Microcam I: A New Concept in the Design of a Portable Color Camera for Broadcast Applications
Efforts to reduce the size and weight of portable color television cameras have recently culminated in the introduction of the Microcam I. The Microcam allows operation for well over an hour with a system (lens, camera, Viewfinder, power supply) weighing less than 13 Ib (5.9 kg). It utilizes three ⅔–in Plumbicons and very sophisticated electronics to minimize power consumption, which of course reduces the required weight of batteries. (The Microcam II, to be introduced in several more years, will use the same electronics but charge-coupled sensors instead of Plumbicons to achieve even greater weight savings.) The complete video processing system consists of four circuit boards that bear respectively three processing amplifiers, an NTSC sync generator with optional genlocking capability, a two-line image enhancer, and an NTSC encoder. The electronics pack, designed using aerospace principles, may be carried with a shoulder strap or worn on a belt. In its first field use, the new portable color television camera was very well received.
- Print ISSN
- 0036-1682
- Published
- 1976-09
- Content type
- Original Research
- DOI
- 10.5594/J07565