Cooke 9-50mm T2.5

[Evin Grant]

Anyone use this lens, is it any good, how sharp is it?
I'm thinking this is an affordable option for 1080/2K applications.
Yea I know it dosen't cover S16 but if I'm shooting 2K RAW I can punch in in post. They are pretty affordable ($1500 used). If it's up to snuff optically it might be the run and gun option I was looking for.

[Ólafur Rögnvaldsson]

Hi Evin

First, many many thanks for your tests on the Nikon lenses and all the useful info you have posted. I think it’s fantastic how generous you are with your time. This is great help to me as well as others and my choice really stands between buyig a set of Nikons or using my Cooke Videtal before I get my RED zoom.

My COOKE VIDETAL B4 LENS is 8 - 44mm, f/2.0 - and as far as I can see it looks exactly the same as the one you are asking about except for the mount. As far as I know Cooke just took their (super) 16 and put a B4 mount and a terrible servo that never really worked (around 1990) to make this video lens. Not sure about other modifications.

I don’t know the history of the Cooks well but maybe someone knows exactly the connection between these lenses - if they have the same glass etc.

http://www.axfilms.com/indexen.php - trailer

here you can see a trailer for a tv dramaseries that I shot entirely with the Cooke Videtal (on 790 Sony DigiBeta)

I think it´s beautiful glass - I have no problems with the sharpness - I love the softish Cooke character which ment that I never used any promists/softfx etc. filters that I used to do in the ninetees with all Japaneese glass. Made video look like film . . Downside is the limited range.

Hope this helps - if this info is relevant I can say more - also used to shoot with Cooke super 16 for 35mm blowup with good results - but . . .out of time . . for now . .

Olafur

[Stephen Williams]

Hi Evin,

It should be very good, worth testing.

Stephen

[fightordie]

People say it has good color reproduction. I think cinema technic does a super 16mm conversion for it for a couple grand.

[Brainstorm]

Hi Evin,

Abakus do an adapter for this lens which will convert it to S16. http://www.abakus-scientific.com/Format_Converters.htm

CinemaTechnic appear to have gone into receivership and aren't taking any further orders for their adapter.

Cheers
Brainstorm

[Martin Drew]

CinemaTechnic appear to have gone into receivership and aren't taking any further orders for their adapter.

I think you'll find it is Optex which went down the pan, they did the conversion kits. As far as I know CinemaTechnic are still going strong.

[Brainstorm]

I think you'll find it is Optex which went down the pan, they did the conversion kits. As far as I know CinemaTechnic are still going strong.

Ooops! Thanks for the correction Martin. :umm:

[zak forrest]

what is the length of this lens?

[Matt Uhry]

Hi Evin,

The cooke 9-50 is really nice well corrected and solid. It doesn't breathe much at all and has very low distortion. It's a bit lower in contrast than the competition like Canon's or the modern Angenieux 16 lenses. Tends to flare a bit easier than newer lenses but it's more of a distinct flare, not a veiling flare or fuzzy stuff around the highlights. used to like this lens alot, but the canon 8-64 kind of repaced it for me - that became my go to 16mm wide zoom

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com

[Evin Grant]

Matt, the Canon seems nice but he Cooke is a much better deal, do you think the Cooke resolves as much? Low contrast isn't necessarily a bad thing in run -n-gun where the light is usualy contrasty anyway.