New Cooke Convertible Lens

[steve simmons]

This exciting new lens will be previewed for the first time in the US at the View Camera Conference April 23-25 in Monterey, CA

www.viewcamera.com for the conference program

 

[victor]

cool. it is really interesting to find the differances in nuances between this lense and the imagon.

 

[Francesco]

Wonderful news for Large Format users! Steve, any details you can offer on focal lengths, coverage, shutter size, possible price, etc.?

 

[removed account4]

victor:

this is the triple convertible lens, not the soft focus/portrait lens. they say it is very much like the grandfather from the 1930s.

http://www.f32.net/discus/messages/6/4008.html?1081951587

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

It's like a 300/450/600, and they are selling it with the shutter optional, so that if you have another lens with a recent Copal #3 shutter, you can screw the cells right into it, and there is a slip-on aperture scale. The cells should fit any Copal 3 since the 1950s, but the aperture scale will only fit newer ones. Estimated price posted on f32 list is 1250 UKPounds without shutter.

 

[Francesco]

Fantastic lens! To think I was looking to buy a 450 and a 600 for my 8x10. This is a bargain indeed to have these 2 focal lengths plus a 300ish in one package. Love the idea of using my existing Copal 3 - already mounted on a board. Very cool! Any ideas on coverage? Did the older version cover any higher than 8x10?

 

[akmikeg]

It is on the Badger Graphic Sales website for shipping in June

http://www.badgergraphic.com/search_product2.asp?x=4045

 

[DrPhil]

Has anyone heard what the specs are? How big is the image circle for each focal length? Filter sizes? Weight? Will each element be available separately? It would be really cool to have two rear elements and one front. Focal lengths from 271 to 645. WOW!

 

[victor]

oh, now i see why francessco is so exited ...lol
it is for 8x10. still cool, though i dont use 810 format. i love companies do such iragular things.
i only wish there will be some very wide, kind of soft lense, not like the apograndagons (which are fantastic, but sometimes painfully sharp).
any way, sorry for interopting ignorantly the joy of very lf users.

 

[DrPhil]

Okay, I'm really starting to think. Maybe a quasi-backpackable 8x10 is a possibility. One shutter, six nikon and cooke elements, and the following focal lengths: 1200, 800, 645, 476, 311, and 271.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Well, I do dayhikes with my Gowland 8x10" and usually around 5 or 6 lenses and three filmholders, or more holders if I'm working out of a car. I have a 12" Dagor and 19" Artar in barrel with an adapter to use them on the Ilex 5 shutter of my 10" WF Ektar, and then I have a few small wide lenses that cover 8x10". The whole thing fits with all the usual accessories in a knapsack of the sort used for laptop computers and the tripod hangs from my shoulder on a strap.

If you want to go really small and light, look for one of the old casket sets (the premium ones are the Busch Vademecum set and I've seen uncoated Dagor casket sets), or if you have the budget for the new Cooke lens but want more options, consider the Wisner casket set:

http://www.wisner.com/Page15.html

My superlight 4x5" kit is a Gowland Front Moves 4x5" with a Symmar 135/235 convertible, 90mm Angulon, Linhof 42mm shade and filter kit, Gossen Digisix meter, and as many Grafmatics as I need/have room for. Just scale up to a 300/500 Symmar, 210mm Angulon and an 8x10" Gowland or Toho for a comparable 8x10" kit.

 

[rogein]

I wonder if the lens will cover 11x14 with movement as the original did (or at least the one I had did)? Also if the cells will be 'modernized' so a single cell can be placed behind or in front of the shutter and produce equal results?

 

[cjarvis]

Not until someone "modernizes" physics.

 

[cjarvis]

Sorry for two in a row, but to address Mr. Goldfarb's comments, I'd wholeheartedly agree. I own a Busch Vademecum and I just sold the only Dagor casket set I've ever seen...both terrific performers but designed when all the calculations were done by hand, so not nearly as sharp as what you'll get from modern glass. Reasonable alternatives would of course include Goerz Pantars (got a six-cell set of these in a Copal #3 too) and Zeiss Protars; these are cool because you can more or less "roll your own" casket set, i.e. aquire individual cells to build your ideal collection. Naturally, as David already stated, none of the aforementioned lenses is coated, so contrast will be lacking.

 

[Aggie]

Was wondering when this would finally come out. (Heard about it in Dec. 2002) They got the prototype lens from Gordon Hutchings that had 2 of the original ones. They used his lens and to pay him back for the use of his lens they totally re did and multi coated his origial lens. Gordon says it is the best lens he had in his arsenal of lenses.