LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., July 9, 2009 – Major sporting and entertainment events are among the premiere forms of programming being telecast in HDTV. Mobile production services are crucial to such coverage. This is why Mansion Mobile’s new 53-ft. “Expando” mobile production facility – named ME-2HD – is equipped with the very latest in advanced HDTV production technologies, including seven long-zoom HD field lenses and five portable HD zoom lenses from Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging.
“The new production truck will service major cable entertainment and sport networks, so it was essential to upgrade our video-production capabilities to HDTV,” explained Brad Palmer, vice president of operations for Mansion Mobile Television, a growing division of Mansion Entertainment, based in Branson, Missouri. “With the guidance of Diversified Systems, a full-service system integration company, we found Canon to be the best fit.”
“Canon is a leader in HD sports-production lenses, so it was an easy choice for both Mansion Mobile and Diversified Systems,” noted Duane Yoslov, Diversified Systems, vice president of West Coast Operations. “I think Mansion Mobile had a strong preference for Canon because Canon not only provided the best value and performance, it also stands behind its products, services, and support. Canon has an exceptional reputation. There’s not a network or program provider that wouldn’t agree that what Canon offers is among the best.”
Mansion Mobile’s seven Canon long-zoom HD field lenses include two DIGISUPER 100xs and five DIGISUPER 86xs models. The DIGISUPER 100xs (the world’s first triple-digit zoom lens) and the DIGISUPER 86xs both feature Canon’s unique second-generation built-in Image Stabilization (or Shift-IS) system, which helps enable camera operators to capture rock-solid imagery at telephoto distances.
“Canon’s built-in Shift-IS Image Stabilization system is a very important feature, especially for working in sports and mobile production,” explained Palmer. “Shooting in very windy conditions, from the top of large venues, and with rowdy crowds, will really make you appreciate Shift-IS. More importantly, the clarity, color quality and detail that come through these lenses are remarkable; they are going to perform very well for us.”
Both lenses also feature Canon’s exclusive Digital Servo System, which employs microcomputer technology to compensate for lens-focus breathing (the inadvertent alteration of field of view when operating the focus control) and other improved digital operational features for focus and zooming control. All of Canon’s long-zoom field lenses deliver the precision and operational advantages that have made Canon the standard of excellence in sports and entertainment-events production. (Canon’s 100xs and 86xs HD field lenses are also available in Auto Focus versions.)
Mansion Mobile’s five portable Canon HD zoom lenses include two HJ11ex4.7B wide-angle EFP lenses and three HJ22ex7.6B ENG lenses. Capable of more than 91 degrees of horizontal angle of view in the 16:9 image format, the HJ11ex4.7B is engineered for wide-angle shooting with minimum chromatic aberrations and geometric distortion, while also providing lightweight operation and exceptional picture sharpness and contrast. Weighing only 4.10 lbs., the HJ11ex4.7B’s focal range goes from 4.7mm on the wide end all the way to 104mm with its built-in 2x extender.
“Our five Canon portable HD zoom lenses will be primarily used for side-line shooting, and concert or stage shots,” said Palmer. “The HJ11ex4.7B offers a considerable wide angle, which is very important when shooting entertainment shows. From having the ability to get shots that make venues look gigantic, to producing amazing beauty shots, this wide-angle feature has a variety of uses.”
Canon’s HJ22ex7.6B is an HD production lens designed to combine telephoto and modestly wide-angle HD image capture in a lightweight (4 lb.) form factor. The HJ22ex7.6B’s focal range goes from 7.6mm on the wide end all the way to 336mm with its built-in 2x extender. Featuring a maximum aperture of f 1.8, this lens is well-suited to encompass an unusually broad range of shooting situations.
Both Canon’s HJ11ex4.7B and HJ22ex7.6B are members of Canon’s third-generation line of eHDxs high-performance portable HD zoom lenses for 2/3-inch imager cameras. All of Canon’s eHDxs portable HD zoom lenses are designed to provide producers with a broad range of creative options, including Canon’s unique “eDrive” feature, which provides microprocessor-driven servo control of iris, zoom and focus, along with position memory and user-defined functionality. With Canon’s eDrive, camera operators can pre-program iris settings and achieve repeatable “padded” zoom start/stop positions, steady and slow zoom creeps, and focus settings with no measurable mechanical play or gear backlash. Users can program multiple settings or none at all, depending on their personal preference.
“We’ve always felt that Canon has been the benchmark in broadcast lenses,” said Palmer. “As an emerging mobile television company we wanted nothing less than Canon’s superior optics for our new high definition production truck.”
About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), a top patent holder of technology, ranked third overall in the U.S. in 2008†, with global revenues of US $45 billion, is listed as number seven in the computer industry on Fortune Magazine's World’s Most Admired Companies 2008 list, and is on the 2008 BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands." At Canon, we care because caring is essential to living together in harmony. Founded upon a corporate philosophy of Kyosei - - “all people, regardless of race, religion or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future” - - Canon U.S.A. supports a number of social, youth, educational and other programs, including environmental and recycling initiatives. Additional information about these programs can be found at www.usa.canon.com/kyosei. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/RSS.
