Canadian DPs Rent Fujinon PL Mount Zooms from Sim Video to Shoot TV Series for the Sci Fi Channel

Nov. 16, 2011 - PRLog -- Wayne, N.J.– Seeking exceptional optical quality for fast-paced episodic television productions, three Canadian Directors of Photography (DPs) recently rented a complement of FUJINON Premier PL Mount zoom lenses from Sim Video—a leading Toronto-based broadcast and film equipment rental company.

The three notable Canadian DPs—Mike McMurray, David Perrault, and Rudy Blahacek—chose FUJINON Premier PL zoom lenses to shoot sci-fi television series for broadcast on NBC/Universal’s SCI FI Channel, CTV, and Lifetime. In choosing equipment for these productions, they selected from the Sim Video PL lens inventory which includes: Premier PL 18-85 T2.0 zooms, Premier PL 24-180 T2.6 lenses; and Premier PL 75-400 T2.8-3.8’s. Designed for high-end 35mm film and digital cinematography, the FUJINON PL Mount product family offers focal lengths ranging from 14.5mm to 400mm.

DP McMurray, CSC, has been using the Premier PL lenses to shoot “Warehouse 13,” an American fantasy/drama series for the SCI FI Channel. “In shooting ‘Warehouse 13,’ equipment reliability is crucial. FUJINON lenses are workhorses in the film industry, especially for TV series work, because they produce crisp, clean images and color-match extraordinarily well with each other,” he explained. “The FUJINON Premier PL 18-85 T2.0 is an excellent wide to mid-range lens, while the Premier PL 75-400 T2.8-3.8 takes care of all my long lens needs. But my favorites are the two Premier PL 24-180 T2.6’s that I use with my A and B cameras because, with their wide focal lengths, lens changes are minimal.”

DP Perrault, CSC, has also been using Sim Video’s FUJINON PL zoom lenses to shoot “Alphas,” a new action thriller series for the SCI FI Channel featuring five ordinary people who acquire super human physical and mental capabilities.

“I’ve been using the FUJINON Premier PL 75-400 T2.8-T3.8 and Premier PL 18-85 T2.0 to shoot season one of ‘Alphas,’ and they’re both beautiful lenses,” Perrault said. “These compact lenses offer broad focal ranges, great coatings, and flare rejection qualities, nice markings for focus, and in particular, gorgeous ‘bokehs’ on the 18-85.” Considered the mark of an exceptional lens, a bokeh is the blur in the out-of-focus areas of an image. While some lenses produce bokehs that are unpleasant and distracting, FUJINON PL Mount lenses have the distinction of rendering very aesthetically pleasing blurs.

Regarding the FUJINON Premier PL 18-85 T2.0 lens, DP Blahacek said, “I will always carry this lens in my package. The resolution is amazing, and the lack of aberrations coupled with the fast T-stop put this lens in a class of its own.” Blahacek has been using this lens for almost two years to shoot several projects including: “Score: A Hockey Musical,” a film featured at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival; “Salem Falls,” a TV mini-series to air on Lifetime in 2012; and “The Listener,” a sci-fi TV series now in its second season on CTV, Canada’s leading broadcast network.

These three DPs, all with a long list of American and Canadian television credits, have long relied upon Sim Video for equipment rentals as well as responsive technical and customer support. In its more than 30 years in business, Sim Video has expanded from its Toronto headquarters, adding locations in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Atlanta, Halifax, and Beijing to better serve its customers. Sim Video’s FUJINON Premier PL mount zoom lenses, as well as its FUJINON “E” Series Zooms and HD ENG zooms are ideal companions to its high-end camera inventory, which includes the Arri Alexa, Red Epic, Phantom HD, Sony F35 and F800.

“FUJINON Premier PL zoom lenses are unique in that they provide cinematic and television productions with the same caliber of quality expected from the highest performing prime lens. Having the flexibility of a zoom means fewer lens changes on set which speeds up the overall space of production,” said Rob Sim, president of Sim Video. “Our investment in FUJINON Premier PL lenses was an easy decision given this lens maker’s legacy of providing superior product development and service to our industry.”

About Fujifilm
FUJIFILM North America Corporation, a marketing subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation consists of five operating divisions and one subsidiary company. The Imaging Division sells consumer and commercial photographic products and services including film, one-time-use cameras, online photo services and fulfillment, digital printing equipment and service. The Electronic Imaging Division markets consumer digital cameras. The Motion Picture Division provides motion picture film, and the Graphic Systems Division supplies products and services to the printing industry. The Optical Devices Division provides binoculars, and optical lenses for closed circuit television, videography, cinematography, broadcast and industrial markets. FUJIFILM Canada Inc. markets a range of Fujifilm products and services. For more information, please visit www.fujifilm.com/northamerica, or go to www.twitter.com/fujifilmus to follow Fujifilm on Twitter. To receive news and information direct from Fujifilm via RSS, subscribe at www.fujifilmusa.com/rss.
FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries, including electronic imaging, digital printing equipment, medical systems, life sciences, graphic arts, flat panel display materials, and office products, based on a vast portfolio of digital, optical, fine chemical and thin film coating technologies. The company was among the top 16 companies around the world granted U.S. patents in 2010, and in the year ended March 31, 2011, had global revenues of $25.8 billion*. Fujifilm is committed to environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit www.fujifilmholdings.com.

* At an exchange rate of 86 yen to the dollar.

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