Alpine Optics: 30+ Years of Trusted Broadcast Lens Repair, Calibration & Analysis in the USA 

When a broadcast lens fails on set, every minute costs money. A soft image on a live news feed, a zoom that sticks halfway through a sports broadcast, back focus drift that turns a studio interview into a blurry mess — these are not small inconveniences. They are production emergencies. For more than three decades, broadcasters, production companies, and field crews across the United States have turned to one name to solve them: Alpine Optics.

Based in Pisgah Forest, North Carolina, Alpine Optics is a dedicated broadcast lens repair lab built on engineering expertise, precision craftsmanship, and a simple guiding motto — "Keep You Shooting." With 30+ years in service, more than 815 clients served, and over 22,500 projects completed, Alpine Optics has earned its reputation as the USA's trusted broadcast lens repair service.

This guide explains the most common problems broadcast professionals face with their lenses, how Alpine Optics solves them, and what to expect when you send your glass in for service.

The Problem: Broadcast Lenses Take a Beating

Professional broadcast and ENG lenses are engineering marvels, but they live hard lives. Electronic News Gathering crews haul them through rain, dust, heat, and freezing cold. Studio zoom lenses rack focus thousands of times a week. Field production gear gets bumped, dropped, and rushed from one shoot to the next with no time for maintenance.

Over time, the symptoms start to show. Focus becomes inconsistent across the zoom range. Servo motors respond sluggishly or make noise. Iris control turns erratic. Moisture and dust find their way inside the barrel, and image quality quietly degrades until someone finally notices on air. The most common issue of all is back focus (flange focal distance) drift — a misalignment that prevents the lens from holding accurate focus at the sensor plane, especially noticeable when zooming from tight to wide.

The stakes are high because replacement is rarely a realistic answer. A professional broadcast zoom lens can cost as much as a car, and lead times on new glass can stretch for months. The smarter, faster, and far more economical solution is expert repair and calibration — provided you trust the right lab.

The Solution: A Dedicated Broadcast Lens Repair Lab

Alpine Optics is not a general camera shop that dabbles in broadcast glass. It is a specialist facility focused entirely on broadcast, ENG, and cine lens repair and precision calibration. The team works with television stations, independent broadcasters, rental houses, film studios, and production companies nationwide, servicing lenses from Fujinon, Canon, Sony, Angenieux, Zeiss, and all major broadcast manufacturers.

Every lens that arrives at the facility is assessed in a HEPA-filtered clean-room, repaired using manufacturer-grade tooling and lubricants, then optically calibrated and performance-tested before it leaves. As a Fujinon specialist and Canon broadcast certified service provider, Alpine Optics brings factory-level standards to every job — and stands behind each one with a written warranty.

Core Services: Repair, Calibration, and Analysis

Alpine Optics organizes its work around three pillars that cover the full lifecycle of professional lens care.

Precision Repair

The repair department handles everything from minor mechanical faults to full teardowns. Broadcast lens repair includes complete disassembly, cleaning, lubrication, optical alignment, and back-focus calibration for both studio zoom and field broadcast lenses — restoring glass that has suffered impact damage, moisture intrusion, dust contamination, or ordinary mechanical wear.

ENG lens repair addresses the brutal punishment news lenses take on location, restoring focus, zoom tracking, iris control, and servo performance on Canon and Fujinon ENG and EFP lenses. Cine lens repair provides precision service for cinema primes and zooms, including full CLA (clean, lubricate, adjust), helicoid restoration, aperture blade service, optical alignment, and MTF testing across the focal range.

Brand-dedicated services go deeper still. Fujinon lens repair covers the ENG, EFP, and EC series, including servo motor replacement, demand unit calibration, zoom and focus tracking alignment, and exterior restoration. Canon broadcast lens repair spans focus ring repair, zoom mechanism service, Image Stabilizer faults, and precision back focus adjustment across Canon's full range of broadcast and ENG lenses.

Two problem areas deserve special mention because they are so common. Zoom demand repair covers the demand unit itself — potentiometer wear, motor failure, cable and connector faults, and electronic recalibration of demand response curves. And back focus lens repair corrects the flange focal distance drift that plagues broadcast lenses everywhere, using precise back focus adjustment and collimation to restore accurate focus at the sensor plane.

Manufacturer-Standard Calibration

Repair without calibration is only half the job. Every lens serviced at Alpine Optics is calibrated optically and mechanically using advanced tools, ensuring perfect alignment, accurate focus, and consistent sharpness so your equipment performs exactly as your production demands. Camera lens calibration includes front and back focus calibration, flange focal distance adjustment, zoom tracking, and optical collimation — all tested against manufacturer-specified equipment to verify peak sharpness across every focal length.

The lab also services the camera side of the equation. Broadcast camera repair covers broadcast-grade camera bodies, including sensor cleaning, viewfinder issues, mount wear, and full system alignment with lens back-focus calibration performed as a complete package.

Advanced Analysis

What separates a true lens lab from a repair bench is diagnostics. Alpine Optics uses advanced diagnostic and proprietary processes to deliver clear, measurable, and unbiased performance data — helping you understand exactly how your equipment is functioning and where improvements are needed before problems reach your broadcast.

How It Works: A Simple, Six-Step Process

Alpine Optics has refined its workflow into a transparent, step-by-step process designed to get your lens back in top condition fast.

It begins when you submit an RMA or request an estimate online. The team assesses your lens remotely where possible and provides a no-obligation quote before any work begins — estimates are free. Once approved, you ship your lens to the facility, where it undergoes a clean-room assessment in a HEPA-filtered environment. Technicians then perform the repair and calibration using manufacturer-grade tooling, followed by rigorous performance testing to verify the lens meets specification. Finally, your repaired lens is carefully packed and returned with a full service report and a six-month warranty. Expedited return shipping is available when the schedule is tight.

Turnaround is one of Alpine Optics' defining strengths. Most broadcast and ENG lens repairs are completed within five to ten business days of receipt, and rush turnaround is available on request for live productions and deadline-sensitive jobs. Upon approval, the lab begins service immediately, with most jobs completed within two to four business days of work commencing, depending on parts availability.

Why Broadcasters Nationwide Trust Alpine Optics

The numbers tell part of the story: 30+ years in service since 1995, 815+ clients served, 22,500+ projects completed, and a 100% customer satisfaction record. The client roster tells the rest — industry leaders including NEP, ABC7, NBC, Telemundo, and Univision trust Alpine Optics to keep their critical broadcast equipment delivering peak optical performance, every single time.

But what clients consistently point to is the philosophy behind the work. Alpine Optics believes technical work doesn't have to feel cold or distant. The team mixes engineering know-how with a bit of humor and personality, staying simple, reliable, and focused on what matters most: keeping your production moving. Their vision is to be the most trusted broadcast lens service partner in the country, delivering precision, reliability, and relationships that last — helping crews extend equipment life and reduce unnecessary waste along the way.

Nationwide mail-in service means it doesn't matter whether your station is in New York, Los Angeles, or a small market in between. Your lens gets the same clean-room assessment, the same manufacturer-grade repair, and the same written warranty.

A Quick Guide: When Should You Send Your Lens In?

If you're unsure whether your lens needs professional service, watch for these warning signs. Soft or inconsistent focus when zooming usually indicates back focus drift. Grinding, hesitation, or noise from the zoom or focus servo points to motor or mechanism wear. Erratic iris behavior, sticky focus rings, visible dust or haze inside the elements, and any lens that has been exposed to sand, water, or fungus should all be evaluated promptly — damage of this kind rarely improves on its own, and early intervention is almost always cheaper than a full overhaul.

Even lenses that seem fine benefit from periodic calibration and analysis. Regular cleaning and preventive maintenance improve performance and extend the working lifespan of your investment, which is exactly why Alpine Optics offers free, no-obligation estimates: it costs nothing to find out where your glass really stands.

Get Your Lens Ready for the Next Shoot

For over 30 years, Alpine Optics has helped broadcasters, production teams, and field crews keep their gear performing at its best — quickly, accurately, and affordably. Whether you need a full mechanical overhaul of a field ENG lens, precision calibration of a studio zoom, or honest diagnostic analysis of your entire lens inventory, the process starts with a simple estimate.

Contact Alpine Optics:

Address: 2260 Hendersonville Hwy, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768 Phone: 828-884-5822 Email: info@alpine-optics.com Office Hours: Monday–Friday, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Start an RMA or request your free estimate today — and get back to doing what you do best. Because at Alpine Optics, the mission has never changed: Keep You Shooting.