Best British Colour Camera ?

[BrianSummers]

Interesting thread,

Which was the best British colour camera? You have to ask when? Its no good comparing an EMI 2001 with a Link 120 as there 15+ years between them. All the British colour cameras had good and bad points, Marconi, EMI and Link. Pye did not make a studio colour camera (except for some experimental stuff).

If I had to choose I would go for the EMI 2001, mainly for it's long life in broadcast service. The Link 120 was very good in BBC studio use, but it was soon eclipsed by more modern microprocessor based auto line up cameras like the Thomson's. The ill fated link 130 had great potential but the company (Link) collapsed just as the camera was nearing completion. I have 3 Link 130s in the collection and must get back to getting them going. There were a last generation, full micro controlled auto everything camera.

Marconi produced some fine cameras and had worldwide success with them. My personal favourite is the Marconi MkVIII. It is a first generation auto line-up camera using electric motors to drive the potentiometers. I have (potentially) 4 in working order and they are quite reliable even at 35+ years old.

The design of a camera is based on what technology is available at the time. The EMI 2001 and the Marconi MkVII Used 4 tubes as they were based on the experimental cameras that preceded them using, typically 1 Image Orthicon tube and 3 vidicon tubes, Much like the RCA TK-42 in circa 1962.

The availability of the plumbicon in 1963 changed the whole design of colour cameras. It is interesting to note that Phillips, not UK I know, went straight to a 3 tube design, presumably as they had a lead in the design being the inventors of the Plumbicon.

Apparently, the 2001 was marketed under the Thomson name in France with vidicon instead of Plumbicon or Leddicon tubes. There was an attempt to break the 2001 in the USA via IVC, as the IVC/EMI 2001-B (4-tube) or 2001-C (3-tube),

The 2001 was indeed marked by both Thomson and IVC and I would be interested in copies of any documents or brochures relating to those marketing efforts.

About the Vidicon/Plumbicon debate, The very first Plumbicons were, correctly, described as "Lead Oxide Vidicons" and I am keen to resolve if real vidicons ( possibly 30mm size ) were used in the 2001s or the early descriptions actually refer to "lead Oxide Vidicons".

The EMI 2005, I have one in the collection, is surprisingly like the 2001 in the printed circuit boards and construction, almost to the point were some of them look interchangeable!. It was aimed at the US market and used the BIW TV81 cable to aid that market. It did little for it's sales here and few were sold in the UK.

best regards

Brian Summers www.tvcameramuseum.org