"Big Bear," a new 10-episode HD series on Canadian TV, was shot with Canon HD-EC (Electronic Cinematography) lenses. A Canon HJ21x7.5B KLL-SC and a wider-angle HJ11x4.7B KLL-SC captured the scenes.
Canon's HD-EC lenses have a traditional film style feel and operation, with engraved zoom, focus and iris indication scales, according to the company. Gear rings are compatible with studio focus rigs, manual fluid zoom drives and motorized control systems used for film lenses. The lenses have a rotation angle of 270 degrees and their primes, the FJ5, FJ9, FJ14, FJ24 and FJ35, have rotation angles of up to 166 degrees.
"Because of the greater distance between focal markings, the Canon 21x proved to be a huge improvement over past HD cinematography lenses when pulling focus," said Bruce Chen, director of photography. The series, set in Northern Quebec, is themed "Everybody Has Something to Hide" and accordingly, Chen noted that HD was necessary because it gets excellent detail in shadows.
