[2] According to Taylor, the lens design was derived by considering a cemented achromatic doublet consisting of one thin negative element and one thin positive element, both of equal power; such a doublet would result in a compound lens with zero net power but also a flat field of focus.

Arthur Cox noted that anastigmat lenses were "almost exclusively, the logical development of two main types, the symmetrical lens, and the Cooke triplet of H. D.

"[14]: 241  One of the first derivatives was the Voigtländer Heliar, developed by Hans Harting in 1900 as a symmetrical modification of the original Cooke triplet.

[4]: 106  Harting continued to develop the lens, resulting in the Dynar (1903), whose design was later adopted as a new version of the Heliar after World War I.

Lee as the Speedic in 1924, or a positive meniscus element was inserted into the front air space, as in Ludwig Bertele's enduring Ernostar and Sonnar designs for Ernemann and Carl Zeiss AG, respectively.

[4]: 108–111 Several of the early lenses used with the Leica camera were derived from the Cooke triplet by splitting one or more of the three elements into a cemented doublet, including the Elmar, Elmarit, Hektor, and Thambar.