Howdo all,
In my seemingly never-ending rationalisation and thinning down of my gear, I have been toying with the idea of replacing a couple of lenses with that of the Cooke Series XVa Triple Convertible. I really need to put this idea to bed so it no longer wastes my time.
I have a Nikkor M 300mm and an Apo-Symmar 480mm - both very good lenses and do what I require of them (I currently shoot up to 5x8, and in the future 5x10). They're used for landscape (mostly stopped down) and select focus (i.e., using fairly wide apertures) of mid distance stuff down to say 10 metres. I don't do portraits.
My attraction to the Cooke XVa...
1. I'm not concerned so much by weight but by space - the 480mm is not small. An average size lens that can do the job of 3 lenses is attractive.
2. I have heard, and to some extent seen, that the Cooke has excellent bokeh, a smooth transition from in-focus to out-of-focus, a look I and my very few clients like. When the lens is used properly it points to a more 'artistic' image quality than the relatively 'clinical' quality of the 300mm and 480mm. Nothing wrong with either look but the 'artistic' quality appeals more to me and my customers.
My concerns...
1. From the very few images I have seen and a little of the feedback, the lens performs excellently at its native 311mm - (as good as or better than a Nikkor M 300mm?) but image quality with the cells on their own (e.g., rear cell 476mm), while still very good, may not be up to the standard of a full-on 480mm. Is this so?
2. That bokeh appears not to be visible so much in landscape shots where there are out-of-focus areas. Obviously bokeh improves/becomes more apparent when the lens is opened up but I'd be interested to know how it compares with other standard lenses when select focused at mid distance (the usual Schneiders, Rods, etc. can be used to good effect in their own right of course). Images taken with the other Cooke lens, the PS945, have that bokeh I really, really like (for example - https://www.flickr.com/photos/32131681@N00/7064968733/) but it only covers 4x5. Is that bokeh present to some extent in the XVa and, if so, is it still apparent when the cells are used independently?
3. While it's going to be beyond my price range, I'd be interested to read from anyone who has used the second Series XVa lens set - what is the quality of the rear/rear (273mm) and front/front (368mm) combo' compared with equivalent focal lengths by the likes of the big 4 (okay, 273mm is perhaps a bit too close to 311mm to bother with but, you know...)?
4. A rhetorical concern. Something that can't be changed - the price. But I'm figuring I might be able to get close to half of the retail price by selling the 300mm and 480mm.
Ultimately, if there's no significant image quality advantage to having the Cooke over what I already have, I'll stick with the Nikkor and Schneider.
Any experience and thoughts greatly appreciated as always.
Many thanks.
Duff.
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