Seattle Mariners Focus With Fujinon

WAYNE, N.J. – Fujifilm announced that the Seattle Mariners ordered two new Fujinon XA77x9.5 HD telephoto field lenses and one Fujinon HA14x4.5 super wide angle HD ENG/EFP lens in January of this year.

The XA77x9.5 box lenses will be used on two new Grass Valley LDX 80 Premiere multi-format studio/field cameras. And the HA14x4.5 HD ENG/EFP lens will be used on a new Sony PMW500-HD02 XDCAM camcorder. According to Yezmin E. Blue, BSCS, CBTE, manager of broadcast engineering for the Seattle Mariners, the new gear is being put into service at Safeco Field late this month.

The Mariners’ in-house video facilities include a production control room located behind home plate that is used to produce the live in-park game program on the HD video board during home games. When installed, the 11,425-square-foot Panasonic Lighthouse HD video board—controlled by ANC software—will be the largest such display at any Major League Baseball stadium, according to Fujifilm.

The Fujinon XA77x9.5BESM telephoto field lens offers optical stabilization, exclusive anti-fogging to reduce downtime due to moisture, EBC coating to reduce ghosts and flare and increase light transmission, as well as built-in system diagnostics. Designed for the 2/3-inch camera format, the lens has a 77x zoom range, 2x extender, and maximum relative aperture of 1:17 (9.5-335mm) and 1:34 (732mm), as well as a digital servo control system and Digital Quick Zoom to enhance the performance and ease of use of the zoom feature.

The Fujinon HA14x4.5BERD super wide-angle HD ENG/EFP lens for 2/3-inch cameras has a 2.2x extender, digital power servo, and 14x zoom range. It offers a focal length of 1x (4.5-63mm) and 2x (9.9-138mm), and a maximum relative aperture of 1:1.8 (4.5-41mm) and 1:2.8 (63mm).