBay as soldHow ↗
What it is
{"overview":"The Ensign Popular Reflex Tropen is a tropical-finish version of Houghton's Popular Reflex, a single-lens reflex plate camera built for use in hot and humid climates. As a tropical-bodied British SLR plate camera, condition of the woodwork, bellows, and brass fittings drives what one sells for in today's market, and exceptional cosmetic examples can be worth materially more at auction.","buying_guide":"Inspect the wooden body for shrinkage, cracks, and lifted veneer, and check the bellows carefully for light leaks at the corners — replacement leather bellows for tropical reflexes are a specialist job.
Generated summary, 30 Apr 2026 — not checked by hand; prices on this page come from the sales, not from this text.
Other Ensigns
Ensign Cinematograph
5 salesabout £350IndicativeEnsign All Distance Twenty (box, 1920s)
4 salesabout £8IndicativeEnsign Autorange 820
4 salesabout £942IndicativeEnsign E29 (box)
4 salesabout £11IndicativeEnsign Ful-Vue
4 salesabout £8IndicativeEnsign Midget 33
4 salesabout £168IndicativeEnsign Roll Film Reflex Tropen (Tropical)
4 salesabout £230IndicativeEnsign Special Reflex Tropen (Tropical)
4 salesabout £323Indicative
5 salesabout £350IndicativeEnsign All Distance Twenty (box, 1920s)
4 salesabout £8IndicativeEnsign Autorange 820
4 salesabout £942IndicativeEnsign E29 (box)
4 salesabout £11IndicativeEnsign Ful-Vue
4 salesabout £8IndicativeEnsign Midget 33
4 salesabout £168IndicativeEnsign Roll Film Reflex Tropen (Tropical)
4 salesabout £230IndicativeEnsign Special Reflex Tropen (Tropical)
4 salesabout £323Indicative
Questions
Why is the Tropical version more collectable?
Tropical-finish cameras were produced in much smaller numbers than standard leather-covered models, and their teak-and-brass construction makes them visually distinctive, which supports their value among collectors.
Facts
- Maker
- Houghton
- Type
- camera
- Sales in the typical price
- 2
- First sale
- 10 Mar 2018
- Latest sale
- 25 Mar 2026
- Evidence
- Sales only
- Method
- v1
Cite this page
“Houghton Ensign Popular Reflex Tropen (Tropical): 2 recorded sales, 2018–2026; no typical price (method v1).” cameraworth.com, retrieved 8 October 2026. https://www.cameraworth.com/h/houghton/ensign-popular-reflex-tropen-tropical/