Ansco 2000 Micro 35

The Haking Compact

This camera may win for one of the most rebranded versions I’ve ever seen. Haking, Halina, Revue, Mirax, Hanimex, Simmons, Miranda, with possibly more. These brands all had their own version, with slight changes, and in a variety of colors. Halina, a manufacturer of cheap cameras well into the millions, has a mediocre reputation in the film community overall. Rightfully deserved but some cameras stand out from the bunch, like the A1 TLR or the Paulette EE II. The Ansco 2000 is what I would guess to be a mid tier camera for Haking at the time, and one of the more unique models.

Looking around, it seems the Ansco version came in a few colors, a blue-grey, red, and most commonly black. Small in size and with a unique lens cover, makes for a similar look to the Lomo LC-A or Cosina CX cameras. The top and bottom plates are plastic while the body and film door are made of metal. This leads to the camera having a surprisingly solid feeling and substantial weight; around eight ounces (230 grams).

The Ansco 2000 is a fixed focus automatic flash camera. The only control you have is over the ASA, which in turn changes the aperture. Two AAA batteries power the Ansco 2000, with a unique sliding battery door on the bottom of the camera. This powers the light sensor and flash, however, if you have no desire for flash photography you do not need the batteries.

When the lens cover is closed, the camera is off and you are not able to see through the viewfinder. To turn on the camera and release the lens cover, slightly pull on the winding lever and the cover will slide up and the flash will start charging. In reverse, turning off the camera is done by simply pushing the lens cover back down. With the cover open, you are now able to see through the viewfinder. No information is displayed or frame lines, but there is a distinct magnification to the viewfinder.

To the left of the viewfinder, you will see a red LED with a flash symbol and a green LED with ‘OK’ written next to it. This is the exposure indication. While the flash is charging the red LED will stay lit, and once the green LED is also lit, this will tell you that the flash is ready. Depending on the lighting situation, just the green LED can be lit, and this means that there is sufficient light and the flash will not fire. As long as you see the green LED lit, you are good to take a picture.

Looking at the top of the camera, while on, you also have access to a simple Flash Distance chart to help with flash photography. To the left, you have a rewind knob, to the right a plain shutter button, and next to that the frame counter. Lifting on the rewind knob will also release the cameras back. Nothing is on the sides of the camera but a hand strap lug, and the bottom has the battery door and rewind release button.

The extent of exposure control you have is changing the film speed. When the lens cover is open, next to the lens you have a sliding switch and a choice of 100, 200, or 400 ASA. As I briefly mentioned before, these film speeds correspond to the apertures with a fixed shutter speed at 1/125th of a second. The lens is three elements, fully coated and at a reasonably wide 38mm. The aperture is touted at being f/3.5, but that is a half truth. When using the flash, regardless of the film speed, it will be at f/3.5, but stops down the lens if the flash does not activate.

There are countless versions of this camera, and a slight change made early on. It seems as though the first iteration did not have a fill flash switch. I believe this first version was short lived, being that a majority of the variations seem to have it included. Most other changes seem to be mainly of the color, leatherette, and renaming the flash from Autosensor to SensorFlash or Auto Flash. In the 90s, the camera seemed to have a resurgence once again, appearing in Hanimex and Haking versions, with a slight change to the design. The sliding cover was changed up a bit, making for an easier nameplate swap, but everything else seems similar.

THE SPECS AND FEATURES

Shutter Speeds - fixed 1/125th

Aperture - f/3.5 to unspecified

Meter Type - flash on/off type, LED indication

Focus - fixed 1.5 meters to infinity

Shutter - metal leaf

ASA - 100, 200 and 400

Lens - 3 elements 3 groups, fully coated

Flash Option - built in, automatic

Batteries - 2 AAA

Film Type - 35mm

Other Features - minimal functionality without batteries

The Experience

I had another fixed focus camera before this, the Olympus Pen EE, and it was the first article I wrote about on the site. I opted to pass it along in favor of its focusing sibling, the EES-2. It did not help that along with limited exposure settings, it was a smaller half frame format. I was not enamored with the camera or the results I had gotten. I love half frame, but the mixture was a bit more than I wanted to compromise at the time. Fixed focus cameras faded from my mind and I rarely gave them a second look.

It’s been four years since I wrote that article and I have since come to my senses and will not make a judgment on a camera before I try it. Thus the search for a competent fixed focus camera began. I have a few of the later Ansco 80s cameras, and saw how drastically different they looked compared to the earlier Ansco, and went looking more into them. The 2000 looked very out of place in the lineup and had to give it a try. I searched for many months, never really seeing a good price or example. A slightly worn early model showed up for a great price, and I couldn’t say no. A little while later I got the camera and promptly lost it in a desk drawer.

In late July I was looking for a compact camera to take with me on a few outings with friends and thought of the Ansco 2000. Looking at the camera again, I remembered that there was battery corrosion I needed to take care of. With a bit of cleaning and brass brushing of the contacts, the camera had stable power. A quick test of the flash and shutter, and the Ansco 2000 was good to go. I took only a few pictures with it and it sat once again.

In September I went out and did preliminary tests on a fair bit of cameras. Checking focus, exposure, and whatnot, making sure repairs and adjustments were accurate. This camera had a roll of black and white still in it and was one of the bunch I was quite interested in seeing the results of. The first test was NOT promising, half was great and the other half unusable. That was on me, as I was shooting it completely the wrong way. Using flash at long distances, not checking the exposure indication, and not taking into consideration the limitations of the camera. It was something I needed to learn about the Ansco 2000 and a reminder to myself to work to the camera’s strengths.

Trying once again, I decided that a higher speed film would produce the best results when the lens was stopped down. I was also interested at how the lens would render color and contrast as well. Trying my best to gauge the closest I could focus, I tried a few shots in the acceptable range and a few at infinity. The results ended up being almost perfect. No real distortion at the edge of the frame, and accurate images that rendered quite nicely.

On the final test, I wanted to shoot at ASA 100 to see how distorted the edges of the frames could get. I chose a fine grain black and white film and set out to take pictures with lots of detail in them. The results were just as sharp as the ASA 400 photos. A slight bit of distortion in the corners, but nothing major. I was even able to get a pleasant depth of field effect with the flash photo of the stairs down covered in leaves. Truly eye opening. I was expecting much worse, but once again I was pleasantly surprised.

I would have never considered myself a fan of fixed focus cameras, but my view has drastically changed after using this camera. It all comes down to the lens, and this camera delivers. A pocketable design, solid and well built, and a simple but accurate meter really made for a great experience shooting. This is a Haking camera, and inherently a budget one, but the results are leagues above other cameras of theirs I’ve tried. I enjoyed my time with the Ansco 2000, and really was surprised at how well a fixed focus camera can do. I would recommend this camera fully, but make sure you shoot with its limitations in mind.