Marconi vidicon camera

Marconi showing inbuilt racks PS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.

The photo is of Pete Simpkin at the controls of a Marconi vidicon camera, with inbuilt racks controls, at BBC Southampton.

For more information see:

http://www.bbceng.info/Operations/studio_ops/reminiscences/southampton/simpkin1.htm

The following comments were added on the Pebble Mill Facebook group:

Mike Skipper:  ‘I don’t think Vidicon cameras would have been used for very long for broadcast – Vidicon tubes had an appalling low light performance (very laggy) and I believe gave a barely acceptable performance when scenes were well lit. I don’t know the times involved but the Plumbicon tube certainly outperformed the Vidicon when it became available… ‘

Pete Simpkin: ‘I agree, but remember these were the days of 405 lines and the whole system was pretty low definition. Also most of the studio shots were static with not too much in vision movement. However we achieved very good pictures in a small studio news environment.Our studio was on air for most of the 60s until 625 arrived.’

Alan Miller: ‘We used EMI 201 Vidicon 625 line cameras in Glasgow Studio B in the 1970’s and they were truly awful. They smeared all over the place especially if you were stupid enough to use a crawling caption across the screen.’

Pete Simpkin: ‘I agree Alan about the picture quality the 201s were never as good as the Marconis actually but they had quieter lens change!’

EMI 201 Vidicon Camera

EMI 201 vidicon PS

Photo from Pete Simpkin, no reproduction without permission.

The photo is of a cameraman operating the EMI 201 Vidicon Camera, a smaller, earlier, black and white version of the EMI 2001. These cameras were used at some of the regional newsrooms. Pete used one whilst at Southampton. They came in production at the end of the 1950s, and lasted until the early 1970s.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook Group:

Alan Miller: ‘We had them in Studio B Glasgow when I first started.’

Dave Bushell: ‘And in Studio B Bristol – pretty universal.’