Ansco Clipper (mid-1930s–1950s)

Sixteen frames of 616 film, a fixed f/14 lens, and a sliding shutter lever. The Clipper is mass-market photography at its simplest.

Overview

The Ansco Clipper is a camera that frustrates a modern shooter in about ninety seconds and then quietly wins them over. Ansco of Binghamton, New York built it. The company was formerly Agfa-Ansco. It is a "simple non-adjustable camera," which sounds like an insult until you handle one. There is no aperture control, no focus ring, and no speed dial. You point it and press a sliding lever.

It shoots standard no. 616 roll film and makes 2¼" square negatives, just 16 exposures per roll. That is a miserly haul next to what 35mm would eventually offer. 616 is also a discontinued medium format stock, so anyone shooting a Clipper today is respooling, cutting down film, or working from a hoarded stash. The camera was sold under a bewildering spread of names, including Ansco Flash Clipper, Ansco Clipper 16, PD-16 Clipper, and Agfa Ansco Clipper. It was essentially a rebadged evolution of the Agfa PD16 Clipper, reworked for the American market after Agfa-Ansco shifted its branding.

What the Clipper does have is a fixed focus Unifo Double Lens, a fixed f/14 aperture on the JN168 variant, and a two-position shutter. The lens is a meniscus type. It leans entirely on depth of field and a small aperture to keep subjects acceptably sharp, and by most accounts it works. Owners report consistently sharp-enough 2¼" square negatives when the light cooperates. The manual claims the camera was "scientifically designed that exceptionally fine results are easily" obtained. That is the usual advertising copy, but here it isn't far off.

Key Features

Fixed Focus Unifo Double Lens

There is no focusing mechanism of any kind on the Clipper - no ring, no scale, no rangefinder. The Unifo Double Lens is a fixed focus meniscus design that relies on depth of field and a small aperture to keep subjects acceptable. On the JN168 variant, focus is fixed from 6 feet to infinity. That covers most snapshot situations. Close work is off the table. This lens is built for daylight and distance.

2-Position Shutter: Instantaneous and Bulb

Shutter control is two settings: I (Instantaneous) and B (Bulb). The instantaneous setting fires at a single, fixed speed. The exact duration is undocumented in surviving records, though the JN168 variant is reported at roughly 1/50s. The bulb setting holds the shutter open as long as the sliding release is depressed. That is the camera's only route to long exposures and low-light work. Activation is manual, via the sliding lever, and the deliberate motion required doubles as a crude self-timer of sorts. There is no speed to select, just a lever you slide.

616 Roll Film, 2¼" Square Negatives

The Clipper takes standard no. 616 roll film and produces 2¼" square negatives, sixteen to the roll. That is a generous negative size for a snapshot camera, and it is the reason Clipper images hold up as well as they do. The catch is that 616 is a discontinued medium format film, so using the camera depends on the shooter's willingness to source, respool, or adapt. For collectors the format is part of the appeal. For anyone actually wanting to shoot one, it is the first practical hurdle.

Extensible Front and Folding Finder

The lens board pulls out of the camera body for taking pictures and collapses back in to make the camera more compact when not in use. Collectors describe the body as a compact all-metal folding camera with an extensible front. The finder is folding on early versions and rigid on later ones. The all-metal construction matters here. This is not a cardboard novelty like some of Ansco's box cameras, and it helps explain why so many Clippers have survived in working condition.

Ansco Clipper Eveready Case, JN 133

Ansco sold a dedicated accessory case for the camera, the Ansco Clipper Eveready Case, JN 133. Complete outfits of camera, box, and booklet are what collectors chase, and the case turns up in those sets often enough to be worth knowing the model number.

Historical Context

The Clipper line debuted in the mid-1930s, a period when roll film cameras were becoming household items, and it stayed in circulation through the 1950s. By the late 1940s — around 1947, according to owner accounts — the camera was still in production, which speaks to how well the formula held up. Originally based on the Agfa PD16 Clipper, the Ansco version emerged as a rebranded, American-market alternative after Agfa-Ansco shifted branding. This was mass-market photography at its most accessible.

The Clipper Special, introduced around 1938-1940, was the top-tier model in the lineup. That status suggests minor refinements, perhaps better finish, included case, or packaging, rather than any documented technical upgrade. Collectors confirm it works the same as any standard Clipper camera. The Clipper was the first of a series of variations on the model, including two flash versions, a color version, and a special version.

Collectibility & Value

The Clipper is not rare, and prices reflect that. A 2003 price guide listed a "B" condition example at $22, and recent sale listings show complete units of camera, box, and booklet going for $24.97. One owner reported purchasing a working Clipper for $20. Completed eBay sales over the past twelve months run from $17 to $56, with a median of $28 across 22 sales and a volume of roughly four per month. The high end of that range, $66, shows up occasionally for unusually clean or complete examples. A working "Agfa Ansco Flash Clipper 616 Roll Film Camera" was listed at $34.99, and individual listings have moved as low as $8.87.

No data exists on common failures or maintenance issues, though the simplicity of the design suggests reliability if stored properly. There is no spare parts information, no serial number dating guide, and no documented repair procedures. What there is, is a cheap, sturdy, all-metal camera that still does exactly what it was built to do. For anyone wanting an affordable entry into 616 film photography or mid-century American camera collecting, the Clipper is about as low-stakes as it gets.

Market Value

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ANSCO CLIPPER                                                   Nov 2026 │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ High      $66                                     Latest             $42 │
│ Median    $28                                     Trend                — │
│ Low       $12                                     Volume           ~4/mo │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│   $100 ┤                                                                 │
│        │                                                                 │
│        │                                                                 │
│    $57 ┤                                                .          .     │
│        │                                   .  .                          │
│        │.                                 . .                    . .    .│
│        │    ..   .        .     .               .    .      .  .   .     │
│     $0 ┤                                                               . │
│        ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│    vol │▂   ▂▂   ▂        ▂     ▅         ▂▂▂ ▂ ▂    ▂  ▂   ▂  ▂ ▂ █   ▂▂│
│        └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│         2026-02                      2026-05                      2026-08│
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘