Ansco Regent

Introduction: The Ansco Regent at a Glance

The Ansco Regent is a folding 35mm camera with scale focus, sold under the Ansco brand. It collapses into a compact body and opens up on a bellows when you want to shoot. It is a fine example for anyone browsing our analog cameras.

Behind the Ansco name sits an Agfa design: the Regent is equivalent to the Agfa Solinette II, made especially for the American market. It carries a 50mm f/3.5 coated Apotar lens in a fully synchronized Prontor-SV shutter, and it has an optical viewfinder rather than a rangefinder.

Shooting with a folding camera slows everything down. You open the body, cock the shutter, set the distance and then take the picture. Attention shifts to composition, light and timing.

Design Roots and Historical Background

An Agfa design with an American name

The Regent was not a separate design. It was the name American buyers saw on the Agfa Solinette II, a camera built for the US market and sold there through the Ansco brand.

Agfa made the Solinette series, a family of folding 35mm viewfinder cameras, between 1952 and 1955. That date range describes the series as a whole, not the Regent specifically.

Regent and Super Regent are different cameras

The Ansco Super Regent is a separate model, the American version of the Agfa Super Solinette, and it has a rangefinder. The plain Regent described here does not.

Key Technical Highlights

Lens and shutter

The lens is a 50mm f/3.5 coated Agfa Apotar, mounted in a fully synchronized Prontor-SV shutter. According to the manual, the aperture runs from f/3.5 at the wide-open end to f/22 at the other. The shutter speeds are mechanically regulated and range from 1 second to 1/300 s, plus B for longer exposures.

Focusing and viewfinder

Focusing is by scale. The whole lens and shutter unit moves on a helicoid, and the lens focuses down to 1 metre (about 3.5 feet).

The viewfinder is an optical type. The manual advises that for subjects closer than 15 feet (about 4.5 metres), you should aim slightly higher to compensate for parallax.

Film transport and self-timer

A metering sprocket locks the winding knob at the end of the cycle, so the manual says it is impossible to tear the perforations by forcing the knob. The shutter must be cocked before each exposure. The built-in self-timer allows a 7-second delay, long enough to step into the picture yourself.

• Lens: 50mm f/3.5 coated Apotar
• Shutter: Prontor-SV, fully synchronized, 1 s to 1/300 s plus B
• Aperture range: f/3.5 to f/22
• Focusing: scale focus by moving the lens unit, down to 1 metre
• Extras: optical viewfinder and 7-second self-timer

Modern-Day Use in 2026

Where the Regent excels

A folding 35mm camera still makes sense in 2026 for photographers who like a deliberate, mechanical workflow. It rewards patience and a little practice with distance estimation.

Use it for:

• Landscapes and street scenes where you have time to set up each frame
• Travel photography with a camera that closes up for the bag or coat pocket
• Learning how speed, aperture and focus work together
• Portraits and group pictures using the 7-second self-timer

Practical shooting tips

• Cock the shutter before every exposure, then check speed and aperture once more.
• Estimate distances carefully, and for subjects closer than about 4.5 metres aim slightly higher to offset parallax.
• Use a smaller aperture in bright light, which gives more depth of field and forgives focus errors.
• Hold the camera steadily at slower speeds, or brace it against a wall or a small tripod.

Buying and Maintenance Guide

What to check before buying used

Work through this checklist before you commit:

• Bellows: open the camera fully and look for tears, pinholes and cracked corners.
• Focusing: turn the focusing mechanism through its whole range and make sure it moves without sticking.
• Shutter: fire every speed, including B, and listen for slow or inconsistent timing on the longer speeds.
• Lens: look through the lens against a light for haze, fungus and scratches.
• Latches: check that the opening button and both side-arm locks work smoothly.

Two weak spots are typical for this camera: the bellows is prone to tearing, and old grease that has dried out can make the focusing movement stiff or stuck. Examine both closely before you pay.

Film and everyday running

The Regent takes 35mm film. Your main running cost is film and processing. For a first roll, a medium-speed colour or black-and-white film is a sensible choice.

• Load and unload film in subdued light.
• Run a cheap test roll first to check exposures, focus and light-tightness before an important trip.

Basic care and accessories

A few simple photography accessories help keep a folding camera in good shape:

• A soft case or small bag that protects the folded camera from knocks
• A microfibre cloth and blower for the lens and the viewfinder
• A small tripod for slower shutter speeds
• Dry storage away from damp rooms

Conclusion: A Pocketable Piece of Mid-Century Photography

The Ansco Regent is a folding 35mm camera that gives you an Apotar lens, a Prontor-SV shutter with a wide speed range and a focusing scale in a body that closes up neatly.

It rewards careful handling, and a good example is a satisfying way to practise manual 35mm photography. If you enjoy Agfa cameras, you may also like our Agfa Silette LK review.

Ready to explore cameras like the Regent? Browse our analog cameras and pair them with quality photography accessories at DutchThrift.com.

Sources: the original Ansco Regent instruction manual (PDF); Solinette on camera-wiki.org, text licensed under GFDL 1.3.