Created by renowned French fashion and landscape photographer Jean Coquin in 1978, the Cokin Creative Filter System remains a staple of the international photography community. The system is based primarily on square or rectangular “drop-in” filters that slide into a filter holder. The holder mounts on lenses via a simple adapter ring of the appropriate size.
Most all Cokin filters are made from very high-quality, European produced optical resin know as C39. Jean Coquin chose this resin because of its optical clarity and stability. It is light and unbreakable, has an extremely high optical transmission factor and is perfectly suited for tinting. It is the perfect base for making photographic filters, its precision surpassing that of mineral glass.
Milestones:
1982 Cokin Launches the P series size to accommodate wide-angle prime lenses that were gaining in popularity. This same size is now marketed as the “M Series”. The M Series is 84mm wide and has 140 different models for a universe of creative effects. It remains the most popular filter system in the world.
1998 Cokin launches the X-PRO System in response to the keen interest of photographers in super-wide angle lenses. This X-PRO is now marketed as the “L Series”. The system proves itself to be the perfect solution to the problem of vignetting. Cokin filters can now be mounted on the near totality of available lenses for photography, video and cinema. This new system comes to the aid of specific classes of users: professional cameramen and photographers working with large format cameras.
2005 At the end of two years of research and development, the COKIN team presents the Z-PRO System, a culmination of its technical knowledge, precision design and workmanship. Created to respond to the needs of professional photographers, it constitutes a practical, reliable and ergonomic solution to numerous filtering problems. The Z-PRO series is now marketed as the “XL Series”.
This system is unlike screw-thread circular filters, which are each tied to lenses of a specific diameter. With the Cokin system, one filter and one holder can mount on several different lenses by switching the very narrow adapter ring. The other advantage of the Cokin Creative Filter System is the use of Graduated filters such as Graduated NDs, where the transition area from clear to ND can be adjusted to suit the composition. Cokin continues to innovate to provide photographers world-wide with the tools they need to create their vision.
Cokin France also distributes TOKINA lenses, SLIK tripods, KENKO binoculars and adaptor rings, as well as AOSTA bags in France and French-speaking countries. In 2011, COKIN France became a subsidiary of the KENKO-TOKINA group.