View Camera Review Of Cooke Triple Convertible Lens

[kenmeyersphoto]

Hi Mike,

I am going to use a lens resolution chart and photograph it with all 3 focal lengths of the Cooke and then photgraph it with my nikkor 300m, fuji 450c and my Fuji 600. I consider those all to be sharp lenses in particular the fujis. I am also going to do a "real world" test and go out and take a some sort of landscape and also some close-up work using all the abovementioned lenses and lay them up side-by-side and look at them with the naked eye and a loop.

A couple of weeks ago, I was down at Bean Hollow/Pebble Beach (not the famouse Pebble Beach) and I was working some rock formations that had many small pebbles within the rock formation. I was doing work this formation close-up and the resulting negative and print was as sharp as anything I have done in the past.

Again, I can't say enough about the coating on the Cooke. It is like no other lens that I have. You can see a brillant purple and green.

Will keep you posted.

Ken

 

[Tom Stanworth]

You have people waiting all over the world for your comparative test.....I just wanna be sure; we all wanna be sure!

Cheers,

Tom

 

[mikewhi]

One word of warning...

I have heard that the price of the new lens iwll defenitely be more than the last price. I was told that the dollaor has gone down 30% vs the Euro. If htis is correct, this alone would build in a 30% markup even without a price from England. One starts to wonder if it is worth $3k+ to save a few lbs in a backpack. I already have fix-focal lengths that cover the ranges of the convertible lens. So, I have to wonder what advantage this lens offers to me. Can it outperform the lenses that I have (Fuji\Nikkor\Schneider)? If it weighs a few pounds less, do I really care if I mostly work out of the car with my 8x10? When I pack the gear, my f64 backpabk is already loaded with enough stuff plus the weight of a Reis tripod for goodness sake. Is a few pounds less worth $3k? Now if this was a casket set with several more elements that covered a wider focal length range for my 8x10, then I'd be interested.

I wonder who this lens is a good choce for? Is it just someone interested in savin g a few pounds? Certainly, not the 3-focal length. One can go on eBay and pick up 3 lense to cover this focal length for a lot less than $3k. If weight doesn't matter to you, then why the convertible lens. I suppose there are those who just want to own one, practical consderations be damned. I even feel that way sometimes.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not putting anyone or anything down here. I'm just wondering what the motivation would be to buy the lens. If this was a casket set like Ron Wisner offers that provided wide angle thru normal and into long focal lengths, then I'd be will to plop down $4k or so for set.

Don't anyone get annoyed with me, I've had a few glasses of wine with a steak dinner with a nice lady and the thoughts are flowing freely. But they aren't bad musings if you look at them. God bless Cooke for making the lens, I say. I just wished thye'd come out with a casket set that didn't cost $8k or something like that.

I'm going to bed.....

-Mike

 

[Steve Hamley]

Mike,

Britain doesn't use the euro - not yet anyway. The price would be determined by the dollar/pound value.

Steve

 

[mikewhi]

Ok, then it must have been the dollar\pound ration that had gone bad for the dollar by about 30%. Still bad news for the upcoming price of the next batch.

 

[Aggie]

The exchange rate is the same as it was in April. Both of them are bad. So I don't see an increase of any substantial amount. If it is all based on the increase from dollar to pound, it would maybe be a few cents worth of change. That is not enough to get so hot an bothered over. Especially since it is all speculation and not fact as of yet.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I posted a question to Barbara Lowry over on the f:32 list to see if Cooke would make its own optical test data available for this lens on its website in the way that Schneider does. That might satisfy some of the curiosity, if they can do it.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

And a quick reply--no such luck. They claim not to do such testing, because there are too many variables involved to make them useful. You can read the full response over at f32.net.

 

[mikewhi]

The exchange rate is the same as it was in April. Both of them are bad. So I don't see an increase of any substantial amount. If it is all based on the increase from dollar to pound, it would maybe be a few cents worth of change. That is not enough to get so hot an bothered over. Especially since it is all speculation and not fact as of yet.

Well, that's good news. I was told the opposite by one of the distributors in the US for the Cooke lens, so I was just passing along what he said without verifying it. Thanks Aggie (hey, is it 'Aggie' as in Texas A&M Aggie?).

I did get a direct reply from Barbara Lowry from Cooke that there WILL be a price increase for the next run, though. She did not say how much and said a change in the exchange rate would help us and they would still make the shutter optional to help keep costs down. If it's just something like 10%, that won't be so bad, I guess. But if it gets to around $3k, ouch.

I think I'll put in a pre-order with a small deposit to get in line and see what the final price will be. I can't imagine not liking the lens, but if I do I'm sure there will be many eager people out there to buy it off me so I can recoup my costs.


-Mike
-Mike

 

[mikewhi]

Next Production Run for this lens

Hi:

Anyone have any idea when the next production run will be available? This year? I sent in a pre-order so I'm on the wait list.

Thanks.

-Mike

 

[colrehogan]

Hi:

Anyone have any idea when the next production run will be available? This year? I sent in a pre-order so I'm on the wait list.

Thanks.

-Mike

Where did you place a pre-order?

 

[kenmeyersphoto]

My personal test results for the Cooke Triple

I hate to confess my ignorance of the digital aspects of photography, but perhaps someone can give me some advice. I have some prints made with the New Cooke Triple Convertible that I would like to share with those who are interested in this thread. I have a newer Canon flatbed scanner that I can use to scan some prints, but I have not experimented much and I am wondering if it would do any justice to the prints and allow you to discern any differences between a "Cooke" print and say a Fuji or Nikkor print?

Any advice would be appreciated and I would be happy to put up some prints.

-Ken

 

[steve simmons]

Most likely by the time you scan and post prints any diffrences will be very hard to see. I would be satisfied with a written description of the differences.

steve simmons

 

[mikewhi]

Me too. Especially if you can compare the results with the same image taken with a modern fixed-focal length lens. I think any quality differences would be lost in the scan and with variance in monitors it would get even worse.

Thanks.

-Mike

 

[kenmeyersphoto]

test prints

If Steve Simmons is ok with, I will forward on some prints to him and I would be willing to create some traveling prints that I can forward on to whomever might be interested.

Let me know what you think.

-Ken

 

[steve simmons]

Yes, please do I am very interested.

tans

steve

 

[kenmeyersphoto]

Will do.

-Ken

 

[Tom Stanworth]

I asked on another thread why some lenses 'focus' shift when stopped down. I was curious as this was something AA said he had to take into account when taking Moonrise over Hernandez with his Cooke Triple Convertible.

Does the new Cooke triple convertible shift apparrent focus as it is stopped down (perhaps worse when using a single element??). AA said something along the lines of, "...I knew that I would have to advance the focus by x amount using a single 23" component of the cooke triple convertibleat f32..."

Whats the score with the vew cooke triple convertible? ....or can one just focus wide open, stop down and fire?

Thanks,

Tom

 

[removed account4]

tom -

barbara lowry from cooke optics has participated at f32.net. i am sure if you ask there you will get the official "cooke optics response"

i have several non-cooke convertable lenses, and focus shift really hasn't been too much of an issue. the worst that can happen is that you check your focus before you expose your film -

good luck!

john

 

[mikewhi]

Bumping. I checked with Clive Russ and he said Cooke is on schedule for a February production run of the XVa. He said I will be in line for one of the early ones. I will use it and post my impressions as soon as I can. In the meantime, if any owners can provide some feedback on your personal impressions, I think we would all be interested.

BTW, the Cooke web-site has a link to a Christie's auction in May where the Serial No. #1 XVa will be auctioned of. That ought to be fun.

-Mike

 

[mikewhi]

I just got word that my Cooke XVa is in! I should have it next week. If anyone has any questions about it, please let me know. I will be trying it out as soon as I can.

-Mike

 

[SchwinnParamount]

I just got word that my Cooke XVa is in! I should have it next week. If anyone has any questions about it, please let me know. I will be trying it out as soon as I can.

-Mike

Mike, I live in University Place... right down the street from your work. If you plan on making any expusures in Pierce County... I'd love to be there to see (but not touch) the actual lens... not to mention hang out with a fellow APUG'er.

 

[BradS]

LF party in greater metropolitan Seattle?

 

[mikewhi]

I suppose a get-together somewhere around the Tacoma\Seattle area at a Starbucks\Tully's would be in order. Simply a white-glove afair, min you<g>. And no sticky buns with your coffee! If it's the right locale (read, minimum traffic, low-crime), I might even bring along my Canham 8x10 so we can peer thru it. I could being along some modern lenses ot comapre it to. Now if we only had one of those older XV's around.......


I just got off the phone with Clive Russ and of course he was really praising the lens. He has 2 of his own now, poor guy.

-Mike

 

[SchwinnParamount]

I suppose a get-together somewhere around the Tacoma\Seattle area at a Starbucks\Tully's would be in order. Simply a white-glove afair, min you<g>. And no sticky buns with your coffee! If it's the right locale (read, minimum traffic, low-crime), I might even bring along my Canham 8x10 so we can peer thru it. I could being along some modern lenses ot comapre it to. Now if we only had one of those older XV's around.......


I just got off the phone with Clive Russ and of course he was really praising the lens. He has 2 of his own now, poor guy.

-Mike

Mike, I belive you can count me in! Lets bring in some folks from Idaho and Oregon and maybe even the San Francisco area. If we get folks from out of town, lets plan a weekend in the Port Townsend area. Seriously! Great accommodations and marvelous photographic opportunities.