MLB Network turns to Canon lenses for HD studio cameras, ballpark ‘look-ins’

The MLB (Major League Baseball) Network has chosen four of Canon’s flagship XJ27x6.5B HD studio lenses and two HJ11ex4.7B portable HD lenses for its new broadcast studios in Secaucus, NJ.

MLB Network also is supplementing its studio-originated video with HDTV content from multiple Canon BU-45H remote-control pan/tilt outdoor cameras being installed at all 30 MLB ballparks nationwide.

One of the MLB Network’s HDTV studios sports a high-tech look, while the other resembles a half-scale infield of an actual ballpark. The MLB Network wanted an HD lens that would be fast, because it is trying to control the depth-of-field in both the high-tech studio and the retro studio, said Mark Haden, VP of engineering and IT for the network. The Canon XJ27 gave MLB Network the range it required for shooting wide and tight.

The Canon BU-45H remote-control pan/tilt outdoor HDTV cameras at each ballpark are controlled remotely via IP from MLB headquarters in New Jersey. Equipped with a 20:1 zoom lens, the BU-45H sports an aluminum enclosure that protects the camera from the elements and RFI.