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Plumbicons certainly improved the signal to noise ratio, but not the resolution per se(although the lower noise meant edge enhancement could be increased). Also, the lack of deep red response in the early Plumbicons made flesh tones (especially light-skinned) unnaturally even-colored, no variation due to rosy cheeks. I recall some manufacturer was showing a pickup tube for the red channel that used a silicon diode array for the target to overcome the Plumbicon red problem, but I don't know if they ever sold any. Eventually, extended-red plumbicons were developed that were somewhat better.
Today's solid-state sensors naturally extend into the deep red and infrared, and have to be curtailed by an infra-red cutoff filter. This filter is typically more cutting than really necessary, originally designed this way in order to match plumbicon cameras. Makes it difficult to get a good color balance on a TV monitor that is in the picture, because it cuts off much of the rare-earth phosphor deep red spectral spikes.
Panavision (IIRC - maybe some other guys) have shown video cameras for electronic film production with an extended IR cutoff point to more nearly match motion picture film.
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