Modern Prime
Zeiss
Zeiss CP.2 Super Speed
Compact Prime Super Speeds. T1.5 Full Frame.
- Focal
- 35–85mm
- T-stop
- T1.5
- Mount
- PL
Modern Prime Set
Cooke Optics
Cooke Panchro/i Classic S35
7 primes 18 – 100mm T2.2 – T2.6 PL
We run this family as standard 5 and 7-lens kits. Bespoke focal mixes are built on request.
The modern incarnation of the legendary Speed Panchros that defined Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Cooke’s Panchro/i Classic primes are optically tuned to reproduce that coveted vintage warmth (gentle contrast, painterly falloff, and luminous skin tones) inside a modern, reliable housing. Every lens is colour-matched across the series and to other Cooke lines (S4/i, S7/i, S8/i), so you can mix freely. We run the S35 line as two standard kits: the core five (25 through 100mm) covers the essential workhorse range, and the seven adds the 18mm wide and the versatile 40mm to take you from wide establishing shots through medium close-ups.
Character profile
How this lens renders.
Warm. Dimensional. The Cooke Look.
Five axes plotting how this set behaves wide-open vs a neutral modern reference. Larger area = more pronounced trait.
Focal lengths
7 focal lengths in this set
- 18mm T2.2
- 25mm T2.2
- 32mm T2.2
- 40mm T2.2
- 50mm T2.2
- 75mm T2.2
- 100mm T2.6
| Focal | T-Stop | Close focus | Weight | Front Ø |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18mm | T2.2 | 8" | 1.6kg | 110mm |
| 25mm | T2.2 | 8" | 1.5kg | 110mm |
| 32mm | T2.2 | 9" | 1.1kg | 110mm |
| 40mm | T2.2 | 13" | 1.4kg | 110mm |
| 50mm | T2.2 | 20"* sources disagree | 1.5kg | 110mm |
| 75mm | T2.2 | 30" | 1.8kg | 110mm |
| 100mm | T2.6 | 24" | 1.8kg | 110mm |
Talking points
Why DPs pick this set
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The definitive “Cooke Look” (warm tones, gentle contrast, dimensional depth) in a modern housing
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Colour-matched across the entire Cooke ecosystem: S4/i, S7/i, S8/i, Mini S4/i, and Anamorphic/i
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The 7-lens kit adds true environmental storytelling reach with the 18mm, plus the 40mm hidden gem: tighter than 35 without the compression of 50, at just 1.4kg
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Common 110mm front diameter and standardised gear positions across the set
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Controlled flaring with warm amber veiling and occasional rainbow effects, adding vintage texture without losing clarity
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Resolves for 6K–8K sensors while maintaining the smooth, forgiving rendering that defines the Cooke Look
Technical
Full specifications
- Mount
- PL with /i Technology contacts
- Coverage
- Super 35
- Iris
- 9-blade linear module
- Focus Throw
- 270°
- Filter
- M105 screw-in
Some figures here are marked *. Our sources disagree on those, so we're checking them against the lenses themselves. Ask us and we'll measure it for you.
Heritage
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Origin
The Panchro/i Classic range descends directly from the Cooke Speed Panchros of the 1920s, Horace W. Lee’s design that defined Hollywood cinema for the next century; by 1935 MGM estimated at least 50% of their productions used them. The Classic line reimagines the Speed Panchro look (gentle aberrations, natural skin tones, painterly falloff) in a modern housing, built in Super 35 and Full Frame versions. Our S35 kits are the 5-lens core (25, 32, 50, 75, 100mm) and the 7-lens extension (adding the 18mm and 40mm); the Full Frame line (6, 8 and 10-lens kits) has its own page. Cooke’s /i Technology streams critical lens metadata (focus distance, aperture, distortion maps) for VFX and virtual production workflows.
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Filmography
The Panchro/i Classic range has been adopted across narrative, episodic, and commercial work since launch, DPs drawn to the modern Cooke Look with genuine vintage character. Films like Motherless Brooklyn (2019, DP Dick Pope BSC) showcase the Classic’s ability to convey emotion through glass.
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Build
Modern manufacture. All share Cooke’s cam-style focus mechanism, dual-sided focus scales, and 270° focus throw.
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