Canon U.S.A. is providing more than 70 HDTV portable, field and studio lenses to NBC Sports Group for its coverage of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi from Feb. 6-23. Models include the XJ100X9.3B AF long-zoom field lens and the XJ27X6.5B AF studio zoom lens, both of which feature sophisticated Canon auto-focus capabilities based on a proprietary HD implementation of Through-the-Lens Secondary Image Registration Phase Detection Method technology. Also helping to provide steady images from telephoto distances will be the portable HJ40X10B super telephoto HD lens featuring Canon Shift-IS internal Optical Shift Image Stabilization, and the compact HJ15EX8.5B image-stabilized HD lens with Canon’s Vari-Angle Prism image-stabilizer (VAP-IS) technology.
Additional Canon portable HDTV lenses being used by NBC Olympics include the HJ14ex4.3B wide-angle zoom, the HJ22ex7.6B and HJ21ex7.5B long focal length zooms, HJ18ex28B portable ultra-telephoto HD lens, the HJ17ex7.7B high-end field production lens, and the KJ22ex7.6B multi-purpose portable HD lens. The Canon portable HDTV lens complement will also include the KH21ex5.7, KH16ex5.7, and KH10ex3.6 zoom lenses, which are designed for ENG/EFP-style cameras employing half-inch imagers.
“Canon has supplied NBC with lenses for its Olympics coverage since 1992,” said Larry Thorpe, senior fellow, professional engineering and solutions division, Canon U.S.A. “A wide variety of Canon’s most advanced field, studio, and portable HD lenses will be used by NBC Olympics to capture the action at the many winter sports venues in Sochi. A complete team of Canon service professionals will also be on-hand with NBC in Russia to ensure a positive production experience.”
“Canon has been our lens partner for over 20 years now. In all those years, they have never delivered anything but superb optics and service for all of our Olympic coverage. Regardless of the conditions – including bad weather, temperature extremes, and fast paced productions – Canon lenses always produce amazing pictures. We have grown to rely on their outstanding on-site support and they are a critical member of our team,” said David Mazza, senior vice president, engineering, NBC Olympics.
