18\" F4.5 Taylor Hobson TTH Cooke Series II Brass Portrait Lens Soft Focus 11x14
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18\" F4.5 Taylor Hobson TTH Cooke Series II Brass Portrait Lens Soft Focus 11x14:
$14500.00
18” F/4.5 Cooke Series II Portrait lens withadjustableSoft focus
This item will not be available for Shipment until after the new year.
Considered by many to be the greatest portrait lens ever made, the Cooke Series II was a favorite of many influential portrait photographers such as George Hurrell. There is something special about the “Cooke look”. Images made by the Cooke Series II lens are very sharp where in focus, but also have a very soft and smooth look to the out to focus sections of the image (bokeh). This look what still attracts photographers to the lens well over a 100 years after its introduction.
A history of the Cooke lens:
A history of the Cooke lens:The properties of light and its behavior in glass have been a constraint for lens makers ever since the first optics were made. The ability of glass to bend light is known as refraction. Glass types that are able to bend the light for effectively are known as high refractive index glass. Glass will also separate light into its component wavelengths (as seen in a prism). This is commonly referred to as dispersion. Glass types that cause less chromaticaberrationare known as low, extra low, and ultra-low dispersion glass.A \"perfect\" lens would focus all wavelengths of light from all areas of the glass into the same flat plane of focus. When a lens fails to do this it is known to have an aberration.Chromatic aberrationis when the different wavelengths of light do not meet at the same point. If different parts of the glass fail to focus the light to the same point it is known asspherical aberration. When the plane of focus is curved rather than flat it is known asastigmatism.Early on lens makers were limitedtotwo types of glass: sodium lime (crown), and lead crystal (flint). Photography’s first lens, the Wollaston meniscus of 1804, was a simple single element lens made of flint glass. Chevalier, improved on the design by adding an element of Crown glass that was designed to cancel out some of the dispersion (chromatic aberration) found in the Wollaston meniscus. This was known as the achromatic doublet (1829).. The photography processes of the time required a lot of light. The maximum aperture of the Chevalier was F/16 so it was a very “slow” lens that required a long exposure time. In 1840, the mathematician joseph Petzval came up with a new much faster design. The Petzval lens consisted of 4-elements, with a cemented achromat in the front and an air-spaced achromat behind the aperture. The result was a \"fast\" lens with a maximum aperture of 3.8. The faster exposures allowed for portraits to be taken with the lens so it became known as the first portrait lens. The lens was very sharp in the center of the image but it suffered from a highly curved field of focus (astigmatism).In the 1980\'s, Ernst Abbe and Otto Schott, invented new types of optical glass which quickly led to new breakthroughs in lens design. The first lenses with complete correction of field curvature came into market. First was the Zeiss Protar (1890), followed by the Goerz Dagor (1892), and theCooke Triplet (1893). These were known as Anastigmat lenses because they were free of astigmatism. The Anastigmats were hugely successful and quickly replaced the majority of earlier lens designs.
The Cooke lens today:
There is now a resurgence in older styles of photography. Many find that the sharp contrasty look of modern lenses and digital cameras, lacks the “character” of older classic lens types, or the processes associated with analog photography. There is a growing photographers who use wet plates instead of film, or digital camera sensors, to obtain a more unique \"classic\" look. Many refer the look of lenses that were used back in the days of 1930\'s hollywood glamor and noir style photographers.
The Cooke Series II, also known as the Cooke Triplet, has become a favorite of many photographers today. The character is very different from the Petzval-type lenses which are also popular. The curved depth of field of the Petzval lens produces images that are very sharp in the center, but have a soft-and-swirly look toward the edges. In contrast, the Cooke lens has almost no curvature of field. The “proper” English portrait lens, the Cooke renders everything in a very even and balanced way. Curvature of field remains flat and consistent throughout the entire image circle. The transition to out of focus is very smooth, and the background itself has very nice blur qualities (bokeh). The out of focus areas have a very rounded and smooth look. The background is tranquil free of distractions. It is a lens that is designed to be used a large apertures. Depth of field is shorter with larger apertures, and many prefer to use the lens \"wide open\" for Artistic selective-focus photography. Wide open, it is sharp like a knifes blade, and going from that rapidly to a smooth and melty background is “what it is about”. There is so much “eye candy” in a cooke image. Every part of the image is pleasing. Areas where in and out of focus objects meet really pop with an almost stereoscopic 3d look. While visible “slow” transitions from in and out focus are equally amazing. A simple picture with a line of trees, fence posts, or even a wall becomes work of art by the fascinating way the Cooke renders the transition to out of focus. There is something about the sharp and smooth is most photogenic. And the Cooke has smoothness...The gradations present in the background are very rich and buttery. The out of focus objects are smoothed over evenly without geometric distortion. The flatness of field remains in the out focus areas; it does matter if an object is near the center or the corners as long as it is the same distance behind the focus the effect is the same.
Cooke also produces lenses for Hollywood with the same Cooke look that dates back to the Cooke Triplet (series II). Cooke cinema lenses are very well regarded and also quite expensive (~$30,000 new).
For those who prefer less then “knife” sharpness, the Cooke lens features a sliding element based, soft focus feature. By turning the dial, the edge is taken off the image giving a more subdued diffused look. The literature states that this is done through the use of spherical aberration and that this also adds more depth to an image.
The name of the Cooke Series II can be somewhat misleading in that sold series III, IV, V and VI lens but the other lens models were sold concurrently to the series II and are not later “improved versions” of the Cooke lens. The series II was Cooke’s most premium portrait lens and had the largest aperture sizes. The other series were lighter, more economical, and sold for group portraits... Where one would already stop down for depth of field. The series II is the one you want.
Condition:
This lens is in very good condition for its age. The glass is Fantastic without scratches, fungus, bloom, or other defects.
Return policy:
Satisfaction is guaranteed with a 14-day return policy
Shipping:
Shipping is available to all destinations worldwide. Insurance is included in the cost of shipping and the item will be very well packed.
An attribute of Bokeh; “Blur Disc’s” and the “circle of confusion”
Maybe you have seen in a movie or photograph where a light is out of focus and shows up as a polygon. What you are looking is often referred to as the \"blur disc\" or \"circle of confusion\". What a spot of light is out (behind) of focus it spreads to form a disc.
It might be better to use the term \"blur disc\" then \"circle of confusion\" as \"circle of confusion\" is a more general term for describing any part of the cone of line that is created behind a spot. The smallest focus point is known as the circle of least confusion. Often a larger circle is acceptable depending on the size of the sensor or resolution capabilities (and desired print magnification) of the film. As long as the circle of confusion fits within a pixel it will show up as being in focus to that pixel. The size of the circle of least confusion is integral to many mathematical formulas for determining exact depth of field. Too many, the circle of confusion translate to a single spot or pixel in a print. When photographers talk about the circle of confusion as an attribute of thevisibleout of focus they are talking about a much larger circle that is further out of focus. Both are circles of confusion, and to reduce confusion, I feel its better to use the term “blur disc” in reference a part of the cone of focus that is large enough to be clearly identified as being out of focus yet retains some shape or form.
The shape of the Blur Disc is determined by a number of factors; the number of blades on the aperture for example determines the number of sides on a polygonal disc pattern. A lens with a rounder aperture is said to have a rounder \"blur disc\". The transition from the center of a circular blur disc to the edge varies dramatically from different lens designs.
* A \"perfect\" \"neutral\" or \"good\" blur disc has no or very little gradation and small out of pinpoint highlight shows up as and evenly light circle with a hard edge. The type of blur disc is associated with modern Apochromatically and Spherically \"correct\" lens designs
* \"Negative\" or \"bad\" blur disc\'s have a visually unappealing \"doughnut\" light pattern; light is distributed more heavily toward the outer edges then it is in the center. The result can be visually distracting.
* The \"Positive\", \"ideal\", or \"Best\" blur discs have a smooth step-free gradation with the center being the brightest point. The look is generally accepted as being the most visually attractive. The out of focus areas on a lens of this type of have smoothest gradations and fewest distractions (sharp edges, doughnut artifacts) of these three basic blur disc types. Figures are smoothed but are more generally recognizable then with the other two main disc types.
In order to produce this type of disc blur the Light needs spread out from the center at an unequal rate so that brightest point oflight is at the center and a smooth gradation radiates outward with no sharp edges. Remember.... the light near the center of the disc is closer to being in focus then the light near the edge.
The most common way portrait lenses go about creating an ideal \"blur disc\" is to carefully introduce spherical aberration (a term used to describe a change in focal length throughout the aperture range). The idea being that the center parts of the lens would be closer to being in focus while the outer parts will spread out more do to being further from being in focus.
Some lenses have a curved depth of field that can distort the shape of the \"blur disc\" depending on the spots location in reference to center of the lenses image circle.
Color fringing and reflective ghosts are negative things that can appear in the \"blur disc\" on poor quality lenses.
18\" F4.5 Taylor Hobson TTH Cooke Series II Brass Portrait Lens Soft Focus 11x14:
$14500.00