Television camera equipped with a color-separating arrangement disposed behind the objective

Claim 1

A television camera comprising: an objective; a color-separating prism assembly disposed behind the objective, said assembly having an entrance surface and three exit surfaces, light entering the assembly through the entrance surface being separated into different colors emerging from the exit surfaces; three camera tubes, one tube arranged in the path of light emerging from each exit surface; characterized in that the prism assembly comprises: a first prism having an optical axis and a plurality of planar surfaces, one such surface being an entrance surface perpendicular to the optical axis, one other surface having a dichroic layer thereon; and a second prism having a plurality of planar surfaces, one surface having a dichroic layer thereon; wherein the surface of the first prism bearing the dichroic layer is arranged adjacent a surface of the second prism without a dichroic layer thereon, said adjacent surfaces being separated by an air gap, said first and second prisms arranged so that the optical axis passes through both dichroic layers; wherein the surface of the first prism bearing the dichroic layer subtends an angle less than 30° with a plane perpendicular to the optical axis; and wherein the first prism has at least one other surface parallel to the surface of the first prism bearing the dichroic layer.