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Cooke Panchro/i PL Cinema Lenses - first look


Andrew Reid
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With greatest respect Matt you are someone who has joined the forum quite late (and begun reading EOSHD even later?) so you're not in the greatest position to tell me what direction to take with the editorial.

 

Just because I have the occasional article on high end stuff like the Amira and Cooke lenses does not mean I am changing the whole orientation of the site away from aspiring filmmakers. I am myself still an aspiring filmmaker with a lot to aspire to and owning a few used Cooke lenses which were a ultra-lucky find, picked up for a silly low price compared to what they're really worth doesn't change that.

 

Back on topic and no more reverse snobbery.

You're absolutely right - and my late arrival (and low-end needs) probably has a lot to do with my desire to not see EOSHD get too far from the original blueprint (i.e. consumer/prosumer filmmaking). But that's just me - at no point have i 'told you' the direction EOSHD should go in! I'm entirely of the opinion that you are free to do whatever you want. I'm just suggesting that from the outside it could appear as though your motivations are evolving beyond the original focus, and that to avoid any misconceptions or paranoia about you 'selling out', you may need to be clear about where you are going. You know I'm not the only one who has these questions. From where I stand, it doesn't seem like a huge leap of the imagination to wonder if you have some form of 'relationship' (for want of a less loaded word) with Panasonic at the moment. But I understand that you are keeping things under your hat because you're dealing with unreleased tech. That's fine by me. But when you're not questioning the need for prosumer 4K, buying Cooke glass and putting out articles about RED vs Arri before exploring the incredible DR you can get out of the consumer D5300 (this is not about the D5300 btw  ;)), it's only natural that you're going to hear this stuff if people read your "guiding principles".

 

I was reading the blog for a short while before I joined the forum, and being late to the DSLR revolution it's been brilliant being able to sift through the archives and get up to speed. So from that point of view, I'm actually perhaps in a very good position to talk about where you're going and how your focus may have changed (but I'm still not telling you anything). There isn't really anything else online that is so comprehensive and, importantly to me, appears to have such a fundamentally indie ideology. I'm not saying you have altered your focus, I'm just saying it would be sad if you lost sight of that stuff. I believe there is reasonable cause to wonder if you are beginning to, but perhaps I have raised this question prematurely. After all, I have no idea what's going on 'behind the scenes'.

 

I don't want to turn this thread into a conversation about this stuff, but I don't agree that I'm talking off topic. If you buy three pieces of glass worth whatever those Cooke's are - and as exclusively professional as they are - surely you can't ignore the fact that politics is going to crop up. Well you can, but then it would be quite easy to accuse you of just not wanting to hear about it. As easy, in fact, as it would be to accuse me of reverse snobbery (which is possible, but really not where I'm coming from with this). There's good sense and only positive feeling in what I say (perhaps a little patronisation too, but I'm sure you can cope with that).

 

Your blog is awesome. Please don't f**k it up.

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EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

the natural evolution is to get better and better cameras and glass , we all do it , so being aware of whats out there and if it can work on your camera is worth knowing in my book! there is alot of useful shared infomation on this forum , hopefully everyone can get someting form this to help their film making .

 

I was looking at the Arima on the Arri stand last Novemeber at BVE- they gave me the full demo on it , its a nice camera ! Im not gonna buy one but its useful to know its always there to rent for a job, same with Cooke lenses , I have rented them for jobs along with Arri/Zeiss lenses I have no intention of buying them outright , but seeing how they perform on Andrew's test with a 4K (maybe Panasonic ...I hope so) camera is worth knowing!!

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Guest 89e2bdf5797fbbdc17c2cc6da1413fa0

the natural evolution is to get better and better cameras and glass , we all do it , so being aware of whats out there and if it can work on your camera is worth knowing in my book! there is alot of useful shared infomation on this forum , hopefully everyone can get someting form this to help their film making .

 

I was looking at the Arima on the Arri stand last Novemeber at BVE- they gave me the full demo on it , its a nice camera ! Im not gonna buy one but its useful to know its always there to rent for a job, same with Cooke lenses , I have rented them for jobs along with Arri/Zeiss lenses I have no intention of buying them outright , but seeing how they perform on Andrew's test with a 4K (maybe Panasonic ...I hope so) camera is worth knowing!!

I agree with you Andy. I'm not going to keep banging on about this and I'm not intending to take any moral high-ground. I don't think Andrew has done anything wrong. I just think an acknowledgement of certain natural changes might manage expectations a little and, in the worst case scenario, avoid any paranoia about what his motivations are. It's pretty easy to get paranoid on the web. For me at least (looking specifically at the 'About EOSHD' page and the 'Legal Disclaimer') certain things about EOSHD just haven't quite seemed to ring true recently (to be clear I'm not suggesting anything dodgy or underhand, just a little contradictory). But that might very well just be me. I just think that acknowledging or explaining any questions about inconsistencies would be pretty easy. Whereas to my mind ignoring them, getting defensive about them or evading them just leads to more confusion and doubt.

 

Then again I might just be a bolshy twit wasting too much time debating trivialities on this forum.

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Congrats on the Cookes, Andrew. I love the cinematic look they offer, too, and would probably jump on a set if I found them at a good price.

 

Looking forward to the results of your secret expedition.

 

£1250 per lens :) I was just extremely lucky. They are $8k each new. I'd never pay that much for gear. Never.

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For me at least (looking specifically at the 'About EOSHD' page and the 'Legal Disclaimer') certain things about EOSHD just haven't quite seemed to ring true recently (to be clear I'm not suggesting anything dodgy or underhand, just a little contradictory). But that might very well just be me. I just think that acknowledging or explaining any questions about inconsistencies would be pretty easy.

 

Stop being a twit!

 

The legal disclaimer was put up after Jim Jannard tried to sue me / silence me over the negative Scarlet articles.

 

The inconsistencies - i.e. covering expensive gear like the Amira and Cooke lenses or judging a Sony aspiring filmmaker competition - are inconsistent with what exactly? EOSHD is not all 100% coverage of consumer cameras. I have at least 10% reserved for dreaming!!

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Guest 89e2bdf5797fbbdc17c2cc6da1413fa0

Stop being a twit!

 

The legal disclaimer was put up after Jim Jannard tried to sue me / silence me over the negative Scarlet articles.

 

The inconsistencies - i.e. covering expensive gear like the Amira and Cooke lenses or judging a Sony aspiring filmmaker competition - are inconsistent with what exactly? EOSHD is not all 100% coverage of consumer cameras. I have at least 10% reserved for dreaming!!

Fair play. I've said my piece and then some. You run a great show here Andrew. 

I'm hugely looking forward to the coming year of reviews on EOSHD, including your 4K Cooke experiments. It looks like 2014 will be the year affordable ILC's finally leave their stagnant pool and take the big leap into the world of real digital cinema. I hope so...

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Hey Andrew,

 

Amazing set of lenses. I'm jealous!

 

With that being said, how stupid is it that people are willing to pay that much more for the T2.0 version? Seriously, don't you think sensor sensitivity will soon diminish the demand for faster lenses at a crazy premium? I'd rather have a really solid wide open lens at T2.8 (like these Cooke Panchro's) and update my camera body every year. We all seem to know that cameras gain a full stop better ISO performance with each new model, but everyone is still hung up on paying the highest price for the fastest lenses possible. Seems rather silly to me.

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You do have a point actually, because most cinema lenses are used stopped down to T5.6!

 

With 4K I will be stopping down more often than not because if your focus is off even by a small amount, people will notice with that kind of resolution on screen.

 

But the T2.0 aperture of the bigger S4s is another option, because the look of a fast aperture is quite different still - it's not all about low light. With the Cooke stuff and Hollywood, price doesn't really come into the equation so much as outright performance. Even the most expensive lenses and camera equipment are small change for the film industry as a whole compared to other costs. The T2.0 aperture is the important bit for them. Don't forget in the days of film (still with us) cinematographers didn't have the sensitivity they do with digital either!

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Very nice Andrew an outstanding deal you got there. I'll give you £2000 per lens?

Of course you can still be home of the budget conscious DSLR etc I think you proved that with the deal you got. Some gear may be out of reach but its nice to hear about it The same as I look at high end home cinema or cars. Out of reach but yes.. one day....  

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As an absolute amateur enthusiast, I enjoy reading reviews of high end gear on a blog geared toward budget filmmakers.  I think it gives a much better perspective than reading the opinions of Hollywood professionals.  I'm sure everyone has their own list of dream gear and I think it's great to see someone who has been able to snatch some of his up.  

 

Plus, there's only so much consumer gear out there...Andrew has to find something new to write about if we want to have something to read a couple times a week  :)

 

 

 

£1250 per lens 

:)

 I was just extremely lucky. They are $8k each new. I'd never pay that much for gear. Never.

 

Hell, if I found these lenses at that price, I'd buy two sets  :P

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Yes. Which makes for a unique bokeh. Wonder if they patented it? Haven't seen it on any other lens.

 

So, where abouts do you live?  ha ha

 

Anyway you must watch/buy /rent this movie on Blu Ray

 

The Grandmaster    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462900/

 

because its a bokeh showcase for the Cookes, mindblowing eye candy.

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