Our New Cooke Anamorphic Lenses Test Footage

Many cinematographers love the look of anamorphic lenses. Many others are quite fond of Cooke Optics because of their distinctively warm and creamy aesthetic, lovingly known as the “Cooke Look.” Imagine the delight of cinematographers all over the world when Cooke announced during last year’s NAB that a brand new line of high-end anamorphic cinema lenses was in the works. Pure elation. Now we’ve got some of the first test shots to surface from these world-class anamorphic lenses, and the results are just what you’d expect, optical excellence and pure cinematic beauty.

The following two videos contain anamorphic test footage from two different cinematographers, John De Borman and Patrick Blossier respectively.

To my eye, these lenses look to have everything that one could hope for with anamorphic glass. They are sharp (from corner to corner, no less) and contrasty, but with the gentle sense of warmth and smoothness that one would expect from Cooke lenses. The breathing from focus shifts is far less dramatic than many of the competing anamorphic lenses on the market, especially the older ones.

Overall, these Cooke anamorphic lenses look to be a fantastic option for discerning cinematographers looking to combine the Cooke and anamorphic aesthetics. Without any doubt, it looks like a match made in heaven. These new lenses should be released within the next few months, most likely at NAB 2014.

They will be arriving at Hollywood Camera as soon as they ship! Reserve them now!

Article reprinted in part from, No Film School, written by Robert Hardy. Read more articles written by him here.