CSP Mobile Productions Outfits HD2 with Canon Lenses

Specialists in providing on-location HD facilities for the coverage of major league and college sports throughout the U.S., CSP Mobile Productions has recently outfitted HD2, its new 53-ft. production vehicle, with ten HD lenses from Canon U.S.A.

HD2, CSP Mobile Productions’ third new HD production vehicle introduced within the past two years, will carry eight newly purchased Canon HD lenses, including: one XJ100x9.3B, two XJ86X13.5B, and three XJ72x9.3B long-field HD zoom lenses; one HJ14ex4.3B wide-angle portable HD lens; and one KJ20x8.2B portable HD lens with 2x extender. HD-2 will also be equipped with two Canon HJ22ex7.6B portable HD lenses from CSP Mobile Productions’ existing inventory. Two additional newly purchased KJ20x8.2B portable HD lenses will be carried by the company’s two other HD trucks, HD1 and HD3.

“We run Canon HD lenses exclusively on all of our HD trucks primarily due to the reliability of the lenses themselves and Canon’s service,” noted Len Chase, president/co-owner of CSP Mobile Productions. “Our company is based in Saco, Maine, and, in addition to sports, we also provide on-location HD production facilities for such clients as broadcast and cable networks, corporate communicators, pay-per-view producers, and Internet content providers. HD2, which debuts this November, was built by Kentucky Trailer Technology. It is a highly advanced 53-ft. expando truck that’s wired for seven eight-channel video servers and also includes an advanced HD production switcher, a digital audio console, and facilities for 16 cameras, each of which has a Canon HD lens on it.”

Canon’s long-field HDTV zoom lenses are the most widely used lenses in HD sports and entertainment production. CSP Mobile Productions is using the Canon XJ100x9.3B and XJ86x9.3B HD lenses, which both feature Canon’s unique Image Stabilizer technology for rock-solid shots at telephoto distances. Both of these lenses, as well as the new Canon XJ72x9.3B HD lenses purchased by CSP Mobile Productions, all feature specialized multilayer coatings on each optical element, advanced computer-aided lightweight design, heightened long-range zoom capabilities, and the HD optical precision that have helped make Canon a global leader in the field.

All of these long-field HD zoom lenses also utilize Canon’s second-generation digital servo systems for improved ease-of-operation and superb tactile control of zoom, iris, and focus, precision repeatability of settings, and microcomputer compensation of lens-focus breathing (the inadvertent alteration of field-of-view when operating the focus control).

Canon’s HJ14ex4.3B portable HD zoom lens combines an extended 14 times zoom range with a minimum focal length of 4.3mm and an angular field of view of 96.3 degrees at the wide end of the 16:9 HD aspect ratio, making it an exceptional wide-angle portable HD lens. The 14x zoom range of this lens reaches to 60mm (120mm with extender), which greatly expands creative options for the acquisition of clear HD video images. Canon’s mastery of computer-based optical design techniques and new multi-layer optical coating technologies help to ensure superb imaging performance with minimum distortion.

The KJ20x8.2B portable HD lens is the newest member of Canon’s cost-effective HDgc Series of portable HD zoom lenses. Advanced features of the KJ20x8.2B include its built-in 2x extender, an important imaging feature (previously seen on higher-end HD lenses) that provides camera operators with greatly improved subject-framing flexibility. The KJ20x8.2B is also Canon’s widest (8.2 mm) lens in the affordable 20x zoom class, and it covers a generous range of focal lengths, particularly when combined with its built-in 2x extender expanding its 8.2mm-164mm focal length to 16.4mm-328mm.

In addition to the two extra KJ20x8.2B portable HD lenses purchased for CSP Mobile Productions’ HD1 and HD3, those trucks are also equipped with previously purchased Canon XJ100x9.3B, XJ86x9.3B, and XJ72x9.3B long-zoom HD field lenses and eight HJ22ex7.6B portable HD ENG lenses.

Canon’s HJ22ex7.6B is the Company’s longest focal length range portable HD zoom lens offered (without an image stabilization system). The HJ22ex7.6B, HJ14ex4.3B, and KJ20x8.2B all feature Advanced Drive Unit technology for precise, automated repeatability of select lens settings, which can be a handy feature for fast-moving sports coverage.

“We are very particular about the production equipment we order for our HD mobile trucks – including HDTV lenses – because our clients expect high-quality productions from us,” Chase stated. “We have had virtually no issues with Canon lenses in the field and any time we have had any problems – most of which were primarily because of a dropped lens or an element that had been broken due to mishandling – Canon’s service has been phenomenal; they have made sure the issue is taken care of immediately, which is of the utmost importance in our business.”

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