LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., March 25, 2005 – HD Cinema, a
leading provider of HD 24p production gear and post services
based in Los Angeles and New York, reports that Canon’s
HJ11x4.7B KLL-SC High Definition-Electronic Cinematography
(HD-EC) lens is a leading choice for a wide variety of digital
shooters seeking traditional film-style feel and operation.
The lens employs Canon’s exclusive Power Optical System
featuring the X-Element, a unique system that combines exceptional
performance with enhanced specifications.
"We’ve been pleased with the quality of the lenses as well
as the support from the whole Canon team, from the sales
staff through to the service department," HD Cinema owner
Jeff Blauvelt stated. He also added that Canon's HD-EC lenses
are popular choices among directors because of their clarity,
sharpness, and ease of use.
Directors of photography who have recently used HD Cinema's
HJ11x4.7B lenses include: Chuy Chavez, who shot the Sundance
hit Me And You And Everyone We Know; James Burgess,
who photographed the Randy Travis music video Raise Him
Up; and Cory Geryak, who filmed more than 40 interviews
for the Star Wars Trilogy DVD documentary Empire
of Dreams. Each praised the lens’ performance.
"I wanted the widest lens possible," explained Mexico City
native Chuy Chavez regarding his search for a lens to capture
director Miranda July's unique take on contemporary life.
The shooting conditions on the set of Me And You And
Everyone We Know (which is distributed by IFC Films)
required a lot of zooming, which, for Chavez, had always
been a time-consuming and cumbersome task.
"With a prime lens, to take a shot I would have to get the
right stock, get the right lens, and then switch the lens,"
Chavez explained. “It might take ten minutes to get the
shot. The Canon lenses are so easy to use. I can just zoom
in quickly, get the shot, and since it’s video we can keep
rolling.
"Two days ago I saw a five-minute print [of the film] and
it looked terrific," Chavez added. "I was really impressed."
Chavez has already ordered the HJ11x4.7B for his next shoot,
an as-yet-untitled documentary about an all-male village
of Mexican immigrants.
"This lens was great for me, it was very, very wide and
very telephoto, and for this documentary it's perfect,"
Chavez added.
James Burgess, DP for Raise Him Up, a faith-inspired
Randy Travis music video, also felt the HJ11x4.7 was perfect
for his needs, complimented by the Canon HJ 21x7.5 KLL-SC
Cine-Style lens. “I tell you, the Cine-Style lens was gorgeous.
It was actually the easiest HD lens to focus I’ve ever worked
with.”
Burgess listed his choice features: “The feel of the zoom,
the f-stop ring, and the focus were solid and smooth. And
of course, you don’t have all the additional apparatus sitting
on the lens—the handle and zoom control—as with an ENG-style
lens. It was just a very easy lens to use. That was the
first thing I noticed when I looked through the viewfinder,
while going in for a medium close-up of Randy and rolling
the focus. It was just easier to focus than any other lens
that I’ve worked with. That just happened to be my reaction;
I thought ‘Wow’ this is great.”
Cory Geryak, the DP on the Star Wars Trilogy DVD
documentary, Empire of Dreams, was also impressed
by the image quality of the HJ11x4.7.
"Lucasfilm had a pretty strong handle on what they wanted,"
Geryak recalled of the production process for Empire
of Dreams. "They were very interactive. They wanted
as sharp a picture as I could create. Canon lenses are an
essential part of shooting HD especially for EPK-style work,
where you're out in the field moving around a lot and you
need a lightweight lens that still gives you great sharpness.
The Canon HJ11x4.7 wide-angle zoom lens really held up for
the image we were trying to provide. And that’s where I
was really happy with the lens—to get that kind of quality
out of a lighter weight package was really exceptional,
which for me was a big selling point of it.
"I've always been a Canon fan," Geryak added. "The problem
with HD is that when it first came out there weren’t any
lenses that could give you the full effect of HD. Everybody
was using the old-style lenses for Betacam, but the HD cameras
wanted more information than those lenses could actually
provide. Now, however, Canon has lenses with the kind of
sharpness and resolution to hold up to HD. With these newer
lenses you're getting all that information onto the tape."
About HD Cinema: HD Cinema provides HD 24p production
gear and post services and has offices in Los Angeles and
New York. For more information see www.hd-cinema.com or
contact Jeff Blauvelt at (310) 434-9500 or jeff@hd-cinema.com.
About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business,
and industrial imaging solutions. The Company is listed
as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America and
is rated #35 on the BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands.”
Its parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent
holder of technology, ranking third overall in the U.S.
in 2004, with global revenues of $33.3 billion. For more
information, visit www.usa.canon.com.
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owners.
EDITORS Please note corporate contact information for this
division: For more information, please call Canon broadcast
and communications division at 1-800-321-4388 or visit www.canonbroadcast.com.
