Press Release

Ease of operation is a principal philosophy behind Canon’s long history of continual advancements in lens technologies for a wide variety of High Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD) broadcast television cameras. A global leader in optical innovation, Canon's many recent developments include its unique Enhanced Digital Technology, which enables users of its portable HD and SD lenses to automate select functions depending on their personal preferences. Also known as “eDrive,” this technology is increasingly popular among a wide range of Canon portable lens users.
One such Canon eDrive user is James Mathers, an accomplished Los Angeles-based director of photography experienced in shooting both film and video for theatrical features, documentaries, and TV music programs. President of the Migrant FilmWorkers Company, Mathers recently purchased a Canon HJ11ex4.7B IASE wide-angle HD zoom lens with eDrive to complement his new Panasonic VariCam HD camera.
“Buying an HD camera is a big investment, and I also shoot film and SD video,” Mathers explains. “I can’t just put my HD camera in a closet while I’m off working with other formats, so in order to amortize my investment I rent my HD camera when I’m not using it. And that’s why I selected Canon’s HJ11ex4.7B wide-angle HD zoom lens with eDrive. I can’t afford every little bell and whistle offered by every different kind of lens that a rental client might need for their particular project. But with eDrive you get lots of versatility in your HD lens, which makes your HD camera-rental package able to satisfy the needs of a broad range of users.”
Canon’s HJ11ex4.7B wide-angle portable HD zoom lens features the optical excellence of e-HDxs technology, which uses Canon’s X-Element and Power Optical System for highest-quality optics in a robust, compact, and lightweight housing that weighs just 4.10 lbs. The optional flexibility of Canon’s 16:9/4:3 Crossover Technology makes it a stand-out performer in either aspect ratio. And the HJ11ex4.7B’s Enhanced Digital Technology eDrive features further enhances its versatility.
“Canon is a very trusted name,” Mathers continues. “I’ve been using Canon lenses for super 16mm shooting, and I’m very comfortable with their reputation for quality. I tested the HJ11ex4.7B wide-angle HD zoom lens and found it had very little problems with breathing, which is important because I do a lot of dramatic work. You don’t want to pull focus in a dramatic scene and have your frame size change on you. And in addition to the lens’ HD performance, eDrive is a great bonus.”
Canon’s unique eDrive feature is built into the company’s full line of e-HDxs High Definition and e-IFxs Standard Definition portable zoom lenses. Utilizing three Canon ultra-high-precision, microprocessor-driven digital servos with 16-bit optical encoders, Canon’s eDrive technology represents an entirely new way to control portable lenses. With eDrive, users can easily program such functions as zoom and focus settings into a lens for precise, automated repeatability via an easy-to-use LCD menu, assignable “soft” function buttons, and the rocker switch built into the lens grip. Users can program multiple settings or none at all, depending on their personal needs and preferences.

Canon’s eDrive provides: nine user-definable function profiles; a choice of manual, digitally assisted, or fully programmed control; and instant “Shuttle Shot” to zoom to the longest focal length for quick check of focus and back focus. Digitally assisted shooting techniques offered by Canon’s eDrive include graceful “padded” zoom start/stops so that zooms begin and end softly and without jerkiness. Canon’s eDrive provides for memorized focus and zoom positions, repeatable focus with no mechanical play or gear backlash, steady and slow zoom creeps, and one-button on/off.
“Everyone I’ve rented my HD package to has been really happy with it primarily because eDrive enables them to customize the HJ11ex4.7B lens to their needs, especially in terms of focal length,” Mathers continues. “The HJ11ex4.7B wide-angle HD zoom lens has a great focal range that goes from 4.7mm on the wide end all the way to 104mm with its built-in 2x extender. It’s got zoom controls built-in so you can use it in a hand-held configuration, or if you’re using it on a tripod you can connect an external zoom control to it. I rented my HD camera package to particular client who felt that the lens’ wide-angle zoom was too wide, but with eDrive they were able to lock the wide end of the lens at just where they wanted it, which was the perfect solution. After that they were very happy with the lens for their particular project.”
Canon eDrive’s motion-control repeatability offers many advantages and striking new possibilities for a variety of users, including hand-held news, field, and studio shooters. With eDrive, lens functions can be customized according to a videographer's own particular needs. News shooters can, for example, program an ultra-slow zoom that can be turned on and off with a single button, or they can program a focus pull should they need to scan a document from top to bottom. Field camera operators can quickly and easily check focus with the Shuttle Shot function.
“Using eDrive, you can set a lens stop on the wide end to keep you from zooming out too far and ‘seeing off your set’ or catching a flag or eyebrow that were set to control stray light,” Mathers explains. “You could also, for example, use eDrive’s lens-stop feature on a zoom-in to set a very precise end frame that you need to get to. It’s hard to do this manually, especially on a fast or ‘snap’ zoom. But with eDrive it’s easy.”
In addition to its eDrive advantages, Mathers also had special praise for the HJ11ex4.7B’s HD performance. “Versatility is important to me. When I did independent features in 35mm I would have to frame for widescreen and TV at the same time. Now, however, if I’m framing just for HDTV it’s even easier. It’s nice that you can have one lens that you can shoot 4:3 with on one day and then 16:9 the next. Canon’s HJ11ex4.7B wide-angle HD zoom lens covers both, so that’s another advantage in versatility. And as far as shooting in HD goes, I think the more quality you can achieve today when you’re shooting, the more you’re protecting your content for the future. Even though today’s television broadcasts may not be able to convey all the HD picture quality that you’ve recorded, tomorrow’s HD broadcasting and DVD’s will. So if you want your productions to have lasting value tomorrow they need to be shot with an HD lens and HD camera today.”
“I believe in choosing the right tool for the job, but there are so many different kinds of productions being done today that you need to choose tools with versatility,” Mathers concludes. “I chose Canon for its reputation for quality, the fact that I tested the lens, its breathing characteristics, and colorimetry. I can only afford to have one lens to go with one camera in my HD package, so it has to be an everyman’s lens, and the versatility of Canon’s HJ11ex4.7B wide-angle HD zoom lens with eDrive works out really well that way.”
www.usa.canon.com