SVG Sit-Down: Canon USA's Rich Eilers, Yuji Tanaka Talk Novel' Feature, EOS C50 Camera

SVG Sit-Down: Canon USA's Rich Eilers, Yuji Tanaka Talk Novel' Feature, EOS C50 CameraDebuts at IBC included the CINE-SERVO11-55mm lensBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Thursday, September 18, 2025 - 10:07 am

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The Canon stand at IBC was, of course, overflowing with lenses of all sorts as well as plenty of types of cameras. It even featured a couple of products introduced just the week prior, which is a rarity for IBC: most new concepts debut earlier in the year at the NAB Show. SVG caught up with Rich Eilers, national accounts director, and Yuji Tanaka, senior manager of product planning, Canon USA, to discuss the newest trends and introductions.

What's new with respect to the broadcast lenses here at IBC?

Eilers: The 122 8.2 lens with Novel look feature is now fully established after being introduced at NAB. It has progressed along well and is fully functional. Now the really, really cool thing is, it is in the field. A lot of the ramp-up for this was to be ready for football season, and we have around 24 lenses with the Novel feature in the field, with more coming in the next few months.

The Canon stand featured plenty of lenses along with a partner product called CAMFLAG, a shading device that extends or retracts based on the zoom level.

How has that lens been deployed?

Eilers: Game Creek Video's Ovation truck, which is doing the A games for FOX Sports, has six of them on board with two end-zone-reverse cameras behind each end zone, one on the sideline cart, and another on the reverse cart across the field. It has been a great combination of Canon optics, and Sony does a nice job with their HDC-5500V camera, which has the variable ND filter. Because the video guys know how to shade with the variable ND filter, they can leave the iris wide open and use the filter that's spinning in the Sony camera to do shading. It's a very nimble system, and directors are pouncing on it.

This is an expansion of shallow depth of field beyond handheld work on the field. Why do you think that is important for live event production?

Eilers: The key is, it's more immersive. Passive television has been an Achilles heel when it comes to bringing new demographics like the young folks in to watch coverage. Having this deep focus in the background is extraordinary, and it's almost like a magnet that can draw people in. You can see the players better and how they are reacting, and that makes the viewer more excited because it feels like it's just you, the viewer, with the hero that they're pulling out of the shot. It gives viewers another reason to hang around and watch the show.

What else is new?

Eilers: We have a CINE-SERVO11-55mm lens that is brand new and is also the shortest and lightest cine-servo lens that we have, weighing around 4 lb. When people look at the numbers, they say it doesn't sound very special, but what's special is the mathematics on the lens: it is a super-35 lens, which means 11 mm is equal to 4.1 mm in a 2/3-in. lens. The widest a 2/3-in. lens can go currently is 4.3 mm; this captures about an extra 5% of image, and the corners remain symmetrical, without a fisheye effect. In addition, it has all the bells and whistles, including the best ENG-coded data to do any virtual work or signage.

Putting it on something like a Steadicam system is a hand-in-glove application for this lens; [this is true] as well for jib shots. The guys involved with the Olympics are giddy with this for some of the looks they can achieve for things like opening ceremonies.

Along with the CINE SERVO 11-55mm announcement last week, there was also the introduction of the EOS C50 camera. What are some of the highlights of that camera?

Tanaka: The C50 has a 7K full-frame sensor that provides 7K 60p RAW and 4K 60 fps 16 9 capture and also supports open-gate filming for 3:2 aspect-ratio needs. For social-media needs, that means it can shoot in 9 16 for things like Instagram, where that is important. And the camera can record a 16 9 image on a card in slot A and a 9 16 image on a card in slot B at the same time.

Also, the camera can be added into a multicam shoot as a POV, and you can manage color control and do shading so it matches other cameras.

Eilers: This camera can satisfy a number of applications. A lot of the network guys are looking at this as having great potential for bumper shots for creative pieces. We think the sweet spot is going to be the college and university market, where the production team is constantly flowing between types of shoots and needs one tool that can do a lot of things. The [camera's ability] to record horizontal video for broadcast production and simultaneously vertical video for their streaming channels and social needs lets them get content ready for all outlets more quickly.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/09/18/svg-sit-down-canons-rich-eilers...
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