cooke mini s4 (ex-panchro) test

 

Note: This blog entry has been copied/stolen and posted on another site (by someone that allegedly offers VFX and matte paintings) without requesting proper permission.

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I’ve kindly requested the administrator of that site to take down their copied entry altogether.  So far I’ve received no replies and the blog entry remains posted (7/2014).

 

A few days ago we were invited to test a set of Cooke Panchro lenses at Technovision/D-Vision in Rome.

This is the newer version of the “Panchro” series, not to be mistaken with the old “Speed Panchro’s”.

(Note: shortly ago Cooke decided to change the name of this series to Mini S4).

We were glad to accept and decided to perform a quick test setting them against the Cooke S4’s and the vintage Speed Panchro’s which were the ones to render the famous “Cooke look”.

(From top to bottom: Cooke Panchro, Technovision rehoused Cooke Speed Panchro, Cooke S4).

The Cooke Panchro series was not complete , the set we’ve tested consisted of the following lenses: 18/25/50/75/100mm.

The Cooke Speed Panchro (S2/S3) series was complete but we only used similar focal lengths: 18/25/50/75/100mm.

Managed to get a few Cooke S4’s just before shooting the test: 25/50/75mm in order to see how both series compared.

Finally got a set of Zeiss Ultra Primes (16/24/50/85) as an “external” reference.

Some focal lengths of this test were not covered with all lenses.

All tests shot with Arri Alexa ProRes and ArriRaw (with Convergent Design “Gemini”).

ProRes recorded in Rec 709 for a fast visualization. ArriRaw was then developed using Arri Raw Converter for better resolution analysis.

All frame grabs are 2880×1620, the full 3K resolution of the Alexa.

All lenses tested at T/2.8 and T/5.6 with tungsten lighting.

Used Putora, Kodak and Gretag Macbeth charts.

(The shadow on the right margin of the images was projected from a column next to the test charts)

Cooke Panchro 18/2.8

Cooke Speed Panchro 18/2.8

Zeiss Ultra Prime 16/2.8

Cooke Panchro 18/5.6

Cooke Speed Panchro 18/5.6

Zeiss Ultra Prime 16/5.6

Cooke Panchro 25/2.8

Cooke S4 25/2.8

Cooke Speed Panchro 25/2.8

Zeiss Ultra Prime 24/2.8

Cooke Panchro 25/5.6

Cooke Speed Panchro 25/5.6

Zeiss Ultra Prime 24/5.6

Cooke Panchro 50/2.8

Cooke Speed Panchro 50/2.8

Cooke S4 50/2.8

Zeiss Ultra Prime 50/2.8

Cooke Panchro 50/5.6

Cooke Speed Panchro 50/5.6

Cooke S4 50/5.6

Zeiss Ultra Prime 50/5.6

Cooke Panchro 75/2.8

Cooke Speed Panchro 75/2.8

Cooke S4 75/2.8

Zeiss Ultra Prime 85/2.8

Cooke Panchro 75/5.6

Cooke Speed Panchro 75/5.6

Cooke S4 75/5.6

Zeiss Ultra Prime 85/5.6

At first glance the Cooke Panchro are quite similar in tone and rendition to the S4 series.

The build and feel qualities seemed identical to the S4 series.

The 65mm and 135mm lenses have recently been announced, and some say a 40mm may be on its way.

These are professional quality lenses, no compromise.

We performed a quick test of the Panchro 18mm on a Red Epic (4K settings) and it covered the format without problems.

Also tried the Epic in 5K setting, and the 18mm Panchro did not show signs of vignetting or portholing, but will have to perform a more accurate test of the whole set before confirming.

Camera assistant: Bruno Fundaro’

Many thanks again to Harald, Rory, Marcello, Andrea, Daniele and Pierpaolo from Technovision/D-Vision for their help and generosity.

PS: The vintage Speed Panchro set exhibits a warm color shift due to coating aging.

Tags: Arri Alexa, ArriRaw, Convergent Design Gemini, cooke, D-Vision, Gretag Macbeth, Kodak Grey Card Plus, Optics, Panchro/i, Putora, S4, Speed Panchro, Technovision, Ultra Prime, vintage lens, zeiss