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These are some of the original Cooke Speed Panchros dating all the way back to 1931, not to be confused with our Series 2 and Series 3 Cooke Speed Panchros, which we also offer. In Series 1 Panchros, the elements are uncoated which results in low contrast images, and they are more prone to flare, and veiling glare. They are very sharp on center, and have a gradual fall off towards the edges. They exhibit absolutely no chromatic aberration. Which is just amazing considering these lenses were designed about 100 years ago without the aid of computers!

If you know our inventory well, you might know that we don’t really carry “uncoated” lenses. Most lenses that are considered “uncoated” by modern standards are typically lenses like Zeiss Super Speeds, Cooke S4s, Ultra Primes, etc, where typically the front element has had the coating removed. It results in slightly lower contrast, and a neutral ghost (lens flare) to one of the surfaces. The rest of the lens still has the lens’ original coatings, and therefore performs almost the same as the original “coated" lens. 

These 1930s Cooke Speed Panchros are truly uncoated, and nearly ever surface of the lenses is uncoated. The results are completely neutral, soft, organic lens flare/ghost character, and despite the lack of coatings, you can shoot in back-lit situations without completely washing out the lens. This is partly due to their older designs, which have far fewer elements/surfaces than modern optics. The flare/ghost character will often take on some of the color of the light source as well.

The 28mm is the widest of these original Panchros that will cover Super 35 (there was a 24mm but it doesn’t cover). Along with the 35mm and 50mm, you have a nice set of 3 lenses that share a truly unique, and undeniably vintage character. There is nothing else quite like them, especially if you are trying to give your project a heavier vintage feel. Reach out if you’d like to give these amazing lenses a test drive in our studio.