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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Cooke Panchros or Ultra Primes

I have shot with the Cooke S4 and Panchros and I am a big fan. Great glass, especially with skin tones. Here in North Texas there are a couple rental houses that have Panchros, and almost all have S4's. The S4's are worth the extra $$ in my opinion but the Panchros are better on your wallet! ;)
 
I recently had a chance to compare my Zeiss Ultra Primes to the Cooke Panchro's. Here are my findings:

Sharpness: Both lenses, at a 2.8, are identical in sharpness.
Bokeh: Both lenses had very similar bokeh. Nice and round is how I would describe.
Rack Focus: The Cooke's are a modern design and don't breath. The Zeiss's breath a bit, but I feel it gives them character.
Close Focus: No contest here, the Cooke's focus much closer.
Color: The Cooke's are slightly warmer, no surprise.
Contrast: The Cook's are slightly more contrasty. The Ultra Primes dig into the shadows a bit more. In a world of raw/log recording this has little impact.
Speed: Ultra Primes take on a whole new look when opened to 1.9. Creamy, dynamic, with more dramatic bokeh.

My Conclusion:

It's a tough call between Ultra's and Panchro's. Cooke wins the value for money contest. They are a more modern design, have slightly better coating, and no breathing. Ultra Primes are faster and lighter. It's a very personal decision between these two lens systems. I could easily live with both. At a 2.8 they are more similar than different. It comes down to that extra stop and how important it is to you.
 
I'm a huge fan of the Cooke Panchros. I went with them because of their size for a few productions with a small crew and loved the look.

Here is a spot I shot with them:

https://vimeo.com/50664457

The T2.8 didn't matter so much since I knew the majority of the time I was shooting exteriors at sunrise/dusk. The shot you see with the ambulance was only lit with headlights and existing practicals.
 
lens

lens

The Cooke's are fantastic lenses in all respects and at 2.8 as Chris points out they are more the same the different. However speed for me is incredibly important theses days when everybody is clamoring for the "slim depth" look. At 2.8 its much more difficult to achieve that look specially when given short depth locations, etc. I'm finding myself gravitating towards Super Speeds much of the time so I can shoot at 1.4 to 1.6 area to get the maximum focus fall off (and not be at the bottom of the SS lens) or bring Master primes and shoot at 1.3. To have a 2.8 stop handicap is fine sometimes, but If I were buying one set of lenses, no way I'd choose to buy into that handicap. We don't always know in advance exactly what the requirements of the job will be till you get on set and then its usually too late to change the order. The speed of a lens is a photography tool and I want to go onto the job with a full tool set. You don't always need that particular wrench, but When you need it nothing else will do. We now have another choice for fast SS primes, the Canon's Cine Primes are now shipping and our 3 lenses just arrived (24, 50, 85) canon mount only.
 
Depends on what you looking for. You've chosen lenses at the opposite ends of the scale in terms of visual signature here.

If you have a super clean camera then get an organic character lens perhaps Cooke, Leica Angeneiux.

If you have a camera that has a definite organic look get a clean lens. Master, or ultra primes perhaps.

Then theres the middle ground.....
 
Erich Roland said:
We now have another choice for fast SS primes, the Canon's Cine Primes are now shipping and our 3 lenses just arrived (24, 50, 85) canon mount only.
Click to expand...

The new Canons look great. Now if they can round out the set with a matched 35mm and make them in pl mount we would be in business.
 
primes

primes

Matt Gottshalk said:
The new Canons look great. Now if they can round out the set with a matched 35mm and make them in pl mount we would be in business.
Click to expand...

Yes, agree on both counts, PL is better. But there are more and more EOS and Nikon based camera systems and mount adapters out there doing professional work so those with a EOS camera who need to pull a focus once in a while or a faster prime, so its good to have this option available.
 
What about CP.2 Superspeeds?

I've heard the CP's look a little sterile, but possibly some character can be added by using very mild filtration in front of the lens?
 
Peter Moretti said:
What about CP.2 Superspeeds?

I've heard the CP's look a little sterile, but possibly some character can be added by using very mild filtration in front of the lens?
Click to expand...

Have not tried them yet, but if they are anything like the normal CP.2's, they have color, aberration, and other issues not found as much in the Ultras or Cookes.

CP.2's are some decent lenses, don't get me wrong... but they had their quarks, especially wide open... and they never performed at the level of Ultra's or Cookes. I'm interested to see the superspeed CP.2's compared to their slower older brothers.
 
Ask Nick himself, he's on the forum.
 
Btw: If Ultra Primes were priced at half of their current pricing, I don't think it would double the sales. I would guess the sales would at least quadruple.

Arri were almost bankrupt before they released the Alexa, why they (and Zeiss) won't use the same business model on lenses is a mystery to me...
 
Jon MIchael Puntervold said:
Btw: If Ultra Primes were priced at half of their current pricing, I don't think it would double the sales. I would guess the sales would at least quadruple.

Arri were almost bankrupt before they released the Alexa, why they (and Zeiss) won't use the same business model on lenses is a mystery to me...
Click to expand...

which business model?..the alexa is a £60,000 camera pretty much same as a set of 6 ultra primes. The ultra primes will still be good to go in 10 years time, not sure i could say the same for the camera.
 
Robert Horwell said:
which business model?..the alexa is a £60,000 camera pretty much same as a set of 6 ultra primes. The ultra primes will still be good to go in 10 years time, not sure i could say the same for the camera.
Click to expand...

Sorry for being unclear. The Alexa is quite cheap compared to previous offerings. They tried to go for a larger volume, and succeeded. Not unlike Red I guess. Wish they did the same with lenses. The pricing for PL-glass is absurd as it is today.
 
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