News
Cooke Optics launches new affordable range of Metrology tools
Las Vegas, NV, USA – 8 April 2013
Cooke Optics, the leading manufacturer of precision lenses, today launched Cooke Metrology, a range of innovative and affordable lens testing equipment designed by Cooke and manufactured by Pure4C.
“We have been thinking for some time about the testing instruments we use and how we could improve them,” said Les Zellan, Chairman and Owner, Cooke Optics. “As lenses have become faster and more complex, testing equipment has struggled to keep pace and is often, in our opinion, overpriced. We decided to develop our own tools that would not only live up to our exacting standards but also be affordable, and we are pleased that we can share the resulting products with the industry.”
The first product in the line will be a lens test projector designed for today's fast lenses. Many current projectors cannot pass a beam correctly through lenses that are faster than T2. Cooke Metrology’s projector is so bright that it can be demonstrated in daylight, making it much easier to discern flaws and artifacts in fast lenses.
The projector is scheduled for release in the next few months, and a pre-production prototype will be available to view on Stand C11149 at NAB 2013. More lens test equipment will be added to the Cooke Metrology line over the next year.
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About Cooke Optics, LTD.
Cooke is a storied name in both cinematographic and the ultra-high-end professional photography markets. Known worldwide for their precision, exacting tolerances and superior quality, Cooke lenses are specified by many of the world’s most respected cinematographers. Cooke is also the developer behind /i Technology, the protocol enabling vital lens and camera information to be captured and passed digitally to post-production teams. Cooke was honoured with a 2013 Academy Award® of Merit (an Oscar® statuette) for its continuing innovation in the design, development and manufacture of motion picture camera lenses. Features in production or recently shot with Cooke lenses include Zero Dark Thirty, A Good Day To Die Hard, To Rome With Love, Filth, After Earth, Hugo, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Midnight in Paris, My Week With Marilyn, Red Dog, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and Angels and Demons. Television shows in production or recently shot with Cooke lenses include Parade’s End, Chicago Fire, Game of Thrones, World Without End, The Borgias, Downton Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs, Trollied, Trauma, Community, Back, Journeyman, State of Mind, Life, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, and Entourage.
Media contacts:
Dawn Egerton, Bubble & Squeak e: dawn@bubblesqueak.co.uk t: +44 (0)7887 627764
Cooke Optics and Thales Angénieux Announce Collaboration on Compatible Anamorphic Lenses - NAB 2013
Las Vegas, NV, USA – 5 April 2013
Two of the most esteemed names in the content creation industry, Cooke Optics and Thales Angénieux, today confirmed that their technical teams have worked together to share designs of their respective new anamorphic lenses. The results of the collaboration will bring cinematographers a full range of compatible anamorphic lenses, including Cooke's Academy Award® winning design that captures the 'Cooke Look®' and Angénieux' renowned zoom technology, also awarded by the Academy in 2009, to meet the demand for today’s film and digital capture.
Les Zellan, chairman and owner, Cooke Optics, said, “Cooke primes and Angénieux zooms have always complemented each other in terms of look and color. They are frequently used together on feature films as the combination of our respective expertise brings something special to the screen that cinematographers have long valued. We are confident they will not be disappointed with the results of this initiative, as we make anamorphic production available for a new generation of film-makers.”
Pierre Andurand, CEO and President, Thales Angénieux, said, “In our ongoing quest to provide cinematographers with the very best tools, we are developing a complete line of compact anamorphic zooms that maintain a superb level of resolution while keeping a very human feel in the image. The entire line will perfectly match with the new Cooke primes and will be friendly, usable, compact and lightweight.”
Angénieux is currently showcasing the first zoom lens in their planned complete line of compact anamorphic zooms. It is a 56-152mm anamorphic zoom lens with 2x squeeze and fast aperture of T:4. With a light weight of only 4.8lbs-2.2 kg, this new lens has a unique optical design combining spherical and cylindrical elements in the same group to deliver exceptional sharpness and low distortion.
Cooke Optics has designed seven brand new prime lenses for the anamorphic system - 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 75mm, 100mm and 135mm, all at T2.3 The new lenses, which are approximately the size of Cooke’s industry standard S4/i lenses, retain the Cooke Look®, are color matched with the Cooke 5/i, S4/i and miniS4/i ranges, and come equipped with the next generation /i Technology to capture lens metadata.
Lenses from Cooke Optics and Thales Angénieux have been used together on countless film productions including Zero Dark Thirty, A Good Day to Die Hard, Rock Forever, Dark Shadows, After Earth, Drive and Midnight in Paris, and television shows including The Client List, Chicago Fire, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs, Community and many others.
Prototypes of the new anamorphic lenses will be available to view at NAB 2013 in Hall 11; in Cooke’s booth, C11149, and Thales Angénieux’ booth, C6020. The companies expect to ship the new lenses in early 2014.
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About Cooke Optics, LTD.
Cooke is a storied name in both cinematographic and the ultra-high-end professional photography markets. Known worldwide for their precision, exacting tolerances and superior quality, Cooke lenses are specified by many of the world’s most respected cinematographers. Cooke is also the developer behind /i Technology, the protocol enabling vital lens and camera information to be captured and passed digitally to post-production teams. Cooke was honoured with a 2013 Academy Award® of Merit (an Oscar® statuette) for its continuing innovation in the design, development and manufacture of motion picture camera lenses. Features in production or recently shot with Cooke lenses include Zero Dark Thirty, A Good Day To Die Hard, To Rome With Love, Filth, After Earth, Hugo, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Midnight in Paris, My Week With Marilyn, Red Dog, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and Angels and Demons. Television shows in production or recently shot with Cooke lenses include Parade’s End, Chicago Fire, Game of Thrones, World Without End, The Borgias, Downton Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs, Trollied, Trauma, Community, Back, Journeyman, State of Mind, Life, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, and Entourage.
Media contacts:
Dawn Egerton, Bubble & Squeak e: dawn@bubblesqueak.co.uk t: +44 (0)7887 627764
Greig Fraser on Zero Dark Thirty
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from left: Paul Utting, Jaimie Cluer, Rorbert Howard, Les Zellan, Geoffrey Chappell, Guy Genin
Cooke Optics honoured at 85th Academy Awards®
Leicester, UK - 11 February 2013
Cooke Optics was awarded a very special Academy Award® of Merit at the Scientific & Technical Awards ceremony on Saturday 9 February 2013, in recognition of the company’s "continuing innovation in design, development and manufacture of advanced camera lenses that have helped define the look of motion pictures over the last century”.
Cooke Optics was this year's only recipient of an Oscar® statuette at the ceremony which took place at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles.
Les Zellan, chairman and owner, and Robert Howard, CEO, accepted the award, accompanied by Guy Genin, Les' partner, Geoffrey Chappell, Cooke's Director of Sales, and two Cooke employees based at the Leicester factory: Paul Utting, optical technician, and Jaimie Cluer, assembly technician. Zellan commented, “It’s a tremendous honour to receive this award from the Academy, after Cooke’s 127 years’ continuous service to the motion picture industry. We have received many congratulations from friends and colleagues around the world, and are looking forward to bringing the Oscar home to Leicester to share it with our talented workforce.”
Each Cooke lens is hand crafted in the UK factory, using a combination of state-of-the-art technology, traditional 100 year old techniques and personal dexterity that come together to create the unique and famed ‘Cooke Look’®.
Cooke lenses have recently been used on film projects including Zero Dark Thirty, A Good Day To Die Hard, After Earth, Hugo, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Midnight in Paris and My Week With Marilyn, and on television productions including Parade’s End, World Without End, Game Of Thrones, Downton Abbey, True Blood, The Borgias and Chicago Fire.
Greig Fraser, ACS, director of photography, who used Cooke S4 lenses on the Oscar®-nominated film Zero Dark Thirty, said, “I’ve been in love with Cookes for a long time – glass is really important to me and I’m blown away by the quality and technique that goes into making each lens. The look of any story is paramount, and Cookes give a very honest and human look to images, particularly when shooting digitally – but they are also robust enough that I can rely on them in extreme conditions. I’m delighted to see Cooke receive this accolade.”
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About Cooke Optics, LTD.
Cooke is a storied name in both cinematographic and the ultra-high-end professional photography markets. Known worldwide for their precision, exacting tolerances and superior quality, Cooke lenses are specified by many of the world's most respected cinematographers. Cooke is also the developer behind /i Technology, the protocol enabling vital lens and camera information to be captured and passed digitally to post-production teams. Features in production or recently shot with Cooke lenses include Zero Dark Thirty, A Good Day To Die Hard, To Rome With Love, Filth, After Earth, Hugo, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Midnight in Paris, My Week With Marilyn, Red Dog, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and Angels and Demons, Television shows in production or recently shot with Cooke lenses include Parade's End, Chicago Fire, Game of Thrones, World Without End, The Borgias, Downtown Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs, Trollied,Trauma, Community, Back, Journeyman, State of Mind, Life, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, and Entourage.
Media contacts:
Wendy Mattock, Bubble & Squeak e: wendy@bubblesqueak.co.uk t: +44 (0)7912 300231
Cooke miniS4/i lenses are the popular choice in Uruguay
- ‘Terra Ribelle 2’ is one of many recent miniS4/i shoots -
Leicester, UK - 13 December 2012
Cooke miniS4 lenses (formerly known as Panchro by Cooke) have gained rapid popularity in Uruguay, with many international feature film, television and commercial productions turning to the small, lightweight lenses to bring warmth and personality to digital images.
Musitelli Film & Digital, a leading rental house based in Montevideo, was among the first in the world to receive a set of miniS4/i lenses, and now boasts three sets.
“The miniS4s have proved to be very popular in our market, and have quickly become the workhorses of our rental department, working with everything from RED and ALEXA to Canon and DSLR cameras,” says Ernesto Musitelli, Owner and Managing Director, Musitelli Film & Digital. “These digital cameras are very sensitive and usually require filtration, so the T2.8 speed of the minis4/i is not an issue. They match well with Cooke S4/i lenses so we are comfortable to supply mixed sets, and the camera crews like the miniS4/i because they are small and lightweight.”
The rental house recently supplied two units comprising RED cameras and Cooke miniS4/i’s for a six month shoot for ‘TERRE RIBELLE – IL NUOVO MONDO’, a television drama series for the Italian broadcaster RAI.
Marcelo Camorino A.D.F., Director of Photography, said, “The combination of Cooke MiniS4/i lenses and digital capture with RED MX and EPIC has yielded excellent results as regards texture, contrast and resolution. During the 24 week shooting of ‘TERRA RIBELLE – IL NUOVO MONDO’, the combination was put to intensive use in many different lighting conditions and I am fully satisfied with the final result.“
One of Musitelli’s most popular sets of miniS4/i’s has uncoated front elements, which give a particular look to digital material. “We found that our DPs really liked how the uncoated lenses behaved more like old lenses, especially with digital cameras – the images are not so ‘pristine’, and the DPs like the softer, more flattering effect especially for beauty work,” comments Musitelli.
# # #
About Cooke Optics, LTD.
Cooke is a storied name in both cinematographic and the ultra-high-end professional photography markets. Known worldwide for their precision, exacting tolerances and superior quality, Cooke lenses are specified by many of the world's most respected cinematographers. Cooke is also the developer behind /i Technology, the protocol enabling vital lens and camera information to be captured and passed digitally to post-production teams. Features in production or recently shot with Cooke lenses include Hugo Cabret, Midnight in Paris, Red Dog, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Angels and Demons, Hamlet 2, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Zack and Miri Make A Porno, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Television shows in production or recently shot with Cooke lenses include Game of Thrones, World Without End, The Borgias, Downtown Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs, Trollied,Trauma, Community, Back, Journeyman, State of Mind, Life, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, and Entourage.
Media contacts:
Europe & APAC - Wendy Mattock, Bubble & Squeak e: wendy@bubblesqueak.co.uk t: +44 (0)7912 300231
US - Chris Purse, Bubble & Squeak, e: chris@ignite.bz, t: +1 818.508.0450, m: +1 323.806.9696
On September 23, 2012, Cooke Optics received a CINEC 2012 award in recognition of our /i Technology, a standard for lens metadata exchange, and for our outreach to other companies within the industry.
Click /i Technology to see our growing list of /i Technology partners.
Cooke Optics S4 lenses capture ‘World Without End’
- Cooke lenses bring warm, filmic quality to digital production -
Leicester, UK - 17 October 2012
Lenses by Cooke Optics were used to capture a sweeping vision of the Middle Ages for ‘WORLD WITHOUT END,’ a new eight-hour epic television drama produced by Tandem Communications and Take 5 Productions in co-production with Galafilm and in association with Scott Free Films.
Based on a Ken Follett novel, the drama unfolds in the fictitious English town of Kingsbridge as the King leads the nation into the Hundred Years' War with France while Europe deals with the outbreak of the Black Death.
Director Michael Caton-Jones worked closely with Cinematographer Denis Crossan to create a version of the Middle Ages, taking pre-Raphaelite paintings as a starting point, using their idealised Victorian vision of the period for the look of the production. The drama was shot on ARRI ALEXA cameras with Cooke S4 lenses, varying from 18mm to 180mm.
Crossan comments, “Cooke lenses seemed ideal for this project. Keeping it filmic and painterly on a digital medium really helped. I like the qualities you get from Cooke lenses – sharpness and resolution without being harsh, and their depth and tonal warmth helped create that look. Light hitting a sensor has a different image quality that can often appear harsh and in your face, so trusting a lens to get the image in the way you see it means having one less thing to worry about.”
In keeping with the period setting Crossan kept the lighting as naturalistic as possible, staying true to light sources such as candles and torches, with some additional bounce light to enhance the fall-off effect. The anti-flare quality of the Cooke lenses proved particularly useful when shooting with flames.
“With candles and torches everywhere, Cooke lenses never have a problem in terms of flare - in fact, occasionally with larger torches they would sometimes produce a elongated ellipse when moving through the frame, which I really liked,” says Crossan.
Shooting over six months from summer to winter, and going from daylight to interior to night-time shots, Crossan had to be well prepared for every lighting eventuality. He explains: “We planned the exteriors so we could shoot as much backlit as possible, and we had the Kingsbridge set built so it was oriented to give the best options. I would light day interiors through the windows and let the backgrounds fall off to darkness. Going from daylight to interior could be harsh as some of the smaller medieval house had tiny windows and it was hard to balance exposure with the outside. Occasionally I would do an aperture pull going from one to the other, which worked really well as you can see the results immediately. It meant I didn’t have to light the interior to a ridiculously high stop, and it also saved time.”
‘WORLD WITHOUT END’ is due to air in Germany (SAT1), Spain (Cuarto) and Italy (Sky Italy) over Autumn/Winter 2012, and in the UK (Channel 4) in early 2013.
# # #
About Cooke Optics, LTD.
Cooke is a storied name in both cinematographic and the ultra-high-end professional photography markets. Known worldwide for their precision, exacting tolerances and superior quality, Cooke lenses are specified by many of the world's most respected cinematographers. Cooke is also the developer behind /i Technology, the protocol enabling vital lens and camera information to be captured and passed digitally to post-production teams. Features in production or recently shot with Cooke lenses include Hugo Cabret, Midnight in Paris, Red Dog, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Angels and Demons, Hamlet 2, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Zack and Miri Make A Porno, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Television shows in production or recently shot with Cooke lenses include Game of Thrones, World Without End, The Borgias, Downtown Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs, Trollied,Trauma, Community, Back, Journeyman, State of Mind, Life, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, and Entourage.
Media contacts:
Europe & APAC - Wendy Mattock, Bubble & Squeak e: wendy@bubblesqueak.co.uk t: +44 (0)7912 300231
US - Chris Purse, Bubble & Squeak, e: chris@ignite.bz, t: +1 818.508.0450, m: +1 323.806.9696
Jeremy Benning, CSC leads the camera team for World War II: The Last Heroes
Capturing highly charged sequences with Cooke 5/i and miniS4/i lenses. Reprinted by permission, ZERB. Read article
Christian Berger on his new film The Notebook
The effects of digital cameras, Cooke lenses and more.
