Cooke Series XVa Convertible - Opinions and Experiences?

[Ari]

It sounds to me like someone is buying themselves a new Cooke lens this holiday season!

Um, no comment.

thanks Ari, very welcome as always

Thank you, Andrew

[Ari]

Just to add a post script to this wonderful thread, I bought the lens.

Having never bought anything new, ever, this was quite daunting. Luckily, I bought it from Clive Russ, who is a seller of the first order, and a gentleman's gentleman.
He is also a master photographer of the old school, and all in all, a wonderful person to deal with.

Clive expertly mounted the lens, with spacer, onto a Technika board for me, in a brand new Copal 3 shutter.
A nice surprise is that the lens (not the shutter) comes with a one-year warranty.

The lens is quite stunning in appearance, and doubly so in performance; I am extremely pleased, and excited to make more images with it.
The detail, workmanship and machining on this lens is exceptional and first-rate, as befits both the Cooke name and the Cooke price tag.

The one downside is I can no longer blame my equipment for shoddy photos or my inattention to detail.

Thanks to all who participated in this thread, I hope it helped in some way.

[karl french]

Congratulations. What number did you get?

[Ari]

Congratulations. What number did you get?

Thanks, Karl; I got 186.

[karl french]

195 here. They must just be getting past 200 with the last shipment of lenses.

[Ari]

Nice; there is uncertainty about another production run, so you may be right about these being among the last made.

[karl french]

Oh, I think they'll keep making them as long as the pre-orders keep coming in. But if not, I'm glad I got in while I had the chance.

[Alan Gales]

Congratulations, Ari!

Now if I win the lottery I don't have to buy you one.