Edmonton Oilers Rely on Fujinon Lenses for Game Day Action at Rogers Place

After more than 40 years of play at its previous arena, the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers team found their new home in the Rogers Place for the 2016-17 season. The 18,500-seat Alberta arena is the centerpiece of an impressive, large-scale redevelopment plan in downtown Edmonton. The build included an investment in six FUJINON lenses, and Rogers Place now houses the following lenses from the Optical Devices Division of FUJIFILM: a HA14x4.5BERM super wide angle and two XA77x9.5BESM telephoto lenses, along with a HA18x5.5BERD and two HA18x7.6BERM HA Premier Series ENG lenses.

The lenses are relied on for game day action, including use in a camera system installed to the underside of the arena’s massive videoboard.

Measuring 46 ft. wide, 36 ft. high, and 46 ft. deep, the Rogers Place videoboard is the largest of its kind in the NHL. Working with local systems integrator Matrix Video Communications, a one-of-a-kind suspended camera system was built that includes a Sony HDC-P1 box camera mounted on a dolly track hung from the bottom of the score clock. The camera uses a FUJINON HA18X5.5BERD ENG/EFP HA Premier Series lens, traveling 15 meters along the length of the score clock to produce dynamic, bird’s-eye-view shots of the game. This angle is used for in-arena video presentation and for national broadcasts on Sportsnet.

Arena Control Room

The Edmonton Oilers’ videoboard show uses three handheld cameras: two wired Sony HSC-100RF cameras equipped with FUJINON HA18x7.6BERM ENG lenses and a Sony PXW-X500 EFP camera with a FUJINON HA14X4.5BERM super wide angle lens configured with an RF transmitter for wireless operation. These handheld cameras shoot hockey action, fans and interviews.

“The FUJINON lenses have proven to be very robust and delivered superior image quality during the inaugural season of NHL hockey in Edmonton at Rogers Place,” says Keith Hough, Manager, Production Services, Rogers Place, Oilers Entertainment Group. “In outside broadcast production, the equipment must be very durable as it’s moved, setup, disassembled, and moved again multiple times throughout the season. The lenses withstood this harsh treatment and still produced beautiful pictures at every event.”

FUJINON lenses were also relied on for two standard ‘hard camera’ positions in the arena, in whichSony HSC-100RF cameras are equipped with FUJINON XA77x9.5BESM telephoto field lenses with FUJINON MS-21D digital semi-servo controller kits.

“The XA77x9.5BESM lenses feature Image Stabilization, which is very useful at the telephoto end of the zoom,” Hough explains. “The building can really shake with 18,500 screaming fans!”

Hough adds, “Our FUJINON lenses have performed exceptionally well at Rogers Place and are a key contributor to the world-class events taking place in this arena every week.”