Sky NZ Buys Fujinon Lenses for 2017 Bledisloe Cup
Multiple XA77x9.5 BESM and HA23x7.6BERD lenses
SYDNEY, 29 August 2017 – The recent Bledisloe Cup saw SKY New Zealand’s Outside Broadcasting division (OSB) add to and upgrade both their
camera and lens fleet with the purchase of multiple new Fujinon lenses. SKY have been active worldwide for many years in
facilitating equipment and coverage of live events for both host broadcasters and those requiring unilateral feeds. In
New Zealand the company owns and operates six major, state of the art HD outside broadcast vehicles and standard
definition vehicles capable of handling the most complex outside broadcasts.
Technical Manager Nick Haines explained, “SKY has a long term commitment to Fujinon products so when we increased our
fleet of Sony cameras with some new HDC-4300s it was a logical to return to Fujinon for their latest lens offerings.”
SKY particularly liked the instant compatibility of the new lenses with their existing cameras and the long history of
reliability and support from Fujinon Australia.
Haines added, “We purchased multiple Fujinon XA77x9.5 BESM and HA23x7.6BERD lenses. It became very apparent in our
testing of next generation cameras that our old lenses, whilst being cutting edge at the time of purchase, weren’t going
to provide the top quality image we are looking for from our new cameras. The fact that the new cameras are 4K capable
definitely showed up artefacts we had never been able to resolve before. It was quite enlightening see the difference
between the current lenses we had at our disposal and how much better the new Fujinon lenses were.”
The XA77x9.5 telephoto field lens sets the bar for price and performance. Perfect for large venues and sporting events.
The XA77x9.5 comes standard with Optical Stabilisation. Exclusive anti-fogging design minimises lens fogging and reduces
downtime due to moisture. It also features a newly developed EBC coating to reduce ghosts and flare, and increase light
transmission.
The HA23x7.6BERD is a Premier Series HD Telephoto Lens ENG Style for news, sports and other applications requiring
increased magnification. This lens provides a digital servo zoom and focus for full servo studio control, robotics,
jibs, tower cams, teleconferencing and other applications where remote control of zoom, focus and iris via RS-232 serial
data or traditional analogue control is desired. Optional zero backlash gearing and 16 bit encoders are available for
robotics and virtual applications and remote control of the 2X extender is possible with the optional model ECU-2A
remote extender module.
With SKY’s coverage of the Bledisloe Cup considered excellent by all who viewed it Haines reflected on how the new
Fujinon lenses performed as he concluded, “Basically we were looking for great quality lenses that would also provide us
with a reliable product and would deliver everything we required under the very trying conditions we have in NZ outside
broadcast. These new Fujinon lenses did just that and are now in use across our fleet of six HD OB vans. Having used the
new lenses extensively during the Bledisloe Cup the main comments we’ve had back from the field all relate to a
noticeable improvement in sharpness and lower loss than any of our existing equipment.”
ENDS