Shoten’s Debut ‘Tribute’ Lens Honors the World’s First f/1.1 Lens

Shoten Koubou’s first interchangeable lens, the Shoten Tribute 01 — LTM 50mm f/1.1, is a gorgeous new lens for Leica M-Mount. At around 115,000 yen, or about $730, it’s a modern twist on a classic Japanese-made portrait prime.

As reported by CAPA Camera Web, the Tribute 01 is the debut lens in Shoten’s new “Tribute” series. The series aims to recreate classic lenses, and the first to receive the homage is the Japanese-made, ultra-fast Zunow 50mm f/1.1. The Zunow 50mm f/1.1 launched in 1953, and many photographers consider it an essential Japanese-made lens of the era.

A classic advertisement for the Zunow 50mm f/1.1. | “Zunow 50mm f/1.1 1956” by Jussi, CC BY 2.0

As Nikon explains in its outstanding “Nikkor — The Thousand and One Nights” series, the Zunow 50mm f/1.1 was actually the very first lens ever to feature an aperture faster than f/1.2. Nikon’s Nikkor-N 50mm f/1.1, introduced in 1956, was the second. It is unsurprising then, that Zunow’s pioneering lens remains very expensive on the used market today, easily fetching around $10,000 on the relatively rare occasions it shows up for sale.

Shoten teamed up with lens creator Chūkyōshi DJ to capture the Zunow 50mm f/1.1 lens’s distinct rendering while maintaining optical quality. In this case, the lens delivers the Zunow 50mm f/1.1’s hazy, almost glowing rendering at f/1.1, while delivering significantly improved sharpness at stopped-down apertures. Shoten describes the image quality at f/1.1 as “dreamlike.”

The manual focus lens has a 13-bladed aperture diaphragm and a minimum focusing distance of just 0.5 meters (1.64 feet). However, the rangefinder coupling range starts at 0.7 meters (2.3 feet), depending on the camera being used. To focus closer than this, live view is required, like on a Leica M EV1.

The lens promises more than its inspiration’s image rendering; it also inherits aspects of its distinct appearance. While the lens looks fairly standard on its own, with a mix of brass and aluminum for a familiar barrel shape, it has distinct qualities, too. The Zunow 50mm f/1.1 had a large, protruding rear element, sometimes referred to as the “ping-pong ball.” The Shoten Tribute 01 50mm f/1.1 has a similar design.

The lens has an unusual octagonal lens hood, complete with a new “Shoten Tribute” logo on it. The lens comes in black and silver versions, each shipping in a beautiful red box. The fast prime weighs just over 300 grams (10.9 ounces) and measures 44.5 millimeters (1.75 inches) long. It accepts 52mm filters.

The lens ships with an L39-M conversion ring so it can also be used as a Leica L39 screw mount lens. It also adapts easily to modern mirrorless cameras. It’s available now for 115,200 yen, or about $730.

Image creditsShoten Koubou