This the first time I have ever seen close ups like this and we even have a photo of the camera in it’s carrying mode. This is the second version of this camera and is probably from 1942 or ’43.

In the last photo, we see the early, 1940 version of the camera with it’s CCU and power supply. I think the original was called the Type 1840 and notice it has the focus control in the pan handle like the old Iconoscope cameras and the TK41s. Notice this newer model has the focus control on the right side of the camera body and this is the first time the focus control was mounted there.

Although Dumont had used electronic viewfinders from the start, I do not think either model of this RCA Orthicon camera had them. Given the lenses are the same dual fixed focal length configuration as the RCA Iconoscope cameras, I’m pretty sure this too had a ground glass – optical viewfinder as well.

The Orthicon debuted just a year after the 1939 World’s Fair and the official launch of electronic television. The Orthicon was the forerunner to the much better Image Orthicon tube which came into use in 1945. This is a big improvement over the Iconoscope, but…this tube still required a lot of light and these cameras were mostly used mostly outside. I do have some photos of them in a studio, but I think that was purely for testing and demonstration purposes. Thanks to NBCU Photobank for the images. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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