GEAR
INDIE LENS SPECIAL
£414/$480 each and you’d want a set of five if you are going to use them without massive amounts of faff each time you change lenses on a shoot. Minimum focus distances are pretty good for each model, reducing in line with focal length. The 100mm version focuses to 663mm/26.1in while the 75mm is 689mm/27.1in; the 50mm is 394mm/15.5in, 32mm is 223mm/8.8in and 25mm is 139mm/5.5in. So you can get great close-ups without the need for filters – especially wide open – although these are not macro-style lenses. Cooke says its SP3 primes offer outstanding definition and resolution, yet feature fall-off towards the edge of the frame, which is a key factor in the famous cinematic look achieved by the legendary Speed Panchros. This works together with the trademark dimensionality and contrast performance that renders faces with remarkable skin tone and character to produce the trademark Cooke Look. In our rigorous testing, we have to wholeheartedly agree. The lenses are very sharp in the centre but there is some delicate fall-off towards the edges when shot wide open. This slight softening is what gives the lenses their character, keeps your focus on the subject and is relatively subtle. You can go some way to correcting a degree of marginal drop-off in post with selective digital sharpening if you want a more clinical look, but that’s getting away from the point of these lovely lenses. It’s certainly not that they give an overly soft and low-contrast look that is very obvious and a bit too strong for anything but pop videos or arthouse movies. The Cookes can be used on just about every subject, as the look is subtle and gives a three-dimensional aesthetic which simply adds a certain uniqueness to the overall visuals. WHO’S A PRETTY BOY? These Cookes produce natural colours with a more filmic look than the latest optics designed for digital cameras
PL mount. So those with big budgets can have the Panchro/i Classic lenses on the A camera and SP3s on a B or C camera, without any worries about the footage looking different. Of course, that means SP3s can be used on a smaller, more portable A camera. They work perfectly on mirrorless, like a Sony FX3 or Canon EOS R5 C, cinema cameras like a Sony FX9 or Reds such as a Komodo or V-Raptor, where their more compact size is a bonus. The lenses have a pre-installed mount on the underside to attach a lens support, too. In terms of handling, the focus-ring throw is 160° for precise control and the focus distance is non-linear. Focusing the Cookes by hand is a joy, with a tactile feel and response you just don’t get from fly-by-wire AF glass. Even when using a manual follow focus, there is a direct feel you can’t match with electronically controlled lenses. And by using an internal
The SP3s also feature specialised cinematic optical coatings that ensure control of excessive flare, and they do flare nicely – especially the 100mm version. Point light sources give pleasingly round flares while larger light sources provide a more subtle wash. This is only when provoked, and a lens hood or flag will mean the lenses can avoid flare from light sources just outside the field of vision. The lenses are also built to match each other accurately for colours and we could detect no colour shift between any of the focal lengths. The colours are natural and work especially well on skin tones. They’re also designed to work perfectly alongside a set of the Panchro/i Classic lenses in the
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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