Canon HD Helps Show Up World Cup Cheats

The World Cup, Germany, 2006. Football’s greatest tournament, contested by the world’s great footballing nations...
Vast crowds filled the superb German stadiums: but their numbers were miniscule by comparison to the millions watching at a distance - whether on big screens in city centres everywhere, in bars throughout the world, or simply in the millions of homes tuned in to every game. And it was to these audiences that Canon technology and dedication made a big World Cup difference. Of the lenses used in the World Cup the majority – well over 200 – came from Canon.
Apart from capturing the action, one unique difference Canon helped make to this World Cup was to capture the very detailed slow-motion shots which were replayed immediately during the broadcasts, often exposing trickery that even the referees failed to spot. They were shot with the new ‘Hi-Motion’ high speed camera from NAC, provided by ARRI, an HD camera that can shoot 1920x1080 in 300 f/ps. The camera uses B4 broadcast lenses and was equipped with an XJ86x zoom lens.
“We tested the Canon XJ100x and the XJ86x on this camera before the Cup, and were satisfied that this was the high quality lens we needed to zoom into the action - or foul play - on the field” – Andy Hayford - Digital High-Speed Project Manager.
HBS asked TVN to equip 14 teams of HBS camera staff with cameras and Canon lenses to travel through Germany and shoot images of the people and activities around the stadiums - and the beauties of each host city. 24 lenses were used, mostly the J17ex7.7, but also the J11ex4.5 for the wide-angle shots, and the J22ex7.6.
What made it all possible was a unique standard of service. Canon deployed two dedicated German service centres to give advice, maintain hard-worked lenses and solve problems. And a team of 5 Canon technicians drove up and down Germany to ensure that 2 were present at every match, and offering a 24-hour emergency service back-up. We reckon they did more miles than most of the football teams – on and off the pitch included!
So Canon proved once again at the World Cup, just as they had at the Turin Winter Olympics, at Athens 2004 and at many other major world sporting events, that the sports-winning technology and service comes from Canon.
Visit www.canon-europe.com for further details.
(SP)