The ABC affiliate in Detroit (DMA no. 11), WXYZ-TV, said it plans to equip it new HD ENG unit with more than a dozen Fujinon HD lenses (HTs18X4.2 Berm) with 2X extenders as part of the station's switch to all-HD newsgathering.
Although a growing list of local stations has grown to local HD for their studio-originated coverage, a lot are still using their older 4:3 SD equipment in the field. The Fujinon lenses are being used in tandem with JVC GY-HD250 cameras for ENG work, as well as local sports and special events productions.
While WXYZ-TV Chief Photographer Earl Watkins said the station's previous lenses used for local coverage were a bit shorter, which he said was beneficial for some shooting scenarios, "when we added the hard drive to the camera, the longer Fujinon lens helped balance out the camera and improved the feel—which is critical in ENG applications."
Fujinon said its HTs18X4.2 Berm was developed for use on the JVC camera at the specific request of Scripps Broadcasting Group (WXYZ-TV's owner). The lens maker said the new lenses were also specifically designed to work as well as possible under low-light conditions, which are common for undercover investigative reporting.
Scripps earlier had announced that it had purchased more than 100 of the same Fujinon HD lenses for its 10 stations.
