Fujifilm, after giving us a sneak peak earlier this year, has officially announced the World's first 50mm f/1.0 Auto Focus lens currently available for mirrorless cameras. Designed to give impressively smooth bokeh, and reliable auto-focus, we've had a look at the new lens, and can share sample photos with you. The lens is made up of 12 elements in 9 groups, with 1 aspherical element, and 2 ED elements, as well as 9 rounded aperture blades. The Fujifilm Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 R WR lens will be available from late September 2020 with an RRP of £1499.

Read our hands-on preview, with sample photos here.

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Heralding a new age of portrait photography: FUJINON XF50mmF1.0 R WR Lens - The world's first F1.0 lens with Autofocus*1

FUJIFILM Corporation (President: Kenji Sukeno) is pleased to announce the launch of the FUJINON XF50mm f/1.0 R WR Lens (hereafter “XF50mmF1.0 R WR”), the world’s first autofocus lens with a maximum aperture of F1.0, designed for mirrorless cameras. This is the 35th interchangeable lens for X Series digital cameras, which delivers exceptional image quality using Fujifilm’s unparalleled colour reproduction technology.

The XF50mmF1.0 R WR is an ultra-fast mid-telephoto prime lens with the focal length of 50mm (equivalent to 76mm in the 35mm film format) and a maximum aperture of F1.0. The fastest interchangeable lens Fujifilm has ever produced, it achieves incomparable resolving power thanks to its large-diameter design, which also produces beautiful bokeh, rendering backgrounds out of focus with a rich smoothness. The lens can also be stopped down for edge-to-edge sharpness, adding versatility to the way it can be used to make images.

The inclusion of a DC autofocus motor into XF50mmF1.0 allows for quick and accurate autofocus even when images are being made at the maximum F1.0 aperture. Since this can result in an extremely shallow depth of field, the lens also utilises X Series cameras’ Face / Eye AF function to achieve critical focus when making portraits, which is something that is quite difficult to achieve when focusing manually.

For times when manual focus is required, such as recording video, the manual focus ring provides 120 degrees of rotation to allow for precise, enhanced control and quick travel through the focus range to infinity. Lastly, despite being a large-diameter F1.0 lens, its weight, size and weather-sealing make it a practical choice for any professional image maker. *1 Among interchangeable lenses for mirrorless digital cameras as of September 3, 2020, according to Fujifilm

1) Achieve an incredibly shallow depth-of-field

The XF50mmF1.0 R WR consists of 12 lens elements in nine groups and also contains one aspherical element and two ED

elements to achieve optimum control of spherical aberration. Used at or near to its maximum F1.0 aperture, XF50mmF1.0 R WR can produce an astonishingly narrow depth-of-field. Its precision-engineered, rounded diaphragm produces large, smooth bokeh for a professional look, allowing photographers to create portraits with a striking simplicity and an almost three-dimensional quality with wonderful edge-to-edge sharpness. Photographers can use this new power in selective focus to keep only the subject’s eyes in focus and make captivating close-up character studies. But it’s not just for portraits. Take this lens out onto the street or into a lifestyle session and one can turn cluttered locations into clean backdrops with unrivaled subject separation.

2) Be ready to make images more easily in low-light conditions

The very wide maximum aperture on XF50mmF1.0 R WR means there are more options when it comes to making images in low-light conditions. At night, or in darkened interiors, XF50mmF1.0 R WR offers the widest apertures yet seen on an XF lens, allowing more light to be drawn in to make an image. XF50mmF1.0 R WR lens also easily achieves fast shutter speeds that freeze movement and keep ISO settings lower for detail-rich results. Alternatively, combine high ISO settings with the F1.0 aperture for incredible versatility and use in other low-light applications like astrophotography.

3) World’s first F1.0 autofocus lens for mirrorless cameras

As the world’s first autofocus F1.0 lens made for any mirrorless system, including full-frame, XF50mmF1.0 brings more light to the sensor than any previous XF lens, making it possible for the autofocus to operate at -7EV luminance level. The previous limit of -6EV luminance level was achieved using lenses with a maximum aperture of F1.4, (*2) X Series users now have fast and precise low-light autofocus, even in near-darkness. With the added benefits of on-sensor Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF), Face/ Eye AF and a powerful DC motor, precise and fast autofocus at shallow depths of field is now a possibility.

*2 When mounted on the X-Pro3 and X-T4

4) Precise focus for those critical moments

To make the most of its super-shallow depth-of-field, focusing must be precise. As a result, XF50mmF1.0 has a focus ring that is eight times more accurate than any previous XF lens. This makes it possible to change the focus from the minimum focusing distance to infinity very precisely. For this, XF50mmF1.0 R WR uses 120º of rotation in its focusing ring to let users focus manually without error – and achieve accurate focus when using an X Series camera’s Focus Peaking and Focus Assist modes. The 120º of rotation also makes autofocus movements notably precise and deliberate, while the lens’s engineering is designed to minimise focus shift effects when making images.

5) Engineered to keep the images coming

Despite being a fast, F1.0 lens, XF50mmF1.0 R WR is a lens that make amazing pictures almost anywhere. Measuring 103.5mm (4.07in) long and weighing 845 grams (1.86 pounds), the lens is still quite compact and portable. Like all other weather-resistant XF Lenses, it is sealed in 11 locations to protect against moisture and dust, as well as being capable of use in temperatures down to -10°C (14°F). When allied to a similarly specified, weather-resistant X Series mirrorless digital camera body, XF50mmF1.0 R WR lets you make unique images in the toughest environments.

*Users are advised to update their camera’s firmware to the latest version in order to allow colour shading correction at the angle of incidence for F1.0.

Read our hands-on preview, with sample photos here.