Check Out the Incredible Sony Camera Tech Coming to the Super Bowl 49 minutes ago

With all eyes on New Orleans for the upcoming Super Bowl face-off between the Eagles and Chiefs, it takes some serious technology to make sure every play, player, halftime musical performance and Taylor Swift hug is covered live. Dozens of camerapeople, photographers and hundreds of other production professionals will use everything from mirrorless cameras on the sidelines and big TV cameras around the Superdome, to motorized flying cameras, broadcast monitors and more. And Sony, as an official technology partner of the NFL, will power nearly all of that camera tech.

The range — multiple ranges, really — of Sony cameras is unique in the tech world. No other company offers consumer cameras, cinema cameras, and broadcast cameras. Sony, of course, wants to make this the tech equivalent of car racing’s old mantra of “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday,” by hoping you draw a direct line from their expensive professional gear to the consumer gear you can actually buy. Whether or not that comparison speaks to you, as a pro photographer, AV expert and Super Bowl tech buff I’m fascinated by the nuances of that gear, and the sheer number of cameras and people involved.

More than 60 Sony still cameras on the sidelines

The Associated Press will have 14 photographers, who will be using Sony Alpha cameras and lenses. That includes the big G Master series telephotos. In total there’ll be over 55 cameras, almost four per person. That might seem excessive, but as someone who has photographed many events, I can tell you multiple cameras are essential. Inevitably, the moment you decide to swap lenses is the exact moment something interesting happens. It’s far easier to have an additional camera that has a different lens. In addition to the AP, the NFL’s own Focus team will use an additional eight Sony cameras.

The photographers will be assisted by nine on-site editors. I’d always wondered how that worked, since it seemed impossible that every supplied photo would look so perfect out of the camera. The images captured get sent immediately to the editors wirelessly via an PDT-FP1, Sony’s pro-grade 5G wireless data transfer device.

Boatloads of big broadcast cameras

Capturing the action on and around the field will be 97 HDC Series broadcast cameras. If you’ve ever seen the cameras that record a live sports event, you’ve probably seen these before. They look huge from a distance, but that’s primarily due to the myriad accessories often equipped. For instance, a broadcast-quality telephoto lens can be larger than the entire camera. Add in a motorized stand, control grips, monitor, hood so the operator can see everything, and all of a sudden it seems massive. 

Don’t get me wrong, the cameras are big compared to consumer cameras, but you could easily fit the “brains” of the camera in a small backpack. That is, if you feel comfortable putting something that costs tens of thousands of dollars in a backpack.

In addition to the big broadcast cameras, there will also be a small, motorized FR7 pan-tilt-zoom or “PTZ” camera, as well as three FX6 cinema cameras, an Alpha 7 III mirrorless camera, and a Venice cinema camera. 

For instant replays and to support the officials judging close calls is HawkReplay from Hawk-Eye Systems, a Sony company.

Halftime show: Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Goats

This year’s Halftime Show, headlined by Kendrick Lamar joined by SZA, will be produced by the wonderfully named Funicular Goats production company. Primarily they’ll be using 13 Venice 2 cinema cameras. These have either 6K or 8K sensors, the latter maxing out at 8.6K resolution at 30 fps with a 3:2 aspect ratio. It might seem like this is using a bulldozer to make sandcastles since the broadcast will be 1080i, but perhaps there will be a 4K version on YouTube. There’s also a 4K version streaming on Tubi.

They’ll also be using the Venice Extension system, which separates the lens and sensor from the body of the camera, connected via a cable that’s up to 18-feet long. Presumably this is to fit the camera somewhere the full-sized version would be conspicuous. Lastly, the smaller Burano camera will be used to record the ASL translator.

On the field, in the trucks and out to the world

Part of Sony’s new partnership with the NFL will be most visible on coaches and other personnel: headsets. Our own David Katzmaier got to try one of these at CES. The massive Sony branding is certainly hard to miss. Elsewhere, Sony BVM reference monitors will be used throughout to check the image before it’s sent to your house.

If you want to get an idea how this all looks in practice, we got a behind-the-scenes look at Super Bowl LVII in Arizona which featured a lot of the same gear and like this year, was broadcast on Fox. The Super Bowl is on Feb. 9.

As well as covering audio and display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000-mile road trips and more.

Also, check out Budget Travel for Dummies, his travel book, and his bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines. You can follow him on Instagram and YouTube.