Affordable New YJ20x8.5B and YJ13x6B Series 2/3-Inch SD Lenses Feature Widest Focal Lengths, Highest Zoom Ratios, Fastest Zoom Speeds, IFpro Technology, Shuttle Shot, and More

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., April 10, 2006 — Continuing its commitment to the needs of the standard definition professional video production community, Canon Broadcast & Communications has introduced two new 2/3-inch Pro-Video lens series. These lenses provide a new standard for performance, creative options, and affordability for a wide range of business, industrial, and broadcast production applications including POV (point of view) and robotic cameras. The new YJ20x8.5B series is available in three configurations: the YJ20x8.5B KRS, YJ20x8.5B IRS (2X extender model), and YJ20x8.5B KTS (remote control model). The YJ13x6B series is also available in three configurations: the YJ13x6B KRS wide-angle lens, the YJ13x6B IRS 2X extender model, and the YJ13x6B KTS remote-control All of these lenses feature Canon’s innovative Internal Focus technology (IFpro), which enhances optical performance and provides multiple user benefits. The lenses also feature Canon’s exclusive Shuttle Shot function, an advanced servo system that brings an entirely new range of value-added creativity to hand-held acquisition systems.

“Video image acquisition in a wide range of standard definition applications continues to be in demand, and Canon recognizes the need to provide ever-greater levels of price-performance for this Pro-Video market segment,” said Gordon Tubbs, assistant director of the Broadcast and Communications division at Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. “Leveraging Canon’s decades of leadership and optical expertise in both standard- and high-definition lens technology, as well as our latest innovations in optics and ergonomics, enables us to deliver our IFpro series lenses at the higher performance levels that more and more professional uses demand.”

Pioneered by Canon and originally introduced into its broadcast ENG lenses, Internal Focus (IF) is an innovative multi-group technology that uses a floating optical system to optimize control of chromatic aberrations and reduce focus breathing effects. Internal Focus enables the front end of the lens to remain stationary as the internal elements move during focusing. IFpro technology enhances optical performance and provides multiple user benefits, including: improved performance in changes in object distances, decreased lens flare from strong light sources with the use of a square lens hood, a higher level of creative filter options, and the ability to use optical accessories attached to the front end of the lens.

In addition to decreased size and weight, Canon has engineered additional ergonomic design innovations that further improve the price-performance advantages of its new IFpro lenses. All lenses feature a new, smaller drive unit that not only fits into the palm of the user’s hand more comfortably, but also improves the feeling of unity between the drive unit and the lens. These drive units, featuring a grip support and ribbed surface, are tilted at an ideal angle in order to achieve a better balance and to provide more comfort and reduce operator fatigue. The new drive units featured in the new lenses also make possible greater levels of precision and control, including control of the exclusive Canon Shuttle Shot feature, which facilitates zooming back and forth between any two focal length positions. Control of Shuttle Shot can be allocated to three different buttons using a DIP switch, depending on the preference of the user.

The new YJ20x8.5B series and the new YJ13x6B Series IFpro lenses also incorporate Canon’s newly developed optical materials in combination with the very latest lens-element design innovations and multilayer coatings. The new YJ20x8.5B Series long-zoom portable lens and the new YJ13x6B Series wide-angle portable lenses feature a horizontal field of view of 54.7 degrees and 72.5 degrees, respectively. The lenses achieve an excellent and well-controlled MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) profile over their entire respective image planes, while also minimizing chromatic aberrations and maximizing image contrast.

The new YJ20x8.5B series long-zoom portable IFpro lens offers the widest focal length (8.5mm) and highest zoom ratio (20x) of any lens in its class, in addition to the fastest servo zoom speed (1.2 seconds, end to end). Designed to achieve an excellent compromise between the demands for high sensitivity (the lens’ maximum relative aperture is f 1.8) and mobility in lightweight hand-held cameras, the new lens weighs 2.58 lbs., a full 11 percent lighter (and 5mm shorter) than its predecessor, the YJ19x9B KRS series.

With superlative wide-angle performance, the new YJ13x6B Series portable IFpro lens delivers the highest zoom ratio (13x) and widest focal length (6mm) of any lens in its class. It too features the fastest servo zoom speed (1.2 seconds, end to end). The 2X extender version features a focal range of from 12mm to 156mm. The YJ13x6B series represents a new level of achievement in balancing good sensitivity (this lens’ maximum relative aperture is f 2.0), mobility, and a wide field of view for use with lightweight hand-held cameras. The YJ13x6B KRS lens weighs 3.39 lbs., which is 11 percent lighter than the YJ12x6.5B KRS lens that it replaces. The YJ13x6B IRS lens weighs 3.83 lbs., which is 9 percent lighter than its predecessor YJ12x6.5B IRS lens.

The YJ20x8.5B KTS and YJ13x6B KTS lenses are principally designed for remote-control applications. Optically these lenses are identical to the KRS (standard) versions, which makes them the highest quality Pro-Video lenses Canon has ever produced. However, instead of using the standard ENG drive unit, Canon has attached its remote control drive unit to these lenses, making them highly effective for POV-type camera operations and or robotic applications, including remote control over zoom, focus, and iris.

The new YJ20X8.5B Series and the new YJ13x6B Series IFpro lenses join Canon’s existing line of Pro-Video lenses for 2/3-inch cameras, as well as lenses for 1/2-inch camera formats.

See the full line of Canon products at NAB 2006 in Booth # SU 131 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

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 second overall in the U.S. in 2005, with global revenues of $31.8 billion. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.

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