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Ilford Witness

The Ilford Witness is a 35mm rangefinder camera produced in Britain in the early 1950s, notable as Ilford's only venture into high-end interchangeable-lens camera manufacture. It was positioned as a premium domestic alternative to German rangefinders of the period, but was made in very small numbers before production ceased.

At recent UK auction, hammer prices for the Ilford Witness have ranged from £2,600 to £9,000, with a median around £7,500 — wholesale saleroom results that exclude buyer's and seller's commission. In today's market (2026), values remain strongly condition- and completeness-sensitive, and an outlier of £11,000 achieved in 2014 shows what an exceptional example with original lens can sell for. Because so few were made, a single well-preserved body with matching Dallmeyer Super-Six lens can be worth several times what a tired or incomplete one fetches.

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Sales History

Prices shown are UK auction hammer results — the wholesale level achieved in the saleroom. Neither buyer’s nor seller’s commission is included. Dealer and retail asking prices are typically higher.

Date Price Source
Nov 2025 £5,000 Special Auction Services
Nov 2024 EUR 10,000 Leitz Auction
Oct 2024 £7,500 Special Auction Services
Nov 2023 £7,500 Flints Auctions
Jun 2023 EUR 9,000 Leitz Auction
May 2023 £4,375 Flints Auctions
Nov 2022 EUR 6,500 Leitz Auction
Nov 2022 £6,000 Flints Auctions
Apr 2022 £7,750 Flints Auctions
Mar 2022 £2,625 Flints Auctions
Oct 2019 £9,000 Flints Auctions
Nov 2016 EUR 2,600 Leitz Auction
Nov 2016 EUR 17,000 Leitz Auction
Mar 2014 EUR 11,000 Leitz Auction
Dec 2010 EUR 2,400 Leitz Auction
May 2006 EUR 5,500 Leitz Auction
May 2004 EUR 3,500 Leitz Auction
Dec 2002 £4,935 Christie's
Nov 1998 £1,725 Christie's

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