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Bringing Detail to Life

Macro/i FF

Cooke Macro lenses

Macro lenses offer a fascinating window into the world of the tiny and less observed. With their powerful ability to focus sharply on subjects at extremely close distances, macro lenses reveal intricate details and textures that are often overlooked by the naked eye.

For filmmakers, macro lenses provide opportunities to add visual interest and depth to scenes by capturing extreme close-ups that immerse viewers in the finer details of a story. Whether it’s showcasing the subtle expressions on a character’s face or emphasizing the minute elements of a setting, macro lenses can enhance storytelling and evoke emotions in powerful ways.

Cooke Optics’ range of three dedicated 1:1 Full Frame Macro lenses afford the discerning cinematographer these creative opportunities, supported by ground-breaking construction and full frame imager coverage.

Macro/i FF

Industry leading image performance from infinity to 1:1 macro focus across a perfectly matched high-speed full frame lens set.

Focal length range: 60, 90, 150mm

Format: Full Frame (46.3mm image circle)

Mount: PL or LPL

Speed: T2.5 at infinity

Rent or Buy
17 COOKE MACRO LINE UP v2

Perfectly Matched

Macro/i FF
60mm
Macro/i FF
90mm
Macro/i FF
150mm

Three complementary perfectly matched high-speed full frame macro 1:1 cine lenses, all created to the same exacting standard and hand-crafted to the same exceptional quality and reliability.

Colour matched to modern Cooke spherical primes, at T2.5, including the S8/i FF and Varotal/i FF zooms. These powerful lenses are equally at home for principal photography as well as specialist macro work and shots can be intercut without issue.

FEATURES

Usability

It is challenging to maintain the performance of a lens at close focus distances, as such speciality macro lenses have come about. The trade-offs can be having more compressed focus scales in the “normal” working distances and additionally they often expand in length considerably as they are focused closer.

Cooke usurps these expectations with fully internal focus mechanisms and matched front diameters of 87mm meaning there’s no issues around using clip on matteboxes.

Matched iris and focus gear positions also make lens changes easier and advanced cam-followers allow for incredibly precise focusing from infinity all the way to 1:1 – these lenses are equally at home for principal photography as they are for table top product close-up shots.

Macro BTS

1:1 Magnification

A true macro lens allows for a 1:1 magnification ratio meaning if we had a 24mm high image sensor (such as the Sony VENICE), an object that was 24.5mm tall and placed at the lens’ minimum focus distance would fill slightly more than the whole height of the imager.

COOKE MACRO 1:1

Power of a Macro set

Having a range of macros to utilise is invaluable, especially if incorporating them with other shots in a sequence and attempting to avoid too much of a jump in style. Cooke’s three lens range of 60mm, 90mm and 150mm offers great flexibility in this regard.

It’s regularly beneficial to use a longer focal length for macro work as it allows more working space around the subject for lighting – particularly in the case of product work.

At 1:1 macro, the plane of focus measured from the lens front is 1.8 inches for the 60mm, 3.6 inches for the 90mm and 6.7 inches for the 150mm giving the cinematographer a range of options when it comes to setting up a shot.

Design principles

Like Cooke’s other modern lenses these macros utilise all-spherical design principals. Aesthetic imaging is produced with both film and digital cameras, and the lenses exhibit controlled flare and low residual aberrations, including distortion.

The lenses are optimised to maximise overall image performance and capture the elegant skin tones and texture that one expects of Cooke whilst also overing incredible illumination and definition across the whole frame which is incredibly beneficial for macro work.

Bokeh is organic, natural, smooth and velvety. A nine-leaf linear module iris assembly assures it’s also symmetrically pleasing and matching in shape to other Cooke lenses.

Cooke Macro lens

Minimised stop loss

To achieve a closer plane of focus the focusing components of a lens are moved further away from the imager. The image circle is spread out and this results in a loss of light. In ordinary circumstances this range of change is negligible; however in the macro world to reach extremely close focusing distances and 1:1 magnification this change is more significant. Stop loss with macro lenses then is inevitable.

In general, the rule of thumb is that a macro lens will lose two stops of light when set to 1:1 focus. However, Cooke’s lenses surpass this and other competitor’s offerings, with stop loss ranging from 1.4 to 1.8 stops depending on the focal length.

The focus markings on the barrel change from being in distance to being in ratio as a way of clearly depicting when stop loss needs to be considered by the cinematographer.

Cooke Macro i key feature

/i Technology inside

Cooke’s /i  ‘Intelligent’ Technology is a metadata protocol which enables film and digital cameras to automatically record key lens and camera data for each frame shot, at speeds of up to 285fps, which can then be provided to post-production teams digitally.

Equipment identification is by the serial number and lens type, with data including focal length, focus distance, near and far focus, hyper focal distance, T-stop, horizontal field of view, entrance pupil position, distortion and shading data.

The electronics inside each /i lens connect to resistive sensing strips calibrated in absolute values. As soon as power is applied, the data is available instantly without the need for an initialization procedure. /i Technology streamlines both production and post – saving valuable time and cost whilst eliminating the need for guesswork.

/i technology circuit detail

Full Frame coverage

With an image circle optimised for a diameter of 46.3mm Cooke’s macro lenses comfortably cover large sensor modern digital cinema camera formats. The cinematographer doesn’t need to window into their sensor for specialist macro shots and can deliver these at a consistent resolution to the rest of the sequence.

MACRO Image Circle_01_4 resized

Handcrafted Precision

Modern and traditional grinding and polishing techniques are combined to achieve the highest level of precision. Sophisticated thin film equipment and traditional cementing processes are utilised to ensure optimum coatings. Finally, lenses are meticulously assembled, exhaustively tested, checked and re-checked.

Technical Data

Metric Imperial
 
60mm
90mm
150mm
Aperture
T2.5-T22
T2.5-T22
T2.5-T22
Iris rotation
90°
90°
90°
Close focus1
01:01
01:01
01:01
Focus rotation
290°
290°
290°
Close focus2
46 mm
92 mm
162 mm
Length3
159 mm
171 mm
218 mm
Front diameter
87 mm
87 mm
87 mm
Angle of view (FF)4
39
27
17
Angle of view (S35)5
28
19
12
Weight6
2.3 kg
2.5 kg
2.9 kg
Filter thread
M82 x 0.75
M82 x 0.75
M82 x 0.75
Aperture
T2.5-T22
T2.5-T22
T2.5-T22
Iris rotation
90°
90°
90°
Close focus1
01:01
01:01
01:01
Focus rotation
290°
290°
290°
Close focus2
1.8 in
3.6 in
6.4 in
Length3
6.2 in
6.7 in
8.5 in
Front diameter
3.4 in
3.4 in
3.4 in
Angle of view (FF)4
39
27
17
Angle of view (S35)5
28
19
12
Weight6
5 lbs
5.5 lbs
6.3 lbs
Filter thread
M82 x 0.75
M82 x 0.75
M82 x 0.75
1Minimum marked object distance (measured from sensor plane). 2Close focus from the lens front (measured from sensor plane). 3From the front of the lens to the lens mount. 4Maximum diagonal angle of view for Full Frame formats. 5Maximum diagonal angle of view for Super35 formats. 6Total weight of the lens including base PL mount.
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Specification

Innovative optics give maximum performance at full aperture over a continuous focus range, from infinity to close focus down to macro 1:1. Aesthetic imaging is produced with both film and digital cameras, and the lenses exhibit controlled flare and low residual aberrations, including distortion.

Our Academy Award® winning cam-style focus movement, coupled with a large lens barrel diameter allow for an increased number of focus markings, particularly at close focus and still readily focusing at macro 1:1. A four-point contact bearing also provides a smooth positive backlash-free movement.

Accessible via a cable connector near the lens mount and synchronises with /i compatible cameras and accessories. The electronics board has also been resized and repositioned for ease of serviceability.

All Macro/i FF lenses have a common fixed front diameter of 87mm, with a focus drive gear of 140T x 0.8 mod and an iris drive gear of 134T x 0.8.

The Macro/i FF range features a nine-leaf linear module iris assembly, which creates our trademark smooth, round bokeh.

Every Cooke lens is coated with a scratch resistant PTFE hard anodised finish, which provides a durable, hard-wearing surface to meet the most demanding environmental conditions.

Cooke Macro/i lenses have a maximum aperture of T2.5 across the lineup.

Every focus mark is individually calibrated and engraved on both sides of the focus barrel for ease of use.

The lenses are designed for all shooting applications, including handheld and Steadicam, providing a comfortable balance ratio with the latest digital cinema cameras.

To ensure compatibility with other Cooke lenses, the three new Macro/i FF lenses are colour balanced and colour matched for uniformity.

We offer a choice of PL and LPL camera mount options, designed specifically for use with our new lenses.

Our new Macro/i lenses are built to be tough, robust and work in the most demanding environments. They are extremely reliable and designed to be easily serviced and maintained for the very minimum of downtime.

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Cooke Macro/i FF 60mm, 90mm and 150mm Spherical Macro Lenses Now Available to Order
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i/ Technology is an open protocol designed by Cooke to enhance the filmmaking process by making equipment digitally compatible, streamlining both production and post.

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