CANON U.S.A. INTRODUCES NEW DIGISUPER 27 HD STUDIO LENS
AND DIGISUPER 27AF WITH HD STUDIO AUTO FOCUS CONVENIENCE
New XJ27x6.5B IE-D and XJ27x6.5B AF HD Studio Lenses Provide Enhanced Wide Performance, an Increased Zoom Ratio and Servo-Zoom Speed, and New Multi-Layer Optical Coatings for Outstanding Image Quality in HDTV Studio Productions
LAS VEGAS, NV, April 14, 2008 – As the production of HDTV program content accelerates, Canon U.S.A., Inc. continues to introduce improvements in HD lens technology with new and advanced features for enhanced performance and ease-of-use. Last year at NAB 2007, Canon introduced the revolutionary DIGISUPER 100AF and DIGISUPER 86AF long-field HD zoom lenses with Canon’s proprietary Auto Focus technology. At the 2008 NAB Show in booth #SU3020, Canon continues to advance HD lens technology with the introduction of the DIGISUPER 27 and DIGISUPER 27AF HD studio lenses (models XJ27x6.5B IE-D and XJ27x6.5B AF, respectively) for excellent performance and – in the case of the DIGISUPER 27AF – Auto Focus convenience optimized for HDTV studio applications.
“The DIGISUPER 27 and DIGISUPER 27AF are the successors to the DIGISUPER 25xs, which was one of the industry’s most popular HD studio lenses,” stated Gordon Tubbs, director, Broadcast and Communications Division, Canon U.S.A. “The DIGISUPER 27 and DIGISUPER 27AF are the evolutionary ‘next steps’ in HD studio lenses for Canon. Both are wider, have a bigger zoom ratio, and feature newly developed multi-layer optical coatings that dramatically reduce ghosting and flaring. The DIGISUPER 27AF, however, takes HD studio lens performance even further with enhanced Auto Focus capabilities for the HDTV studio environment. The DIGISUPER 27AF HD studio lens utilizes Canon’s proprietary Auto Focus technology, which is set to revolutionize HD production on multiple fronts.”
With the widest angle of any lenses available, the DIGISUPER 27 and DIGISUPER 27AF HD studio lenses have a focal length of 6.5mm to 180mm. These lenses also offer the optional BWA-271 0.9x Wide Attachment, the industry’s first wide-angle attachment for an HD studio lens. This “zoom-through” Wide Attachment enables users to begin with a wide shot and go telephoto without experiencing negative effects on light transmission. This feature alters the range of the zoom on wide settings by ten percent toward the wide side, making a new zoom range of 5.85mm to 162mm.
Other innovations in the DIGISUPER 27 and DIGISUPER 27AF HD studio lenses include a maximum servo-zoom speed of 0.5 seconds and a new optional remote-controllable macro-focus feature that allows the camera operator to perform macro focusing from the pan bar (a helpful tool for focusing on jewelry and other small objects).
Auto Focus Optimized for the HD Studio
The tremendous picture detail contained in HDTV makes anything in less-than-perfect focus immediately obvious. As a result, shooting HD video poses new challenges for camera operators or robotic systems, whether in the field or the studio. Canon’s extensive experience in addressing the extraordinary demands of designing long-zoom HD field lenses provides the Company with a unique understanding of the multiple challenges that HDTV presents to camera operators when covering fast-moving sports events. Canon answered that challenge by developing the DIGISUPER 100AF and DIGISUPER 86AF autofocus long-field HD zoom lenses. Both feature sophisticated autofocus capabilities based on a proprietary HD implementation of Through-the-Lens Secondary Image Registration Phase Detection Method technology. Having conquered the autofocus challenge in HD field lens design, Canon then optimized this technology for use in the studio. As with its DIGISUPER AF long-field HD zoom lenses, the new DIGISUPER 27AF HD studio lens is designed to apply the benefits of autofocus technology in the creation of the highest quality HD video images possible, but with particular optimization for HDTV studio use.
The Canon DIGISUPER 27AF HD studio lens creates an operator-controllable window in the HD camera’s viewfinder that targets the object operators want to focus most sharply on in the scene. Camera operators can change the window’s position and size by means of a miniature joystick on the camera handle’s focus servo control. An additional button provides three modes of operation:
- Part-Time – actuates the autofocus system as long as a control button is depressed.
- Full-Time – actuates the autofocus continually on selected moving objects such as racing cars (which might be speeding toward the camera position), or for shooting situations entailing full-servo robotic operation.
- Off – allows for normal, unassisted lens focus.
DIGISUPER Advances
As with Canon’s other DIGISUPER HD studio lenses, the new DIGISUPER 27 and DIGISUPER 27AF HD studio lenses feature the highest possible optical quality and are the best HD studio lenses available today. Canon, a world leader in optics, utilizes advanced technologies in its lens design and manufacturing processes, including advanced computer-aided design techniques, special optical materials, and specialized multi-layer coatings on each optical element. All Canon DIGISUPER lenses incorporate the second-generation Digital Servo System, which makes zoom and focus controls precise and repeatable. Canon’s Digital Servo System provides microcomputer compensation of lens focus-breathing (the inadvertent alteration of field of view when operating the focus control) as well as a host of other improved digital operational features for focus and zooming control. The new DIGISUPER 27 and DIGISUPER 27AF HD studio lenses are Canon’s latest advancements designed to provide program producers and other video content creators with the industry’s most sophisticated tools for television production.
About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), a top patent holder of technology, ranking third overall in the U.S. in 2007†, with global revenues of $39.3 billion, is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America and is on the 2007 BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands." To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/pressroom.
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†IFI Patent Intelligence Press Release, January 2008
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