New Products

Cooke Adds Optics, New Factory

Facility will keep up with growing demand and to facilitate the development and manufacture of new lens ranges.

ASC Staff

Cooke Optics now offers uncoated front elements for its S4/i series of prime lenses. The uncoated front elements offer lower contrast, milkier shadows, flares, streaks and other aberrations for a “vintage” look. Cooke’s MiniS4/i elements are also available uncoated.


The Cooke S4/i series currently features 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 25, 27, 32, 35, 40, 50, 65, 75, 100, 135, 150, 180 and 300mm focal lengths. Uncoated S4/i front elements can be ordered individually for any or all focal lengths. Existing owners and rental houses can have the front elements swapped by trained lens technicians. Light loss is approximately 10 percent, so depending on the lens, the maximum T-stop is around T2.2 with the uncoated front. The lenses may need to be re-shimmed, or the focus scale may need to be shifted to correct for a slight difference. Additionally, since the front element is unprotected, it may discolor or stain over time.



Cooke Optics also plans to open a second factory less than two miles from its current Leicester premises in the U.K. in order to keep up with growing demand and to facilitate the development and manufacture of new lens ranges. Scheduled to open in June, the 700-square-meter factory will initially focus on building the new Cooke Panchro/i Classic range, which offers the original design and characteristics of Cooke’s vintage Speed Panchros with new housings and PL mounts for modern cameras.


For additional information, visit cookeoptics.com.



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