A modern homage to the first f/1.1 lens
Shoten Koubou's first interchangeable lens — the Tribute 01 LTM 50mm f/1.1 — is now on sale for 115,200 yen (about $730). It is a Leica M-mount manual-focus portrait prime designed to recreate the rendering of the original 1953 Zunow 50mm f/1.1, which Nikon's own history confirms was the first lens ever to feature an aperture faster than f/1.2. The Nikkor-N 50mm f/1.1 followed in 1956.
Shoten describes the wide-open rendering as "dreamlike" — hazy and almost glowing at f/1.1, with noticeably improved sharpness when stopped down. The lens has a 13-bladed aperture, 0.5 m minimum focus, and an unusual octagonal hood with the Shoten Tribute logo. It accepts 52 mm filters, weighs just over 300 g, and ships with an L39-M conversion ring so it can also mount on Leica thread-mount cameras.
A used Zunow 50mm f/1.1 in clean condition easily runs around $10,000 when it surfaces, so a $730 modern recreation is genuinely interesting for portrait shooters who want the look without the auction-house price.