At its Photokina 2018 presentation, Fujifilm took a moment to tease an extreme addition to its X-Mount series of lenses: the XF33mm F1 R. As its name suggests, this is a 33mm prime lens (equivalent to 50mm on a full-frame camera) with a maximum aperture of f/1 and autofocus capabilities, which makes it a first among lenses for mirrorless cameras. The only previous example of a lens with such a wide aperture and AF has been Canon’s 50mm f/1 lens, released in 1989 and now discontinued. Fujifilm isn’t putting a price or release date on its new lens, but it says it’s working on bringing it to market. The company’s roadmap documents from this summer point to this lens’s release coming in 2020.

Fujifilm has a wide selection of really good lenses for its X family of cameras, and that portfolio includes a number of f/1.4 wide-angle lenses already. In my experience with those, the bokeh is so diffuse and undefined that it stops to even look like bokeh anymore. Opening the aperture even further to f/1 will make it possible to soak up a lot more light, while also pushing the background defocus up a few notches. That will make the new X-Mount lens quite a niche, creative tool. But with so many months to wait for its release, we should all be able to think up uses for it.

Correction: Added mention of Canon’s 50mm f/1 lens as the first lens with an f/1 aperture and autofocus.