Earl Miller Productions Upgrades to HD with Six FUJINON Lenses

FUJIFILM North America, Optical Devices Division, has announced that Earl Miller Productions — a mobile production and production services company in Austin, TX — purchased six FUJINON lenses for its upgrades to EMP Unit Two.  The 42-foot truck is regularly booked for live entertainment and sports productions nationwide.

The FUJINON lens package, which includes three XA66x9.3BESM box-style HD telephoto lenses and three ZA22x7.6BERD HD ENG lenses, will be used in conjunction with six new Ikegami HDK-79EC HD-native, multi-format camera systems.  While Earl Miller Productions has been a long-time FUJINON customer, the company still did comparison shopping and shootouts to determine the best HD lenses for the truck.  The final decision came down to a combination of price and service.

“When you make a significant investment in equipment, you want to go with a company that you know will stand behind its products well into the future,” said Mike Miller, vice president of Earl Miller Productions.  “We expect these new lenses to still be in service five to ten years down the road.  As long-time users of FUJINON lenses, we were already happy with their service and the performance of their lenses.”

“But price was a critical factor as well,” Miller added.  “When we compared FUJINON lenses to comparable, competing models, we found that FUJINON offered the best prices.”

Miller said that their camera crews were happy with the efficient set-up and operational features offered by the new cameras and lenses, which arrived in mid-December 2011.  “Unit 2” is the first of EMP’s three trucks to begin the HD transition.  Targeting the medium-sized truck market, this mobile unit has a Grass Valley Kayak HD switcher, Chyron Duet, and EVS for replay.

“This truck was designed and built with HD production in mind, so the infrastructure is already HD-capable,” Miller said.  “With this new camera/lens package, we’re beginning to replace elements to realize that transition. Other HD upgrades are also planned or have happened for our fly packs, postproduction facilities, and fixed facilities we run throughout Texas.”

The FUJINON XA66x9.3BESM lens is a studio/field, box-type telephoto zoom lens for live HD event production.  This XA Series lens offers a focal length of 9.3 to 615mm or 18.6 to 1230mm with a two-times extender.  Designed for 2/3-inch cameras, the maximum relative aperture is 1:1.7 (9.3-325mm) or 1:3.2 (615mm). Full remote control via RS-232 serial data port is possible.  For its lenses, Earl Miller Productions chose a semi-servo configuration, combining servo zoom control with manual focus.

The cameras can be mounted on studio tripods or jimmy jibs; as well as shoulder-mounted when used with the FUJINON ZA Select Series ENG/EFP lenses.  With its 22x zoom range, the FUJINON ZA22x7.6BERD ENG lens offers a focal length of 7.6 to 167mm, or 15.2 to 334mm with the two-times extender.  The maximum relative aperture ranges from 1:18 (7.6-120mm) to 1:2.5 (167mm), with features like inner focus, quick zoom, and zoom limit.  The six lenses will be dedicated to Unit 2 truck operations.

“We take great care in choosing new equipment, such as cameras and lenses,” Miller added, “because our clients trust us to provide the best products for their shows.”