Cooke Speed Panchro

1. Overview

The Cooke Speed Panchro 18mm is a British prime lens from 1953, developed by Cooke Optics for professional filmmaking. The Speed Panchro series is among the most used vintage optics on the modern rental market and is available in numerous rehousing variants.

2. Characteristics

Flare behavior according to CINEFLARES datasheet:

• Types: Spherical Spot
• Colors: White
• Intensity: Strong

Linked Pattern Entries:

• spherical-spot

3. Creative Use

The 18mm Speed Panchro exhibits pronounced barrel distortion, which becomes apparent in close-ups and architectural subjects—those who don't want this must plan to counteract it early on. At wide open aperture, it shows strong white spherical spots that cause light sources in the image to fray softly and characteristically. The low contrast due to older coatings gives the image a texture that modern APO optics cannot replicate. In everyday rentals, it usually appears as part of a rehoused Speed Panchro set—for example, from TLS or P+S Technik—and is frequently booked for indie productions seeking an organic vintage look without full-frame compromises.

4. Specs Overview

5. Status Tracker

• [x] Datasheet extracted (DOM-direct, 2026-04-20)
• [ ] Overview formulated
• [ ] Creative use researched
• [ ] AI illustration or manufacturer photo (with attribution)
• [ ] Translations (9 languages)
• [ ] Import via import-lexikon.mjs