Ultra Rare! NBC’s Very First Mini Camera…1950

Although RCA and NBC engineers worked together on needed projects, NBC’s engineers were years ahead of RCA’s, in determining what new equipment was needed.

RCA did have a mini camera in development at the time, NBC had one too. The NBC version was the round one you see above and the RCA was the square one. I think both used Vidicon tubes. The first known use of the RCA “Walkie Looky” was at the 1952 political conventions.

NBC’s engineers also beat RCA to the punch with the first Image Orthicon turret camera…the NBC ND 8G cameras. Below you see Milton Berle staring into the lens of one. These were built in late 1945 and were the first cameras used in Studio 8G as early as May 9, 1946…several months before the first RCA TK30s arrived.

In fairness, RCA did have more developmental hoops to jump through, but in retrospect. I think there were a lot of things they could have done faster and better. Ampex ate their lunch on videotape, the TK60s and TK42s were a mess and Norelco and Ikegami were light years ahead with their color portable cameras. Even Marconi had a tiltable viewfinder on their version of the TK41. What took so long?
Enjoy and share! – Bobby Ellerbee

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