Cooke Optics has announced the launch of the SP3 prime lens series, which it says can be used for documentaries, sport, natural history and YouTube videos.
The SP3 lenses are the company’s first for the mirrorless camera market, and is based on the Cooke Speed Panchro lens.
The company describes the lens series as a “landmark product” for Cooke, adding that it offers users greater realism, and aims to “make humans look human”.
The SP3 range offers 25mm, 32mm, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm focal lengths, and come with E-Mount installed, with RF-Mounts due to be available soon.
They weigh between 500g/1.10lbs and 690g/1.52lbs including lens mount, making them practical for use on lighter weight gimbals as well as drones, said Cooke; while their small, ergonomic form factor delivers cinematic quality shooting even in tight or hard to reach places.
The lenses feature a dual focus scale, and the focus and iris mechanics are aligned across the set to allow for fast lens changes while maintaining focus and iris motor positions.
Speaking about the launch, Tim Pugh, chief executive officer, Cooke Optics, said, “The imaging market has long been viewed as ‘videography’ and ‘cinematography’, with their associated differences particularly evident in budgets and hardware. However, these boundaries are now blurring with vast improvements in the quality of ‘mid-market’ camera performance and consequently the creative optical possibilities and ambitions in this area are widening.
“This ‘democratisation’ means that we can now offer truly cinematic glass to the traditional pro-video market at an accessible price point and with flexibility of camera mounts, enabling more DOP’s to enhance the narrative of their stories.”
