CANON HD-EC LENSES HELP FULFILL AN ARTISTIC VISION FOR VOOM HD NETWORKS

DP James Callanan Relies on Canon HJ11x4.7B KLL-SC High Definition Electronic Cinematography Lens for Stunning HD Experience Featuring Famous Faces

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., September 29, 2006 – Action doesn’t have to be fast to be fascinating, and the famed experimental opera and theater director Robert Wilson proved it with a rare foray into the world of HDTV. With a Canon HJ11x4.7B KLL-SC High Definition Electronic Cinematography (HD-EC) lens trained on unforgettable faces ranging from movie stars, artists, and writers to European royalty, Wilson has created Video Portraits, a groundbreaking new series for the VOOM HD Networks, a nationally distributed collection of 15 high-definition television channels. The project is produced by VOOM HD LAB, an outreach initiative that works with artists and filmmakers to explore the artistic and technological boundaries of high-definition video. It will air on VOOM’s visual arts channel, GALLERY HD.

Award-winning DP James Callanan oversaw the intriguing 1080i shoots of Willem Dafoe and Isabella Rossellini at a theater on New York’s West 42nd Street, patiently recording every second of portraits where the talent was directed to move at an extraordinarily slow pace. “A casual observer would actually not notice any motion at all; only over an extended period would you see the image change,” Callanan explained. “The choice of the Canon HJ11x4.7B HD-EC zoom lens was very important, because sharpness or image acuity was vital for projection – which is intended to be quite large – in a gallery.”

The Canon HJ11x4.7B KLL-SC HD-EC zoom lens is designed to achieve a particularly high MTF that is optimally distributed across the image plane, holding up superbly over its entire 4.7mm to 52mm focal range. The lens’ excellent contrast performance and well-controlled relative light distribution characteristic results in the extremely vivid, crisp picture sharpness that was necessary for matching the meticulous attention to detail of Robert Wilson, creator of such monumental and visually revolutionary operas as Einstein on the Beach and Death Destruction & Detroit. Wilson is widely considered one of the most influential directors of theater and opera in the world today.

“Each image is an elaborate portrait shot using the Canon lens mounted on a Sony HDW-750 with only one setup in vertical format and another similar pose in a horizontal, or landscape, format for air on GALLERY HD,” Callanan explains. “It was quite fascinating working with Robert Wilson, the opera director, in HD. Wilson began by using existing photographs, paintings, cartoons, and other visual references as a means to communicate his vision: a portrait where the guest artist was the model.”

Wilson shot a variety of celebrities for this minimalist series. For each shoot, the Canon HJ11x4.7B KLL-SC provided the assurance of traditional film-style lens feel and operation, with dual large and luminous scales for Focus (marked in feet) and Iris facilitating precision control in low-light shooting environments.

“The barrel focus marks on the Canon 11x4.7mm lens are more accurate, more widely spaced, and more frequent than on an ENG zoom, so we can be sure of the critical focus,” says Callanan. “Since we were shooting in a theater, we lit to a middle stop (about T4.5), so the visual acuity, even with the lens wide open, was not an issue for us.”

The HJ11x4.7B KLL-SC joins the Canon HJ21x7.5 KLL-SC and HJ8x5.5B KLL-SC as Canon’s three HD-EC zoom lenses. Canon’s HD-EC lens line also includes six 2/3-inch prime lenses: Canon FJs5mm, FJs9mm, FJs14mm, FJs24mm, FJs35mm, and FJs55mm. The extremely high-quality imagery of Canon’s HD-EC lenses feature Power Optics that come from the combination of Hi Index, Ultra Low dispersion glass and multilayer coatings that produce superb Canon X-element imagery. In addition to Power Optics, the lenses feature optimization of MTF at wide aperture settings and a very short MOD. Canon’s innovative Internal Focus employs a two-group floating optical system for highest performance. The assurance of traditional film-style lens feel and operation comes from dual, large and luminous scales for Focus (marked in feet) and Iris, facilitating precision control even in low-light shooting environments.

Given his important assignment, James Callanan was glad to have a familiar name on the glass. “I use Canon lenses all the time on production jobs in both film and HD,” he concluded. “On HD projects, I use the Canon HD-EC zoom whenever I can.”

VOOM HD Lab Executive Producer, Ali Hosseini, added, “The HD-EC has been an essential part of our tool kit for exploiting the full capability of the high-definition camera. I even carried it by hand to Paris for Wilson’s shoot with Princess Caroline.”

About VOOM HD Networks:
VOOM HD Networks is the largest suite of high definition channels available anywhere, produced exclusively in high definition for distribution in the U.S. through satellite and cable operators. The VOOM HD Networks carry programming in categories as diverse as sports, movies, fashion, music, and art. Today, the VOOM HD Networks are available nationally on Echostar’s DISH Network. The VOOM HD Networks were developed by Rainbow Media to meet the growing demand for quality high definition programming, building on Rainbow Media’s history of original programming innovation.

About VOOM HD LAB and GALLERY HD:
VOOM HD Lab aims to provide artists and filmmakers with the production and post-production tools to explore the frontiers of the new HD medium and to create unique and innovative works in this state-of-the-art format. Many of the works produced by VOOM HD Lab have been shown internationally in galleries, festivals and museums including: Le Couvent des Cordeliers in Paris, American Museum of the Moving Image, the 2006 Whitney Biennial, the Anthology Film Archives, and the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. They are also aired on the VOOM HD Networks, which are available nationally on DISH satellite service.

Transmitted in breathtaking high definition, GALLERY HD is the nation’s only 24-hour channel devoted to the visual arts, offering a breadth of unique and groundbreaking programming, including ARTSTAR, the critically acclaimed original reality series that follows eight artists trying to make it in the New York art scene; and ARTLAND:USA, a cross-country road trip to discover American art from museums and private collections to roadside attractions, which premieres on October 5th.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. The Company is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America and is rated #35 on the BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands." Its parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent holder of technology, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2005, with global revenues of $31.8 billion. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.

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