Shoten Koubou’s New Tribute 01 Lens
Shoten Koubou just launched its first interchangeable lens, and for its debut the Japanese company is going back to one of the most interesting lenses from the 1950s. The new Shoten Tribute 01 LTM 50mm f/1.1 is a modern take on the Zunow 50mm f/1.1 from 1953, which was actually the first photographic lens to break the f/1.2 barrier. Original Zunow lenses are extremely rare today and can sell for around $10,000 when they do appear. The Tribute 01 is the first lens in Shoten’s new Tribute series, which will focus on recreating the character of classic optics instead of simply copying their specifications.
Shoten worked with lens designer Chūkyōshi DJ to keep some of the original Zunow’s character while improving performance where it made sense. Wide open at f/1.1, the lens produces a softer, slightly hazy and glowing look, while sharpness improves considerably as you stop down. There is a 13-blade aperture and a minimum focusing distance of 0.5m, although rangefinder coupling only works down to around 0.7m, depending on the camera. Below that, you will need to focus using live view. The design even recreates the Zunow’s unusually large protruding rear element, sometimes nicknamed the “ping-pong ball.”
The lens itself is built from a combination of brass and aluminium, weighs 300g and measures 44.5mm long. It takes 52mm filters and comes with an octagonal lens hood, with both black and silver versions available. Despite the M-Mount compatibility, the lens is actually built around an L39 screw mount and ships with an L39-to-M conversion ring, so it can be used on both systems and adapted fairly easily to modern mirrorless cameras as well. The Shoten Tribute 01 LTM 50mm f/1.1 is priced at $730.
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