New Lenses Capture the Attention of ENG Shooters

The new Canon HJ18ex7.6B zoom lens is designed for use in diverse news and documentary situations.

Broadcast ENG lenses continue to evolve, getting lighter yet more fully featured, to handle all types of AENG situations.

Canon USA has introduced the HJ18ex7.6B portable HD zoom lens, which offers improved performance over its widely used predecessor, the HJ17ex7.6B lens. With a focal length range of 7.6mm to 137mm (15.2mm to 274mm with its built-in 2X extender) and a Minimum Object Distance (MOD) of 0.56m (10mm with Macro), this new HD portable lenses enables shots to be taken four centimeters closer than with rival lens models, according to Canon.

Designed with broadcast ENG in mind, the HJ18ex7.6B portable HD zoom lens features an advanced new optical design that helps ensure high-peripheral resolution and contrast from its closest subject-focusing distance out to over 19 feet. This enables news shooters to capture head and shoulders shots from distances further away than previously possible with comparable ENG lenses. A new design for the Digital Drive Unit provides additional advantages including a more comfortable hand grip, simple display-based operations for improved operability, greater digital precision for integration with virtual studio systems, and reduced power consumption compared to predecessor Canon models.

The new Canon HJ18ex7.6B zoom lens is designed for use in diverse news and documentary situations, which can frequently involve rapid changes in subject distance and associated focal length, noted Larry Thorpe, senior fellow, Professional Engineering & Solutions Division, Canon U.S.A., Inc. The imaging enhancements of the HJ18ex7.6B zoom lens reflect Canons ongoing optical research and development, which resulted in sophisticated aberration compensation for virtually distortion-free imaging throughout the zoom range, and advanced encoders for rapid start-up and turn-on.

The Canon HJ18ex7.6B portable HD zoom features a compact, lightweight 3.5 pound design, short MOD, and simplified settings menus. These menus are part of the HJ18ex7.6Bs new Digital Drive unit, which allows camera operators to program repeatable zoom positions and speeds, as well as focus and iris settings. This new Digital Drive unit also delivers new user-benefits by virtue of its integration of an absolute value encoder.

Also at this years NAB Show, the Optical Devices Division of FUJIFILM North America Corporation introduced two lenses: the Premier PL 14-35mm Cabrio wide-angle lens [ZK2.5x14] and the XA55x9.5 HDTV Telephoto Box Style lens. [This year also marked FUJIFILMs 80th anniversary, and 40 years for the Optical Devices Division, formerly known as FUJINON, in the U.S.]

The new FUJIFILM XA55x9.5 HDTV Telephoto Box Style lens. fills a sweet spot in the companys line of 2/3-inch studio/field lenses.

The new XA55x9.5 telephoto zoom is designed for large venues that require tight shots from long distances, such as for sports, concerts and any live events. Thom Calabro, director of Marketing and Product Development for the Optical Division of FUJIFILM, said the new zoom fills a sweet spot in the companys line of 2/3-inch studio/field lenses. With a focal length from 9.5 to 535mm [or 19.0 to 1050mm with a 2x extender], its designed to captures tight shots from long distances.

Like the XA50x9.5 before it, this new lens is available with a built-in lens support bracket for direct mounting to an ENG-style camera. Also built-in is optical image stabilization, which helps the operator maintain stable close-up shots for long periods. A 16-bit encoder outputs zoom, focus position and other lens data, so it can easily combine CGI with live images.

The new 14-35mm Cabrio was designed with the latest customer feedback, especially regarding focal length, said Calabro. As with all of our Cabrio lenses, the 14-35mm lens is lightweight and comfortable to use with todays smaller 4K cameras, but weve expanded the focal length range to 14-35mm at T2.9, with 200-degree focus rotation. For shooters looking for a lightweight zoom that can be used as a handheld and capture wide angles in tight spaces, its ideal.

The PL 14-35mm Cabrio has a detachable digital servo drive and can be used as a self-contained ENG-style lens or a cine style lens. When used without the drive, industry-standard cine motors can be fitted. Designed using the latest proprietary optical simulation software, the PL 14-35mm lens offers exceptional optical performance in the center of the image and in the corners of the frame. The digital servos 16-bit encoding assures operators that all lens data output, including the position of the zoom, iris, and focus, is extremely accurate, according to the company. The PL 14-35mm lens supports Lens Data System (LDS) and /i metadata formats, and can be controlled using cinema industry standard wireless controllers and existing Fujinon wired and wireless units.

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