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Thread: Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

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    Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

    Hi Everyone,

    I've been lurking for a while, absorbing information and enjoying reading discussions. I am a professional photographer who has recently rediscovered B&W 4x5 and have been happily cruising along until this weekend when I happened upon a jaw dropingly beautiful lens - a 100 year old "Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckler" . This was the first time I have handled this type of lens and to say I was taken with it would be the understatement of the year.

    This lens has my wheels turning and if anyones is up for helping a guy out I'd love to dip into your collective pool of knowledge.

    The craftmanship of this thing blows me away. It all functions flawlessly I really want to start using this lens and am putting my mind towards building a system for it. I wish to shoot film over plate. It is an very heavy (1o pound) 8x10 lens that was made to go on the old style studio wetplate cameras.

    I have two lines of thought for film use.

    My preferance would be to put it on a modern 8x1o monorail with a packard shutter and use nd filters and slow film when required. The current lens board is a whopping 9 inches(could probably squeeze into a 6 inch lens board. This thing is really heavy but I'd love to get it out in the field.

    Have any of you guys or girls adapted this big brass type of vintage barrel lens for film use out of the studio with a more modern camera. Used two rear standards with custom bellows for a sinar or something like that.

    Or would it be easier to get a wetplate 8x10 made with an optional film back.

    Stability, ease of use and "relative" portability are my priorities.

    Any thoughts would be welcome.

    Thanks Lee
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails IMG_0001.jpg  

  2. #2
    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

    Not many field cameras will handle a lens like this. The proper camera to put this on would be an 8x10 studio camera, preferably on a studio stand, although that would be quite a chore to transport outside a studio. 9x9 is the most common lensboard size for these cameras, so it's almost certain that's where your lens spent its early years. Here's George Hurrell with his knuckler on an 8x10 studio camera:
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Hurrell%20self-portrait_sml.jpg  
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

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    Re: Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

    Lovely as the Knuckler version is, it is also around 35 per cent heavier than the older series II design is. So perhaps a compromise is necessary for field use? Then, perhaps you could use a tailboard type field camera.

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    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

    Quote Originally Posted by Steven Tribe View Post
    Lovely as the Knuckler version is, it is also around 35 per cent heavier than the older series II design is. So perhaps a compromise is necessary for field use? Then, perhaps you could use a tailboard type field camera.
    Good point! Also, with Cooke Portrait Lenses, a shorter focal length decreases the size and weight more than with most other lenses. I have a lovely little 10.5" f/4.5 Knuckler that goes nicely on any old 4x5, even a Speed Graphic, yet still covers 8x10.
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

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    Re: Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

    Thanks for the responses gents, and for the mention of George Hurrell. I've been learning about the lens (this era is a mystery to me) but wasn't aware of any practitioners past or present using this lens. I'll take a look at Hurell's work and maybe that will send my imaging ideas for this lens in a different direction. The responses are appreciated especially before embarking on a little bit crazy and probably expensive project. By the way Mark a lot of my lurking was done reading posts of yours relating to the Imagon's. I purchased and older 200mm imagon in a compound shutter I've been enjoying "failing" as I learn the character of that lens. Anyway both your responses are appreciated and help to maintain a bit of common sense as to what is practical and what is not.

    Regads Lee

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    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

    Quote Originally Posted by LeeSimmons View Post
    My preferance would be to put it on a modern 8x1o monorail with a packard shutter and use nd filters and slow film when required.
    The Packard shutter with nd filters is do-able, but a pain in the field. If you don't have an 8x10 yet, consider one that takes the Sinar shutter system, which has a shutter that goes to 1/60th of a second. Or better yet, a Mentor Panorama 18x24 cm camera (it still takes standard 8x10 holders), which also has a built-in shutter that goes to 1/125th.
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

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    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

    Quote Originally Posted by LeeSimmons View Post
    ...By the way Mark a lot of my lurking was done reading posts of yours relating to the Imagon's. I purchased and older 200mm imagon in a compound shutter I've been enjoying "failing" as I learn the character of that lens...
    Lesson number one with the Imagon: Put those h-stop discs away and use the compound shutter's conventional iris! The Imagon then behaves very much like a Kodak Portrait Lens, Gundlach Achromatic Meniscus, or Spencer Port-Land lens!
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

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    Re: Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

    Thanks for that Mark,

    I was fantasizing that this lens would be usable on a 4x5 (obviously not). I fell in love with the feel, construction quality and glass. I'll start to research the smaller ones.

    Thanks for the thought

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    Re: Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

    Quote Originally Posted by LeeSimmons View Post
    [...] By the way Mark a lot of my lurking was done reading posts of yours relating to the Imagon's. I purchased and older 200mm imagon in a compound shutter
    The Imagons do not have the coverage of many lenses of its focal length. The 200mm is more acceptable to medium format. Strange, I know.

    And when looking at Hurrell's work consider that it was done under hot lights with early films and he did a whole lot of retouching.
    .

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    Re: Taylor Hobson Cooke 15inch Portrait Series II 4.5 knuckled

    Thanks Jac,
    The imagon 200mm illuminates but loses cohesion at the edges of the 4x5. I dislike the halation and always had it in mind as a older look lens . Using it has made me rethink my whole idea and subject matter. It's been fun to calculate apeture sizes. The effort creates a different relationship with the lens. Part of the fun. I've found that typical landscape subjects where sharpness and tonal range were usually paramount and tended to be the goal with other lenses the Imagon fall a little flat. It am finding myself gravitating towards shape and dimensionality with this lens. When I feel I truly understand it's sweet spot I'll start to post some images. Again, I've been enjoying "failing lately" It brings back the joy of success when in modern photography it is a very predictable world.

    I think thats the draw to the older lenses. That aero ektar is also on my wish list. The shape and draw of the light is quite different than the ultra sharpness and contrast of modern lenses. They do create dream like feel that for me at least is unexpected. i find it pleasantly surprising.

    Thanks everyone for sharing and Mark I don't have an 8x10 - hadn't even planned on it until this darn Cooke arrived in my life. I like the look of the Mentor Panorama 18x24 cm. That camera would give a ton of flexibility with older barrel lenses and looks a little easier to use than the speed graphics. Thanks for the heads up.

    Regards Lee

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