COOKE ZOOM LENSES

Cooke 10-30mm T/1.5 Ultra Fast Zoom Lens
Super 16mm

There were three different versions of this lens from what I’ve gathered. This is the fastest of the three. At a T/1.5, there is no faster zoom lens. And in my opinion there are very very few that match it’s beautiful rendering. It has a short range at 10-30mm but that’s a sweet spot for a wide to CU field of view. It’s a rare s16 zoom and it’s one of the rarer lenses in existence.

From OLD FAST GLASS:
“This is one of the only Super Speed zoom lenses in the world. It’s small and light enough for handheld work. It has excellent close-focus, and really well-controlled focus breathing. It will deliver beautiful lens flares, and it’s as sharp as a primes lens […] In Super-16, 10-30mm is the equivalent field of view of 20-60mm in Super-35. […] The Cooke 10-30mm has much of the same optical DNA of the legendary Cooke 20-60mm T3.1 [Varotal], but its redesigned rear optical group shrinks the image circle down to Super 16 format […] What that means is that you get the same field of view, depth of field, quality, and flares of the Cooke 20-60mm, but for the super 16 format. Ed Lachman used his own personal Cooke 10-30mm T1.6 along with his personal set of Cooke Speed Panchros to shoot much of the film CAROL.”

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Cooke 20-60mm T/3.1 Zoom Lens
Super 35mm

Once again, the wizards at OLD FAST GLASS said it best:
“The Cooke 20-60mm T3.1 was first sold in 1981 and was described as having “optical performance comparable to prime lenses.” That statement still holds true today. This is arguably the highest performing zoom lens Cooke ever made […] It has no noticeable chromatic aberrations even wide-open, which is something even modern, high-end prime lenses have issues with. It is sharp, but with that classic flattering thing that only Cooke lenses can do. It’s just slightly warmer than neutral. It has a 9-blade iris and they are petal shaped like other Cookes, so the bokeh stopped down is gorgeous. Thanks to the huge front element it flares easily if you want it to, and the lens flares are beautiful. Focus breathing is extremely well controlled and there’s virtually none at the wide end, where breathing tends to be most noticeable.”

Varotal, Taylor Hobson, London, England, Vintage Lenses

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