FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Optical Devices Division has delivered 19 FUJINON HAs18x7.6BZD-T5DD Premier Series HD ENG style lenses to The FLORIDA Channel in Tallahassee. Run by WFSU-TV, a PBS television station affiliated with Florida State University, The FLORIDA Channel uses the lenses to cover proceedings by the Florida House, Senate and Cabinet.
Seen on PBS multicast channels, cable systems, and public, education and government access channels throughout Florida, The FLORIDA Channel produces more than 2500 hours of original programming each year, including gavel-to-gavel coverage of Legislative floor sessions, committee meetings, Supreme Court proceedings and Cabinet meetings. The FLORIDA Channel also offers nine streaming video channels on its website so that proceedings are available when the House and Senate are in session.
The lenses will be attached to Hitachi DK-Z50 HD box cameras operated on Ross Video CamBot tripods for remote pan, tilt, zoom and iris, among other camera functions. FUJINON HAs18x7.6BZD-T5DD Premier Series HD ENG digital servo zoom lenses have an 18X zoom, focal range of 7.6mm to 137mm, and 16 bit encoders for 2/3-inch cameras. While The FLORIDA Channel does not work in stereo 3-D, the fact that these lenses were originally designed to work as part of a 3-D Synchronous System means they have very high-quality HD optics and close tolerance mechanical design.
Eight of the lenses are located in the Florida House chamber, and five are in the Senate. They’re operated from two control rooms — one for the Senate and one for the House. Each control room is equipped with a Ross Video Crossover switcher. As part of this upgrade, the remaining five FUJINON lenses will be used in other locations around the Capitol Complex.
The channel won’t actually be going to HD, but it will switch to 16:9 SD after the House and Senate sessions conclude in early May.
