Cooke mini S4/I- and Panchro classic

[Uday Bhaskar Karra]

Hi All,

Am almost about to pull trigger on Cooke S4/I or Panchro Classic lens (25-27 and 75 to start with...).
Wanted to check with you if you have ever seen any Offers or Discounts from Any sellers for these lenses ( I couldn’t find any records on internet)? May be like a Black Friday deal etc...

Also am considering to purchase these from either B&H or Adorama... ( assuming that These sellers wouldn’t include any Tax). Lets say if I go with any Dealer ( ex: Abel Cine)... do I get any benefits like a dealer discount or no Tax etc?

Could you please help me with information based on your experience/ Knowledge.

Thanks
Uday

Note: I considered Tokina Cinema Vista Primes that would be a future proof covering full frame... but am leaning towards the Cooke look.

 

[Dan Kanes]

What kind of stuff do you shoot mostly ?

How often do you rent your gear to others vs use it yourself ?

 

[Uday Bhaskar Karra]

Hi Dan,

Am starting on doing short films... it’s more of a passion than profession but eventually want to make this as my profession.
Am not renting any camera gear (Except the lighting) currently. It would be used solely for My short films/Client Events-Wedding etc. Am not against to renting to others though.

Currently am using the Zeiss Milvus lens, but am not happy with the Breathing they have and also the CA.
My first short film is on a thriller genre and most scenes are interior and night time( with subject lit properly though) and include conversations with focus pulls.

To be honest, this could be a dead investment... if I don’t end up doing commercial work.But I have decided to put myself in trouble to get the best out of me.

Oh I missed saying this. Am a big admirer of your Anamorphic lens... they look fantastic(With a bit of Breathing- But you explained in your previous post about tradeoffs you considered in lens design- am a bit honest here than being a fanboy). They have their unique character in a very pleasing way( Judging based on video reviews though). That would be my next step or a Hope.

Thanks
Uday

 

[Ignacio Aguilar]

New Cookes are high end lenses and thus, very expensive. Unless you have tons of money, probably it's better to rent them for each job, as it's a big investment and anyway, it would be hard to shoot anything on two lenses. If I were starting in the business and planning to use my own stuff for my own shoots, I would buy a set of Sigmas Cine Lenses, which are optically excellent, small, lightweight and future proof since they cover FF. And they are probably less expensive than two Cooke single lenses, though much harder to rent for sure.

 

[Michael Lindsay]

There is a good chance that the cookes will be back ordered (s5i waiting lists still crazy)...

You have been given good advice but an alt POV would be if buying only two lenses from Cooke buy 2 that other don't have.. and if you can wait maybe the Cooke panchro 27 and 65 macro.. especially the macro would get some cross hire.

Ps if you hate breathing (I don't) Tokina Vista is probably worth looking at.

PPS The sigmas are remarkable value for money

 

[Dan Kanes]

Based on your response - I would suggest renting a set of Tokinas, renting both sets of cookes and comparing them on different shorts.

I know renting from someone else sometimes feels like throwing away money, but I am very certain you will end up with a happier purchase after shooting your own short or two using each of the three (or four lens sets)

My personal order of preference (based on what you had proposed , plus a few you had not proposed) is as follows:

Tokina Vista Primes
Cooke Panchro Classic
Angenieux EZ Zooms (these are a really great choice for you - not dirt cheap but amazing - for the cost of two Primes you get two incredible zooms)
Sigma EF mount non cine Primes and 18-35 Zoom
Cooke “s4 Mini”

I’d definitely recommend renting some Orion Series from one of our customers and seeing if they are a fit for you,
Anamorphic is totally awesome and a whole new world, but not for every project necessarily and not “cheap”

 

[David Collard]

You must realize we're moving away from small image circles like Cooke Panchro, so it's not a good long term investment unless you have a rental market awaiting them.
Have you checked the waiting time as well?

Consider the new Atlas Lens if you want to shoot anamorphic.

 

[sreenivasa reddy s]

Hi Uday,
Try renting out the SLR Magic APO lenses, you will love them for the total elimination of CA. I am not sure about the lens breathing.
The lens I would go to off the options that you have given is the Tokina Cinevistas because of the lack of lens breathing and almost total elimination of CA and future proof image circle, the only downside being the weight.

 

[Uday Bhaskar Karra]

Thank you all. you guys helped me clearing my confusion.
Lot of things made sense. Full frame coverage, Cost of the Lens, Testing before purchasing, Wait time for lens delivery...

Will Rent the Tokina for testing and decide based on results... And will rent Cooke if i need it for a project (As S4 and Panchro doesn't cover Full frame... i couldn't justify my thoughts of purchasing them and also i dont see any immediate opportunity to rent them to others).

 

[Tommaso Alvisi]

Currently am using the Zeiss Milvus lens, but am not happy with the Breathing they have and also the CA.

As far as CA is concerned you'd be in for a surprise with the S4/i Minis...these are not as clean as you're hoping I think...but breathing is very well controlled for sure.