The ultra-high resolution and high image quality of Canon’s 8K technology makes viewers feel as though they have been transported to a distant location to watch the action live.
Beyond sports and events, 8K imaging can also allow for closer observation in scientific fields.

July 11, 2019Featured Technology

#Pioneering Technology#Camera

Higher resolution with less distortion. Canon’s video technology developers have striven to deliver realistic video that feels as though you are seeing everything unfold before you with your own eyes.
At the 2015 Canon Expo—an exhibition held every five years to showcase the Company’s latest technology and upcoming developments—Canon screened an 8K video, which contained roughly 16 times the amount of information in a Full HD video. The many people seeing 8K video for the first time were in awe of the rich expressive power afforded by its high resolution. Canon’s 8K visual solutions continue to evolve and now, more than simply something to be looked at on a high-resolution screen, deliver an experience so immersive that one has a sense of actually being there, allowing viewers to savor the excitement of seeing an event unfold before their eyes.

Canon is one of the few manufacturers in the world that can develop lenses, cameras, and displays covering 8K video production from input to output. The tenet of putting technology first encoded in Canon’s corporate DNA has accelerated the development of high-image-quality 8K technology to win over video production professionals.
Harnessing our expert command of optical technology, we re-examined every facet of optical design to create a lens that thoroughly minimizes aberrations and achieves high-resolution, high-contrast imaging across the entire focal length range, to deliver sharp 8K video from the center of the image to the periphery.
Because an 8K camera generates a much higher volume of data, a conventional image processor was insufficient to process it all. To that end, Canon worked to develop a system that could process massive amounts of data at high speed by making use of a state-of-the-art programmable IC (integrated circuits that can be programmed to carry out various functions). This system made it possible to shoot ultra-high-resolution video with low noise and a wide dynamic range.
Through their capacity to process visual expression with ultra-high resolutions surpassing that of the human eye and proprietary backlight control, 8K displays produce brighter highlights while maintaining deeper blacks to output images with three-dimensionality and textures close to the real thing.

In sports broadcasting, it has long been difficult to capture video that shows both the facial expressions of the athletes and an overview of the entire field.
Canon conducted two live-video transmission tests in October 2018 for an international rugby match held in the city of Yokohama.
In the first test, video shot with Canon 8K cameras and lenses was transmitted to the company’s Tokyo headquarters using such conventional equipment as fiber optic cables and a 4K broadcast van. The live footage was projected in 8K using four 4K/HDR projectors and screened in 8K on Canon’s 8K/HDR display, resulting in impressive 8K footage with faithful reproduction down to the finest details.
In the second test, ultra-wide-angle video was captured using an 8K camera equipped with a fisheye lens, converted in real time to correct for distortion, and transmitted from the stadium. The video was received at the Canon headquarters and projected onto a large curved screen using multiple 4K projectors. The impressive live video fully encompassed the audience’s field of vision, creating the feeling of being at the stadium watching. These tests accelerated the development of technologies for the practical implementation of ultra-realistic live viewing solutions.
Beyond just sports viewing, 8K visual solutions have already begun to show their true value for applications in other fields. The 8K display developed by Canon has been used in the field of geobiology to view and analyze cross-sectional images of fossils contained in rock formed in the ocean in prehistoric times. This system makes it possible to see subtle color differences and microscopic marks that had not been observed before, even presenting the chance to discover unknown forms of life.