Following 26 years of service, the legendary Cooke S4 and S4/i lenses have been discontinued. These award-winning lenses have been one of the most favored among cinematographers for their speed at T2, precision, and build. Plus, it ushered in the “Cooke Look” moniker, which reflected the warmth and character of the lenses. Cooke’s history began in the late 1800s as T. Cooke & Sons of York as they worked on a solution to outer edge ridge distortion in telescope lenses. Soon after, Cooke photographic lenses were born. The Wizard of Oz utilized Cooke lenses and became the first movie to film in Technicolor. The Cooke Speed Panchro f/2 cinema prime lens was invented by Horace Lee and became the defacto lens of choice in Hollywood for over 40 years until the 1960s. The Panchro is still being developed today. Cooke also developed the world’s first Cine Zoom, released in 1971. 1998 was the start of Cooke Optics and the debut of the now legendary Cooke S4 lenses. The Cooke S4 first came out in 1998 as Chairman and Owner Les Zellan and Cooke opened a new facility in Leicester, England to bring some shine back to the brand. The design and manufacturing of the lens really set a gold standard for cinematic optics, and this contributed to the “Cooke look.” The Cooke S4/i 25mm 50mm 100mm lenses. Source: Cooke Why Cooke S4/i lenses were so popular What made the Cooke S4 lenses so famous was the warm look and artistic...
Published By: CineD - Today