Ensign Commando

This model was produced in 1949 and it was a very high spec camera at the time. Originally developed for military use during WWII, the first version of the Commando arrived too late on the scene, as it was launched as the war was about to end. After some hastily made changes, mostly cosmetic, it was made available to the civilian market. It was introduced to the public at the 1946 "Britain Can Make It" exhibition, organised by the Council of Industrial Design. There were some variations in design in the short few years these cameras were in production. The latest model had a top shutter speed of 1/300, while all the others had 1/200.

An advert for the camera published in Punch on 28th July 1948 stated:
"If photographic justice is to be done to Britain's architectural masterpieces - The Commando is the camera to do it. Maker of history in the optical and mechanical world, this British precision-built instrument is designed to deal with any subject under any conditions. Fitted with the famous lastingly-accurate Epsilon shutter and the unique Ensign coupled-rangefinder and back-focusing device, the Commando is a camera incorporating many exclusive features.  From the superlative Ensar f/3.5 lens to the double-exposure prevention device, it is a camera that will conquer many a foreign field this year. However, a percentage is still being released to the home market, so we suggest you keep in touch with your dealer to obtain a Commando. It is an investment you will not regret."

It has a coupled rangefinder and shoots either 6x6cm or 6x4.5cm negatives (12 frames or 16 frames). It has a top speed of 1/300 and focussing occurs by moving the film plane rather than the lens. The 75mm Ensar Anastigmat lens will focus as close as 6 feet. There is an automatic fame spacing feature when shooting square format, but it costs you a frame of film so it's better to use the red window and manually advance the film yourself.  There is a Bulb setting for long exposures and a double exposure prevention interlock feature.

This camera is not easy to focus.

There are some accessories for this camera, including some supplementary close up lenses, or Postar lenses. These came in a variety of strengths. The S20 (20 inch) lens is equivalent to a +2 close up lens, the S30 (30 inch) is equivalent to a +1.5 close up lens, and the S40 (40 inch) is equivalent to a +1 close up lens. Ensign made these in a variety of sizes to fit different camera lenses. The Commando needs a 32mm diameter.

The Commando naturally cannot focus on anything closer than 6 feet (72 inches). With the Postar lenses, at infinity, the camera can focus down to 20 inches, 30 inches, or 40 inches depending on the strength. At its closest scale setting, it will focus down to 15 5/8 inches (S20), 21 1/4 inches (S30), and 25 3/4 inches (S40).

To be able to use these lenses, however, an accessory eyepiece is required over the viewfinder to correct the parallax displacement that occurs at these close distances. The eyepiece has a tiny magnifying lens that enables the rangefinder to work at close focus. Each close-up lens requires its own specific viewfinder. If you use the S40, then you need the C40 eyepiece, and so on. 

These close up lenses still leave certain distances unavailable. In this case none of the close-up lenses will allow focal lengths between 40 and 72 inches. This extends to 30 inches with the S30, and 20 inches with the S20.

Naturally there will be an effect on the f-stops when using these lenses. This is because the close-up lens alters the focal length. The Commando has a 75mm focal length, and its widest aperture is f/3.5. When paired with an S20 lens, the aperture becomes f/3. With the S30 it becomes f/3.2 and with the S40 it becomes f/3.3.

Although Ensign intended the eyepieces to be used with their own Postar lenses, technically any push on close up lens with the correct diameter could be used instead as long as it has the appropriate magnification. This camera has the C40 eyepiece accessory, but we don't have the S40 Postar lens, so instead we are using an Ilford +1 close-up lens.

Story time with Nicky:
Let me tell you a tale of a Commando, well I say A Commando, really I should say a small platoon of Commandos.
Above is pictured a complete working Ensign Commando, however this particular one was the result of many hours of searching eBay and many hours on the work bench.
Having bought her Ensign Ful-Vue box camera and then all the other Ensign Ful-Vue box cameras to go with it, Natasha had developed quite the interest and soft spot for Ensign equipment. This led to the inevitable want for a Commando, which were unfortunately not going very cheap, so when one was listed on the Bay of Es for a relatively small sum of money a bid was hastily placed and a Commando was ultimately secured and on it's way to us. Now the possibility that it may need repair had crossed our minds and was not too much of a worry as Nicky can fix anything (given enough time and access to spare parts or manufacturing facilities to make said spare parts). While this did indeed turn out to be the case the journey was rather longer and more arduous than could have been expected.
The first one we acquired had a damaged door catch, damaged struts, damaged double exposure prevention mechanism, missing eyepiece lens, and a sticky shutter.
The shutter was an easy fix but the rest meant the body was mostly useless.
Not one to give up on a challenge Nicky said they may need another to turn two broken ones into one working one, and not one to give up on the dream of a Commando Natasha did find yet another less than perfect Commando for the right sorta money.
So a second one was obtained, unfortunately it also had strut damage and the rangefinder was not working, but the better shutter and a good lens.
Much work was done but there were still not quite enough working parts to complete a Commando, all this was being hampered by the complete absence of any kind of workshop or repair manual.
Ultimately we needed a third one to get a good body, so once again Natasha set sail in the Bay of Es and once again her fishing skills did return another fine specimen, which it turns out was an early model with the slower shutter. Onto this body we put spare parts from the previous two and the newer shutter and lens to make one good working commando. That may sound straight forward but it involved Nicky reverse engineering a camera which was fiendishly complicated in both design and execution. A design so bonkers that it is almost completely unique in the vast world of cameras.
Once he got to know this geriatric beast Nicky was in-fact able to rebuild a working model.
With this new found knowledge the real challenge began: setting the focusing mechanisms correctly.
To focus the camera one simply looks through the rangefinder and winds the knob until the images are coincident. However, that is only half the story as the image from the lens must also be sharp on the film. In most cameras the end element of the lens is moved back and forth to achieve this, but the Commando is no ordinary camera, oh no, the Commando is bonkers. The lens to film plane distance is not fixed, so far so normal, but now for the punch line, the film plane moves in the body and the lens stays firmly where it is bolted to the end of the struts. Getting the lens the correct distance from the film plane for the various subject distances is not too difficult as there are shims to insert to space the two as needed. The tricky part is ensuring that the focusing knob markings match the subject distance for the film plane. This can be done by adding or removing shims and jumping teeth on the sprockets that drive the film plane transport mechanism until the two are happy. Once you are reasonably confident that you can achieve focus on subjects from 6 feet to infinity and have it align with the knob you are ready for round two: setting the range finder to match. As there is no direct mechanical linkage between the film plane and the range finder there is nothing forcing the two to agree. The focusing knob drives the film plane and range finder separately. One therefore has to check the focus on the film plane and adjust the range finder mirror to match, then change the subject distance, rinse and repeat. You may find that it agrees at infinity and cannot agree at close distances or vice-versa, in that case you have to go back to the film place and lens setup and readjust it, check the focusing knob still agrees with the subject distances, then start again with the rangefinder. Once the film plane sharpness, the focusing knob and the rangefinder are all matching you have yourself a working Commando. Congratulations.
Was it worth it? Well, I suppose so, it made Natasha very happy and that is really the whole point.
Should you try? If you have a degree in engineering, or are an experienced mechanical camera technician, or possibly an experienced watchmaker then yeah, give it a go, but don't expect to find much of any use online. I should have taken many pictures and drawn many diagrams while I was working on them, however, I feel the likelihood of anyone attempting one of these without the skills to work it out is slim. If you are trying to fix one and can't work it out then let us know and I should be able to help. Frankly I'd be amazed if anyone has worked on these things much since the 50's, so the chances of finding anyone who already knows how they work are slim at best.
Will I fix your Commando? Probably not, this one was a labour of love. Hours of blood, sweat and tears, OK, maybe that's laying it on a bit thick, but it was certainly many, many hours of fiddly work. Buying a complete working one is undoubtedly cheaper than buying three broken ones and paying someone to build one.