Cooke Optics announces the rebirth of the legendary Panchro lens
Leicester, UK – 19 April 2009
Cooke Optics Ltd., a premier manufacturer of precision lenses for the motion picture industry, today announced the rebirth of an iconic lens, the Panchro By Cooke lens. The PL mounted lens for 35mm film and digital production is a modern redesign of the original Cooke Panchro lenses that were instrumental in establishing Hollywood as the centre of 20th century film production. The legendary lens is expected to be available at the end of 2009.
The Panchro by Cooke lens is designed by the same team that produces the Cooke S4/i lens; it is calibrated and colour-matched to existing Cooke lenses and incorporates Cooke’s /i technology, so it is interchangeable with the Cooke range. The new Panchro sacrifices one stop of light (T2.8 compared with T2.0 for Cooke S4), thereby offering a smaller, lightweight and affordable choice when a faster lens is not crucial or when shooting in difficult situations such as crash scenes or VFX shots. The price point also brings the benefits of Cooke lenses to independent filmmakers, film students and documentary makers, while the reduced size, weight and true focal length markings make Panchros ideal for 3D stereoscopic productions.
Les Zellan, chairman of Cooke Optics, said, “We are so excited to bring Panchro By Cooke back to the film industry. With the credibility of film history and over 100 years of development behind it, the Panchro by Cooke lens is a serious yet affordable piece of equipment for professional film makers.”
The Panchro lens has played a major role in the history of Hollywood. Horace W. Lee designed the original Cooke Speed Panchro in 1921; it was a cine prime lens that chromatically enhanced an image when filming under restricted illumination. The advent of sound films created a great demand for faster lenses since arc lamps could no longer be used due to the noise they made, making all existing lenses obsolete. The Speed Panchros were born from the industry need for faster lenses to cope with the new noise requirements on the set. Cooke Speed Panchros combined a relative aperture of f/2 with an angular field of view and definition previously impossible with much smaller apertures. The Cooke Panchro was also instrumental in the introduction and success of Technicolor in the 1930s because the Panchro’s unusually high correction for chromatic aberrations and remarkable vignetting characteristics rendered it suitable for colour photography.
The six Panchro By Cooke prime lenses - 18, 25, 32, 50, 72 and 100mm – will be available to purchase individually or as a set. The lenses are expected to be available at the end of 2009.
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Cooke Optics resurrects an icon and extends /i support at NAB 2009
Leicester, UK – 19 April 2009
At NAB 2009 Cooke Optics Ltd., a premier manufacturer of precision lenses for the motion picture industry, will announce the rebirth of an iconic lens, and a major camera manufacturer’s integration of Cooke’s /i Technology protocol which improves efficiency and quality across the entire production workflow.
The Cooke By Panchro PL mounted lens for 35mm film and digital production is a modern redesign of the original Cooke Panchro lenses that were instrumental in establishing Hollywood as the centre of 20th century film production. Designed by the same team that produces the Cooke S4/i lens, the legendary lens is expected to be available at the end of 2009.
Cooke is also delighted that the increasingly popular Sony F35 CineAlta camera will incorporate support for Cooke’s /i Technology. The /i Technology protocol enables the recording of extremely accurate, frame-by-frame lens and camera data seamlessly on the set that can save visual effects artists hours of time in post-production, by eliminating the need to guess lens parameters and camera information. This information enables artists to produce more realistic-looking effects, more quickly. Cooke’s /i Technology is supported by many leading camera and content creation companies including RED, Aaton, ARRI, Avid and Pixel Farm.
Cooke Optics is also showcasing its S4/i lenses which have recently been used on award-winning films and television shows including Milk, Frost/Nixon and 30 Rock. As well as demonstrations on the P+S Technik booth, the S4/i enses will also be in the Canon, JVC, Sony and Bandpro booths.
Spokespeople available at the show include Les Zellan, chairman, Cooke Optics.