4K live production rental specialist ES Broadcast Hire has taken delivery of the first Canon CJ45ex9.7B 4K lenses in Europe – and the lenses was immediately used at the Monaco F1 Grand Prix, which took place 24-27 May.

With full-frame sensors becoming more common, Zeiss has responded with a set of new prime lenses aimed at the high end market, promising both image quality and lightness in equal measure. The new lens family, entitled Supreme Primes encompasses a set of 13 different focal lengths between 15mm and 200mm, and a maximum aperture of T1.5. So good, so fast.

Panasonic has announced the development of the AW-UE150, a new 4K integrated remote camera that will offer 4K 60p capture - a first for a broadcast-class PTZ. With an HDR mode, support of various 4K interfaces and simultaneous 4K/HD output, the UE150 will also afford the widest viewing angle (75.1 degrees, horizontal) in its class.

At InfoComm 2018, AJA announced Hi5-12G, a new 12G-SDI to HDMI 2.0 Mini-Converter, and HA5-12G, an HDMI 2.0 to 12G-SDI Mini-Converter, each available in three model configurations, with or without Fiber SFPs. The new Mini-Converters streamline the transmission of high resolution, high frame rate and deep color content over long distances.

Sound Devices released a new version of Wingman App software (v3.10). It’s a wireless remote control and monitoring interface for the 6-Series line of field production mixer/recorders and MixPre Series of audio recorders/USB audio interfaces. Update 3.10 for the Sound Devices Wingman app is now available from the Google Play or Apple App store with additional sound report options for the MixPre-10T and various fixes!

James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment has deployed the Sony VENICE camera system to shoot the upcoming 'Avatar' sequels. The first Avatar movie, released in 2009 and also shot on Sony professional cameras, shattered box office records and was lauded for its immersive 3D and stunning visuals. The new entries in the franchise will up the visual ante significantly with enhanced special effects, more elaborate production requirements and challenging live action sequences.

Broadcast camera system manufacturer Panasonic has released the EVA 2.5 firmware update for its AU-EVA1 handheld cinema camera, which has a 5.7K (5720 x 3016), EF-mount Super-35mm sensor. The camera features 14 stops’ of dynamic range, dual-native ISO ratings of 800 and 2500, and the same colorimetry found in VariCam cameras.

The world’s top ULTRA4 racers converge in Johnson Valley, CA every February to compete in the King of Hammers, a week-long series of off-road races spanning more than 200 miles of rocky desert terrain. The race draws in more than 60,000 spectators and is broadcast live to audiences via the ULTRA4 racing website and Livestream.com, with highlights streamed to YouTube and Facebook Live. Hammerking Productions is responsible for the week-long production, capturing and streaming more than seven hours of footage a day to fans on-site and online. With this year’s production involving multiple camera sources and destinations, the Hammerking team tapped AJA’s KUMO 6464 for SDI signal routing.

ChyronHego has debuted "Coach Capture," a product that streamlines the logging, tagging, telestration and HD recording live and post-game events. The product’s features and functionality make analyzing game play faster, easier and more accurate, the company says. Designed for sports video analysts and coaches, Coach Capture offers cross-platform compatibility with macOS X, Windows (versions 7 and 10), and Windows tablets, as well as existing production workflows.

World-renowned pro audio equipment maker Sound Devices released firmware upgrade v2.20 for the MixPre-3, MixPre-6, MixPre-10T, and the MixPre-10M. It is highly recommended that users of MixPre audio recorders update to the latest version of firmware available as soon as possible.