The Ikegami HL79D was probably the best portable electronic camera of its time (1982).
This broadcast television camera uses 3 'low-capacity diode-gun' Plumbicons, which were once state-of-the-art image pick up tubes (not C.C.D.'s) and is capable of 600 line resolution.
This 'lightly restored' example is seen here with the 'correct' broadcast specification Canon J13X9B3IRS11 zoom lens, with built-in X2 extender. The camera is also fitted with matte box mounts and unusual carrying strap fixings probably made by the BBC
With a £26,577** price tag back in 1983 (the lens was extra at about £6,000), the Ikegami 79 series were very 'serious' television cameras indeed. This 'D' version might be described as a 'middle period' camera and is fitted with the then very latest technology of 'low capacity diode gun plumbicon' image pick up tubes. (The Ikegami 79 camera was introduced in 1979, the D version in about 1982 and the last E version a couple of years later.)
Whilst having some degree of automation (lens iris, White balance, beam current, and 'comet-tail' suppression), cameras such as these required a daily 'set up' to get the very high quality results that they were capable of. As part of this procedure, the three pick-up tubes needed 'registering' to
ensure that the red, green, and blue images were correctly aligned and matched. Though once properly adjusted, these portable Ikegami cameras gave pictures rather better than many much larger studio cameras of the time. Indeed, Ikegami even made a special studio housing that a 79 series camera 'head' (without lens and viewfinder) could be mounted inside which allowed the use of large and heavy studio lenses and viewfinders.
The replacement 79E, introduced in 1984, had a microprocessor controlled automatic line-up system. A good 79D or E can still produce rather good images, with resolution and colour fidelity certainly better than any current domestic or semi-professional camcorder. Low light sensitivity is another matter though, and to record pictures you will of course need a separate video recorder connected to the beast.
The modern broadcast CCD camera is far more sensitive, robust, uses less power and is probably much cheaper to make. It is debatable though that it produces totally better 'pictures' than one of these old bits of junk. It's a bit like comparing say classic Leica lenses to modern computer designed and mass produced ones. But there again, some people say that vinyl sounds better than CD, and I am also often wrong. Oh, and 'HL' stands (would you believe) for 'Handy Looky'...
'Very nice, but how do you lace the film?'*
* Paraphrasing American Cinematographer, March 1982.
** Televisual Magazine Camera Survey circa 1983
Another Ikegami HL79D, this time showing the right side cover removed. On the left is the 'backplane' of the motherboard, and on the right is the deflection circuitry for the 3 plumbicon pick
up tubes
If you hinge out of the way the HL79D's deflection board, one gets an nice view of what a colour television camera is all about; three separate image pick-up tubes (Red, Green and Blue - CCD's of course these days) and an optical splitter to separate out the primary colours.
Underneath the grey 'Canon' plate is a very nice set of low dispersion glass prisms, precision set within a machined alloy casting.
I believe that Phillips invented the prismatic television camera colour splitter as well as the Plumbicon image pickup tube. Though one must acknowledge that RCA in America were mostly responsible for this type of television colour system (actually they called their Plumbicons 'Ledicons').
Sadly for both the Americans and the Dutch, Ikegami in Japan seemed to have been able to take their technology and make some very good portable cameras (the best of their time?). While RCA did not seem to want to bother making products that weren't to the American NTSC (RCA's) standard. These days Ikegami remain one of the best regarded professional and
broadcast television equipment manufacturers, while sadly Phillips and RCA are no longer in the business. Pity really as PAL is widely accepted to be a noticeably better development of the NTSC, er RCA system. It is surprising that having spent some 26 million $ on developing the electronic television system that we all use today, RCA gave up years ago.
Such are the delights of the analog 3- tube colour television camera: Lots of trimpots to adjust (and to get wrong) -in triplicate!
A 2/3 inch Low-capacity Diode-Gun Plumbicon image pickup tube. A deceptively simple looking device, some 4 inches long and distantly related to the humble vidicon (and indeed the radio tube or valve), these were once one of the best imaging devices available.
Buried precisely within the optical system of the HL79D camera were three of these tubes (to pick up the three primary colours). In contrast to current C.C.D. technology, 'tubes' required high voltages, low voltages and much ancillary electronics to make them work. Precision deflection and
focusing coils with attendant stable drive circuitry and sensitive, low noise pre-amplifiers, was just for 'starters'. For 'Broadcast Quality' colour, one needed 3 sets of everything, and a very high quality prismatic optical splitter, all perfectly mechanically and electrically adjusted.
For fun, in about 1997 I tracked down a manufacturer of these tubes and enquired as to the cost of a new set. The reply went something like, 'well I suppose we are talking of about £2,000 per tube these days'... They were kind enough though to send me this display sample (probably working) and some technical literature on image tubes.