Cricket fans in Brampton, Ontario, will watch some of the sport’s biggest names at the Global T20 (GT20) Canada tournament. For those who can’t be there in person, they won’t miss a single rip or run-up. MEDIAPRO, an independent production company, is the exclusive facility provider of the event. They are providing the feed to nine different broadcasters around the world—and using Canon broadcast lenses to capture their footage.
T20 is a shortened form of cricket. Matches take three hours to play instead of multiple days. The tournament kicked off July 25; the final goes Aug. 11.
MEDIAPRO is a rights holder and commercial agent for principal sporting competitions worldwide—including LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League—but this is their first cricket event. They brought 28 cameras with them. “All of the lenses we have here are Canon lenses,” says Chris Priess, vice-president, MEDIAPRO CANADA. “The ones we’re most proud of are the new 4K 90x lenses [DIGISUPER 90 (UJ90x9B)]. We have eight of them. The crew have commented how much they love the lenses. Our senior video shader, who has done major events around the world—including the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games—has really praised how good those lenses look.”
“It’s essential for us to have the very best gear here because we are live,” says Priess. “There’s no recovery from a shot that’s not ideal. We put a lot of pressure on all of our equipment, but lenses, of course, are at the front of the camera and the most critical element to get the best quality.”
“We were excited to see MEDIAPRO’s new fleet of Canon 4K/UHD broadcast lenses in action at the GT20,” says Carlo Beltrano, Account Executive, Broadcast and Communications Division, Canon Canada. “It was great to see their new UJ90x and CJ25 lenses capture all the action. The images looked beautiful. And with any important broadcast and TV production event, Canon technicians were on standby and ready to provide support in the unlikely event it was needed.”