Live From Super Bowl LII: An Army of Canon Lenses Help NBC Capture the Big Game The vendor's onsite support team aims to ensure that they're all ready for any shot By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Sunday, February 4, 2018 - 12:09 am
Print This Story
At Super Bowl LII, Canon lenses will be ubiquitous throughout NBC Sports' game production. NBC is deploying almost exclusively Canon lenses - more than 60 in all - the only exceptions being for the specialty camera systems: the pylon cams at both end zones, four Sony HDC-4800 4K cameras, and a pair of SkyCam systems. However, it's not just gear that Canon is providing in Minneapolis; it's also a high level of onsite technical support.
NBC is using more than 60 Canon lenses for its Super Bowl LII production.
This one of the biggest shows of the year - or even multiple years - for a lot of people out here, says Richard Eilers, national accounts sales director, ITCG Professional Products Sales Engineering Division, Canon USA. And then you have a lot of them heading over to Korea on Monday [for the Olympics], so there is definitely a lot of stress surrounding these shows. It's our job to take away the stress point from a technology standpoint. We just want to make sure that the lenses are well-dressed and ready to do any shot that might be asked of them.
Ron Brevot, technical support supervisor, Canon USA, is onsite here in Minneapolis supporting any questions or issues that may come up during NBC's operation.
From 95Xs to ENG Lenses, Canon Is Everywhere
Chief among NBC's massive Canon lens complement at U.S. Bank Stadium are 20 95 8.6 lenses.
We have found that the bread and butter for this show is the 95X lenses, says Eilers. It is perfect for the cameras that are going to be closer to the field, like the Chapman [carts] on the sidelines and low-end-zone reverses. Not only are they reaching down to the other side of the field and doing their reverse work, but, at the same time, they can get some great shots on the near end of the field, too.
NBC's fleet of Canon broadcast lenses also includes five 100X9.8s, five 22X7.6s, two 21X7.8s, two 14X4.3s, an 11X4.7, and five 13X6.0 lenses for Fletcher robotic cameras. NBC has also deployed two 22X2/3-in. ENG lenses (HJ22ex7.6B-IASE-A eHDxs) and three 14X 2/3-in. ENG lenses (HJ14ex4.3B-IASE eHDxs). With so many lenses being deployed on the highest-profile live sports production of the year in the U.S., Canon has also brought along plenty of extra inventory should replacements be needed.
These lenses are tough, they're resilient, and they can take a beating. But you always want to prepare with backups, says Eilers. On a show of this magnitude, we don't want to leave anything to chance, so we brought in box-lens and handheld-lens loaners, just to ensure that, if something happens, God forbid, we are prepared. [NBC Sports director] Drew [Esocoff] is going to take every single one of these cameras; he's one of the guys that uses everything in his arsenal, so we want to make sure that we have something to back up every camera just in case one of them goes down.
CPS on Hand Supporting Pro Clients in the Twin Cities
Canon Professional Services is also on-site in full force with CPS Director Elizabeth Pratt leading the way. CPS has deployed a massive amount of equipment in Minneapolis, stocking and loaning out anything from DSLR bodies and lenses to cinema EOS bodies and cinema lenses to pro clients in attendance at the game.
Canon also provides free loans of gear to the pro market base, as well as full photographic and cinema service and support. In addition, two techs are on hand to support sports clients utilizing Canon DSLR's.
Not Done Yet: Canon Heads to PyeongChang To Support the Peacock
With yet another major sports event on the horizon for NBC, Canon's extensive onsite support won't end in Minneapolis. The company has already sent two full-time support staffers to PyeongChang to be embedded in the NBC Olympics operation.
We know that [the Olympics] is the most premium show on the planet, and we know what that requires. So we have to be there in force to support NBC, says Eilers. We have two techs that are going to be there full-time, and they've already been over there for a few days now. The NBC folks are our complete and absolute priority in terms of taking care of their needs and supporting them in the field.
Brandon Costa contributed to this article.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
Live From Super Bowl LII: An Army of Canon Lenses Help NBC Capture the Big Game The vendor's onsite support team aims to ensure that they're all ready for any shot By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
