Live From Super Bowl LVII: Canon Broadcast Lenses Out in Full Force in Glendale
The camera/lens supplier is also supporting an army of still photographers onsite
The Super Bowl is one of the biggest days of the year for Canon, and the 57th edition in Glendale, AZ, this weekend is no different. In addition to providing more than 60 broadcast lenses for Fox Sports’ game and studio coverage, Canon is also providing glass for NFL Network, NFL Films, International Media Services, ESPN, the NFL Honors Show, Super Bowl Halftime Show, and many others. In addition, the company’s still-photography side has a massive onsite presence in terms of both technology and support personnel.
Canon’s support team is out in full force at Super Bowl LVII.
“We are going to be overwhelmingly well-represented at this Super Bowl,” says Josh Stoner, senior specialist, product education, field and sales support, Canon U.S.A. “We’re really proud of that. Fox is using pretty much 100% [Canon] lenses for the game and pre/postgame and halftime shows. We’ve got our full team here to provide support not only to Fox but to all the broadcasters in town.”
Fox Sports has rolled out 46 Canon lenses for the game itself (which will be produced out of Game Creek Video Encore) and 18 more for the onsite studio show (produced out of Game Creek PrimeOne). The lens complement for the game production comprises 14 122X broadcast lenses (as well as one of the new 122X AF lenses on a Sony HDC-5500 camera), four 111Xs, one 27X, four 24Xs, 14 14Xs, and two 45Xs. As for Canon Cine-Servo lenses, Fox will deploy two 17-120s, two 50-1000s, one 25-250, and a 15-120. Meanwhile, Fox’s onsite studio shows will leverage six CJ15EX4.3 IASE S and eight CJ20EX5B IASE S broadcast zoom lenses and four 27X box lenses.
At the Super Bowl Halftime Show compound, JitaCam’s John Pry with a Canon 15-120mm lens on a robotic mount with a Sony Venice 2 cinema camera
The Halftime Show will feature four new 15-120 PL lenses on Sony Venice 2 cinematic cameras. In addition, Astro Design is on hand with an 8K camera and will use a Canon 25-250 Cine Servo lens. Van Wagner, which handles the in-venue broadcast, also will use a 25-250 Cine Servo lens.
Stoner is joined onsite by Paul McNiff and two additional service technicians to provide broadcast support, along with various members of Canon’s sales team.
As for still photography, more than 300 pieces of Canon gear have been lent to photographers onsite, including an army of EOS EOS R3 mirrorless DSLR camera bodies and a slew of the RF lenses. The Canon Professional Services area provides a “clean and check” station for photogs and is fully staffed with technology pros to provide advice and answer technical questions.
“We are excited and proud to be able to provide all this support and technology for our great business partners — not only the networks but also every production company and both the teams,” says Rich Eilers, national accounts sales director, Television Production Sales Division, Canon U.S.A. “There is no event quite like the Super Bowl, and it’s obviously one of our biggest events of the year. We have to be there for both the broadcast and the photography side. We will bring all the resources we can muster to make sure that this event goes well and that everybody gets the best images possible for such a [high-profile] event.”