Sony BVP3

Introduced in 1984, the Sony BVP3A was one of their first 'dockable' portable television cameras,
while and at the same time was one of their last 3 tube television cameras. Made from Magnesium
castings and looking almost like a piece of military equipment, this was the high-end broadcast
camera option for the reciently introduced Betacam 1/2 Inch cassette based video format, and
when bolted to the front of a Betacam 'back end', became an all-in-one high grade 'camcorder' for
the broadcaster.

The camera shown on these pages is mounted on a correct tripod plate and fitted with the optional
CA-3 camera adapter for use in the studio. But is also shown with a slightly incorrect lower grade
industrial Sony (Canon) VCL-915BY zoom lens, rather than with the more correct (and much more
expensive) broadcast lens. (Broadcast lenses usually came with a rather obvious 'lump' of the built
in X2 converter.)

(Actually, while old tube cameras like these are worthless to the professional, old Sony fit zoom
lenses still have some value.)

The CA-3 'camera' adapter provided intercom facilities, genlock and remote control facilities.
These of course were not needed if the camera formed part of a camcorder configuration.

By the time of the BVP3, the design of portable television cameras was maturing (consider the
clunky portapack / rover camera of just 10 years before in comparison to this seriously designed,
modular system camera), and while tubes would soon be replaced by CCD image sensors and
digital signal processing. The tough military-like external appearance of these television
'workhorses' would remain essentially the same, even today.

In comparison to Ikegami (at that time) Sony's ENG cameras seemed to be rather more physically
robust. While Ikegami used a mixture of formed aluminum sheet and cast magnesium side panels,
Sony's cameras were made up from a series of nicely done modular magnesium castings.

Click on these images for (many) further pictures.