Cooke Panchro 65/i Lenses Announced – The “Cooke Look” Goes Large Format

Lens News

by Francesco AndreolaToday

Lens manufacturer Cooke is getting ready to enter the world of large-format cinema with a newly announced line of lenses, the Panchro 65/i series. Designed to cover 65mm imagers, these optics promise to combine the legendary Speed Panchro look with a larger image circle and smart lens data technology. The Panchro 65/i lenses are expected to be released in 2025.

Over the past year, we have seen a fast acceleration toward what could be “the next big thing” in our industry: large-format cinematography. With the announcement of the URSA Cine 17K back at NAB in April, Blackmagic Design has already expressed their intention to embrace this visually spectacular capture technique, and, just a few days ago, so did FUJIFILM by unveiling their first-ever filmmaking camera, the large-format GFX ETERNA (make sure to watch our interview with the FUJIFILM Product Planner here).

As the interest in large-format cinema grows, so does the demand for lenses capable of covering the larger digital sensors. Rehousing vintage glass designed for medium-format film cameras, like Hasselblad or Mamiya, is a valid option. And even IronGlass recently announced they’re starting to rehouse Soviet Medium Format optics. However, it’s also great to see historical companies like Cooke bringing the iconic look of their Speed Panchro lenses to the larger 65mm format.

Cooke Panchro 65/i – The “Cooke Look” goes large format

The Cooke Panchro 65/i series will have six focal lengths: 30mm T2.8, 40mm T2.8, 55mm T2.5, 75mm T2.5, 100mm T2.5, and 152mm T2.9. These lenses are relatively fast, especially considering they are designed for large-format sensors. When paired with the ARRI Alexa 65, they offer an angle of view ranging from 20.2° to 84.1°. Their weight varies between 1.8 and 2.3kg, but that’s to be expected, given their design and coverage.

While Cooke hasn’t disclosed much info about the Panchro 65/i series, the lenses should combine the signature “Cooke Look” with technologically advanced features such as the company’s proprietary /i lens data protocol, which should allow these lenses to fit into modern production workflows seamlessly.

Despite the larger image circle, these lenses should retain the organic bokeh, natural warmth, carefully calibrated chromatic aberration and distortion, subtle flares, and overall nostalgic feel that Cooke lenses are known for.

Price and availability

There’s currently no official information regarding the price and availability of the Cooke Panchro 65/i lenses. The company should announce an official launch date in early 2025, while the first demo units should become available towards the end of next year.

For more information, please visit Cooke’s website here.

Are you excited about the large-format trend? Do you think the “Cooke Look” can pair well with 65mm imagers? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!