Konica CV-301

[Wigwam Jones]

I seem to have fallen for the allure of vidicon-equipped video cameras, and now I've gone and purchased the above-mentioned camera on eBay. It is circa 1985, has a 'Cosvicon' tube in the handle, and this auction includes a Recoton brand 'universal adapter' of some sort, which appears as if it turns the more-or-less standard 10-pin cable into an RCA audio and video jack.

Any thoughts on what I've done this time? Is there hope for me? Any tips, tricks, thoughts or ideas?

All comments appreciated!

[old_tv_nut]

Don't know anything in particular about this camera, just general stuff about 1-tube color cameras. These all (except for certain Sony's, as far as I recall) used yellow and cyan color stripes on the target to create blue and red modulation of the video. This made them very critical as to electrical focus in the pickup tube. They were also smeary, noisy, and not very sensitive compared to CCD cameras. Also, the non-linear response of the vidicon tube produced a cross-modulation between red, blue, and luminance that tended to desaturate greens and emphasize reds and blues. Don't know what the target material was in a Cosvicon; it could have improved the sensitivity and non-linearity.

[Wigwam Jones]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

Don't know anything in particular about this camera, just general stuff about 1-tube color cameras. These all (except for certain Sony's, as far as I recall) used yellow and cyan color stripes on the target to create blue and red modulation of the video. This made them very critical as to electrical focus in the pickup tube. They were also smeary, noisy, and not very sensitive compared to CCD cameras. Also, the non-linear response of the vidicon tube produced a cross-modulation between red, blue, and luminance that tended to desaturate greens and emphasize reds and blues. Don't know what the target material was in a Cosvicon; it could have improved the sensitivity and non-linearity.

Well, it will be an interesting experiment. I was actually wanting that 'smeary, noisy' business; I've been looking a lot at CCD and vidicon video images and I see that vidicon tubes in general appear to give a 'vintage' feel to the footage; kind of like listening to a scratchy old LP. I have seen some attempts to make modern footage look like old video or Super8 footage, and I'm not convinced it works. I have a project in mind that will requires the use of old-looking footage, so I thought what better way to do that than to use an actual old camera? I may desaturate to B&W anyway, so colors won't matter too much.

Thanks for the comments!

[bgadow]

I remember back to a Consumer Reports article from the mid-80s, testing video cameras. Only one model they tested (a Kodak) used a tube and I remember it landed at or near the bottom of the list. That's more than I know!

[Aussie Bloke]

That's a neat little camera you have there. I happen to have a camera similar to yours except it's a Sharp XC-54 made around 1983 and it uses a colour striped newvicon tube. The images from my camera are not bad, a bit less rich than the others and the reds look like magentas, apart from that quite a decent image during a sunny day. In lowlights they do give smeary images and less colour as do a lot of other cameras using colour striped newvicon/saticon tubes. My Sharp XC-54 can be viewed on my site on this page http://www.troysvintagevideo.741.com/xc54.html . I've added a couple of frame grabs to show the kinds of pictures this camera makes. I once used this camera as a car cam by strapping it to the passenger seat head rest, the playback looked pretty cool.

[Wigwam Jones]

Originally Posted by Aussie Bloke

That's a neat little camera you have there. I happen to have a camera similar to yours except it's a Sharp XC-54 made around 1983 and it uses a colour striped newvicon tube. The images from my camera are not bad, a bit less rich than the others and the reds look like magentas, apart from that quite a decent image during a sunny day. In lowlights they do give smeary images and less colour as do a lot of other cameras using colour striped newvicon/saticon tubes. My Sharp XC-54 can be viewed on my site on this page http://www.troysvintagevideo.741.com/xc54.html . I've added a couple of frame grabs to show the kinds of pictures this camera makes. I once used this camera as a car cam by strapping it to the passenger seat head rest, the playback looked pretty cool.

Thank you, that's very nice! Wonky colors and some smear will actually help for the project I have in mind, though I may convert the video I take into B&W as being more appropriate to the era.

[Wigwam Jones]

Hey, the camera arrived, and guess what? It works great! I shot a quick clip. Desaturated the color to B&W on purpose. Nothing else done; didn't even focus properly. No sound; I plan to use a offboard mic and do my own mixing, instead of using the camera's onboard mic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr_0XVjeQQs

This was exactly what I was looking to get, and I appreciate the assistance I received. Thanks, all!