new Cooke lenses for M and L mounts now out with adapters coming soon

[Winedemonium]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

2 hours ago, algrove said:

The look has been present since LLL released their SP2 50/2.0 copy a year our two ago.

Ah, I hadn't noticed that. 

[Huss]

I sometimes wonder if someone wasn’t told that a flaring pic was taken w a Cooke look lens, that they would still like it?  Or would they say that pic is awful with low contrast and veiling flare?

I have no problem w the lenses, I think that a lot of people’s opinions on images are influenced if they know the gear used beforehand.

[algrove]

Flare has not been an issue for me with the SP2 LLL lens. I know some who immediately said it flared too much for them and sold it or did not buy it. Thanks OK, but for me I like the character of the lens as I am trying to concentrate these days on buying lenses with character over sharpness. I have plenty of super sharp Leica lenses so the Leica reissue lenses appeal to me even though I keep buying their new glass also.That said this SP2 lens is very sharp wide open even while displaying a nice character.

Sure if you want to point lenses directly at light sources then Leica lenses seem to handle that most often. I have been contemplating buying back the 75/1.4 that I stupidly sold many years ago. The risk with buying older used lenses is their condition whereas new glass is warrantied and should be free of fungus and the like that often creeps into old glass lenses.

[Winedemonium]

18 minutes ago, Huss said:

I have no problem w the lenses, I think that a lot of people’s opinions on images are influenced if they know the gear used beforehand.

This is certainly true, and I'm guilty of it. Not only that, but I buy lenses (e.g. M-mount, and currently some Hasselblad's XCDs, and some others) based on what in fairness are contradictory ideals. I like the 35mm Summilux pre-ASPH. I like the 35mm APO-Summicron. And on it goes. When the characteristics belong to something important (e.g. the heritage of Leica's fast primes) we tend to forgive (or even like) the optical compromises, as bringing certain imaging signatures. They have personality. There's also something nostalgic we forgive because they were once cutting edge. When they belong to some newer, cheaply made lenses, we tend to criticize them for it. 

I work in wine. In blind tasting, there's a saying that catching a glimpse of the corner of the label is worth a lifetime in the industry. 🤣 But again it is true for all who love wine - including me - that when we see the bottle, and its something classic, we... interpret what we are experiencing through the lens of the label. There is a value in it - we can bring our experience of that wine, and our knowledge of certain things like producer, terroir, variety/blend, vintage conditions, age, etc, to understand better the why of what we are tasting. But we also bring preconceptions (good or bad) that can shift an unmediated experience of the liquid in the glass.

I don't use cine lenses but I find them fascinating in part because the manufacturer is not trying to sell you a lens, they are trying to sell you a whole set of optically consistent lenses. It's an all in kind of purchase. So I find the marketing - e.g. "the Cooke look" - fascinating. My outsider's impression is that they are going for a niche market rather than broad appeal. Suits a small manufacturer just fine. 

 

[algrove]

Mr Wine

Yes it is a SMALL niche market, but not as small as Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc (at least when I discovered it in 1971 while living in Paris). Even a Cooke rep told me that at a recent small show put on by B&H a month ago called Bild, and while knowing that B&H is not cine-centric, they seemed to think that about 3% of the attendees looked at their cine lenses. They were very pleased with this percentage.

I started to try cine glass on my M initially and then tried one on my SL2S after seeing an Overgaard video where he tried a 35mm T1.05 as he wanted to see how a 35mm f1 lens would render because he keeps hearing a rumor that Leica might soon come out with a 35mm Noctilux. So this uncoded APS-C L mount lens on his SL behaves like a FF lens because he leaves the lens format at FF 35mm. The lens was very sharp wide open even though it cost less than $500. It renders more modern (IMHO) than the Cooke. In fact to reduce it sharpness I have put on Black Mist 1/4 and 1/2 filters and also bought one for my XT-5 I like it so much. See below-shot wide open.

 

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited September 29, 2023 by algrove

[Winedemonium]

14 hours ago, algrove said:

but not as small as Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc (at least when I discovered it in 1971 while living in Paris).

An underrated classic. I like the whites of the Northern Rhône also.

14 hours ago, algrove said:

B&H is not cine-centric, they seemed to think that about 3% of the attendees looked at their cine lenses.

I put myself in that camp that is both amateur enthusiast photographer... and camera / lens 'fiddler'. I like my Hasselblad camera, but I don't tend to pick up the XCD lenses unless its to mount them to the camera. But with Leica M glass I will sometimes pick them up, move the aperture ring back and forth and gaze into the glass! Let's just say I'm old enough to have moved past the age of 'toys', and yet not, apparently. 😆 And with glass in the collection ranging in age from the 1950s to the 2020s, I love the idea that glass I have bought new could last and be appreciated by generations to come. Potentially. 

Well, I would be amongst those who would be curious to look at cine glass - admire them for the science, the engineering, and the art. Not to waste anyone's time. But out of curiosity. I wonder what part of that 3% people like me might be?

Mr Algrove, using a cine lens on a stills set up, do you find the ergonomics ok? Interesting about your experience of the rendering. 

[algrove]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Mr Wine

"Mr Algrove, using a cine lens on a stills set up, do you find the ergonomics ok? Interesting about your experience of the rendering. "

I admit it takes some getting used to, but turning either the T ring (f stop ring) or the focus ring with the gears machined into both of those rings makes it easy to manually focus and find them by touch. As for the T ring I try to leave it wide open since that is why I bought it to use wide open. Sometimes I inadvertently touch it and being so smooth it moves, but once realize my mistake it is back to wide open. Getting used to the indicators on the left side of the lens is the main learning curve in addition to which way to move the focus ring which is the larger of the 2 rings and up near the front of the lens.

Edited September 30, 2023 by algrove