Lyon Video’s Latest Truck Equipped with Host of Fujinon Lenses

Lyon Video’s rolled out its latest HD mobile unit, Lyon MU-11, for its first event in early September complete with a variety of Fujinon lenses. “It’s 3D, 3G, and Fuji,” says Bob Lyon, president of Lyon Video. “The equipment on the Lyon MU-11 is wired to be 3D ready and we have 3 GB bandwidth throughout the whole truck.”

Lyon selected Grass Valley LDK 8000 Elite cameras, including the 8300 Live Super SloMo camera, for the MU-11. He paired the cameras with Fujinon lenses for “quality, durability, and serviceability,” and added that 90 percent of the Lyon fleet uses Fujinon lenses.

For long lenses, also known as box lenses, Lyon purchased one XA101x8.9BESM super telephoto field lens, four XA88x8.8BESM telephoto field lenses, and 10 XA72x9.3BESM lenses.

“On all our mobile units, we like to give our clients – the producers and directors – the longest lens out there, which is the Fujinon XA101x8.9BESM,” says Lyon. “With many of the outdoor sports like football, auto racing, or baseball, where you may be very far away from the action, the long lenses capture the personality of the event for the production teams, and for the networks.”

Covering a range of sports, entertainment, and concert events, Lyon Video clients include ESPN, Fox Speed Channel, CBS Sports, and ABC. The production company handles broadcast production for several MLB baseball teams, such as the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians.

For handheld configuration, Lyon purchased four ZA22X7.6BERM ENG-style HD lenses with 2X extender, plus three ZA12x4.5BERM super wide angle HD ENG lenses with 2X extender. Both lenses feature Fujinon’s Quick Zoom, which provides a rapid zoom to the telephoto position to check focus with the push of a button, then returns the lens to the previously selected zoom position when the button is released.

“Fujinon lenses offer the quality to do high definition and to be 3D capable,” says Lyon. “The durability and ‘road-ability’ of Fujinon lenses is another aspect that matters to us. The gear stands up to ranges in temperature and environment — from baseball in Arizona in August to outdoor hockey in Chicago in December.”