Canon U.S.A. has developed a new super-telephoto lens that it says provides the widest angle of view of any HD field lens in the broadcast industry, with an augmented 95X focal range. The lens allows HD capture of every visual detail at a major sporting event, from wide shots of a roiling mass of fans in a crowded stadium to extreme close-ups of a single athlete’s facial expression, according to Canon.
Larry Thorpe, senior director of sales, Broadcast and Communications division of Canon U.S.A, said the XJ95x8.6B super-telephoto HD field lens is based upon a new design that delivers better optical performance and operational features, such as extensive image-framing latitude. Despite its augmented specifications, however, the new XJ95x8.6B remains similar in size and weight to Canon’s XJ86x9.3B/13.5B, facilitating easy panning and tilting operations.
“The lens has a 95X zoom ratio and the widest angle of view (58.3 degrees horizontal at 8.6 mm) of any field lens presently available,” he said. “This combination offers an enormous range of imaging possibilities unachievable with conventional field lenses.”
The new Canon XJ95x8.6B super-telephoto HD lens is engineered with many of Canon’s most advanced technologies, including powerful optical design tools, new glass materials and new exotic optical coatings. Canon’s proprietary large-diameter aspherical lens technology and new glass materials minimize lateral chromatic aberration, monochromatic aberrations and geometric distortion that have always challenged large focal-length ranges. The company said significant reduction of these aberrations enhances the superb resolution and contrast in a manner that contributes to the capture of images with superb picture sharpness across the 16:9 HD image plane.
As with many of the other long-zoom HD field lenses in Canon’s DIGISUPER product line, the new XJ95x8.6B super-telephoto HD lens includes Canon’s exclusive built-in Shift-IS Image Stabilization system. The new lens, however, comes standard-equipped with an improved Canon optical Shift-Type Image Stabilizer. In addition to providing rock-solid image capture from telephoto distances, and tighter control over picture stability at higher vibration frequencies (as encountered on towers), the lens virtually eliminates image drift following cessation of an operational panning action.
The XJ95x8.6B super-telephoto HD lens also includes a Constant Angle Focusing System (CAFS) that employs built-in 32-bit microcomputer control to help counteract “breathing,” the phenomena known to change picture size/angle of view during a focusing operation.
