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The Cooke 20-60m T3.1 was first sold in 1981 and was described as having “optical performance comparable to prime lenses.” That statement still holds true today. This is arguably the highest performing zoom lens Cooke ever made, except for possibly the modern and advanced Cooke CXX 15-40mm T2. The 20-60mm is a bit sharper wide-open than the 18-100mm. It has no noticeable chromatic aberrations even wide-open, which is something even modern, high-end prime lenses have issues with. It is sharp, but with that classic flattering thing that only Cooke lenses can do. It’s just slightly warmer than neutral. It has a 9-blade iris and they are petal shaped like other Cookes, so the bokeh stopped down is gorgeous. Thanks to the huge front element it flares easily if you want it to, and the lens flares are beautiful. Focus breathing is extremely well controlled and there’s virtually none at the wide end, where breathing tends to be most noticeable.

20mm to 60mm is a very useful range for most projects, and It’s not too heavy at only 6 pounds. You can hand-hold it no problem and you don’t need a lens support if you are using a camera with a proper PL mount. This lens pairs perfectly with our Cooke Speed Panchro primes. Cooke even calls this lens a “VARO-PANCHRO.”

NOTE: We highly recommend using the Veydra 1.2x expander with this lens to get better sensor coverage on cameras with sensors larger than Super 35 like Alexa Mini Open Gate and RED Gemini, Dragon, Helium. The Veydra allows lenses like these to cover much larger sensors with virtually no loss of image quality and only 1/4 stop of light loss!