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RCA Camera Mystery Finally Solved!!! You Won’t Believe This…

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Eyes Of A Generation.com

RCA Camera Mystery Finally Solved!!! You Won’t Believe This…

Just what is that gear/wheel mechanism on the side of these first generation RCA Iconoscope remote cameras? I’ve wondered this for years, but till today…I never knew for sure.

This morning, I was reading a page from Richard Hubbell’s 1945 book “Television Programming And Production”, and low and behold, there were these two lines that surprised me to no end.

“On the side of the camera are two wheels connected by a small chain. This connects the lens system with small electric motors for the remote-control focusing handled by a technician in the mobile unit”.

I had always suspected it had some function in the focus department, but who would have thought it was a remote focus command operated by the video man in the mobile unit?

Given that the placement of the cameraman’s right hand is always at the lower rear, where the manual focus command would eventually appear, I had never noticed in dozens of photos that show this, that he was actually holding a D handle, and not a focus knob.

I think the cameras with this outside remote-focus mechanism were the first two remote style cameras RCA built, and may be the only two to have this remote-focus ability before a manual focus on the camera was added. Even with the manual focus though, the operator would have to be “talked” into focus, but they were mostly shooting wide shots and not close ups.

Notice in the photo of Dorothy Lamour behind the camera, there is not a viewfinder, but there is a small peep hole in which the operator is looking into a small hollow tube that runs through the camera from the front to back, to help frame shots.

I also think that after the manual focus was added to the camera (where the D handle was), the internal hollow tube peephole went away, and was replaced by the side mounted wire “gunsight” framing tool.

The two photos of the camera at the 30 Rock ice skating rink are dated 1938, but the RCA and Lamour shots are from 1939.

The remote-focus ability is really a surprise to me, but so was the fact that the first studio camera pedestals were raised and lowered with small electric motors. Thanks to Tom Buckley for guiding me to Richard Hubbell…a name we will hear more often this week. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee




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11 responses to “RCA Camera Mystery Finally Solved!!! You Won’t Believe This…”

  1. Kafka Kafka

    Bruce Ferrell asked,”Now, if someone can explain a similar gear mechanism on the side of the desk on one of the CNN Washington sets” Wondered about that stupid gimmick also. I think it simply is used to raise or lower the height of the desk.

  2. NTSB Reporter

    Dumont, not Dumnot

  3. NTSB Reporter

    Link to a photo of Ambassador Theater when it was a Dumnot studio. http://www.dumontnetwork.com/duamb1950.jpg

  4. NTSB Reporter

    Posted by Peter Katz: The title of the Thomas Hutchinson book Steve Dichter mentions beings back a memory since it is very close to the Dumont Network’s tag line, “The Nation’s Window on the World.” I remember seeing that slogan on a big Dumont Network sign on the Ambassador Theater in New York, back in the 50’s when Dumont used the theater as a studio.

  5. Steve Dichter

    Bobby, Hubbell’s book has been a wonderful addition to my library for years. Could you please point out the page you quoted from his book.

  6. Steve Dichter

    Another great book, in my library is “Here is Television” “Your Window on the World” 1946 by Thomas H. Hutchinson. He also addresses the remote control focus w/ this photo:

  7. Tom Williamson

    Fascinating!

  8. James M Patterson

    I recall watching the first NFL games televised in HD-it seemed the camera operators had trouble keeping in focus on some shots.

  9. Dennis Degan

    If you think about it, this makes sense since the camera operator cannot see the actual video he is shooting.

  10. Bruce Ferrell

    Now, if someone can explain a similar gear mechanism on the side of the desk on one of the CNN Washington sets

  11. Richard Melton

    We are getting back to where we started. Focus is so critical on our 8K studio camera that the remote control panel has a focus control so that the video shader can tweak the focus in case the camera operator misses it.

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