The fast lens is a true geek's pleasure to discuss. To provide a quick flip side with which I disagree: I read someone's comment on the Leica User Forums that discussed most people misuse of an f/1's available shallow depth of field as a super-expensive LensBaby, whereby everything in the background is so soft that it becomes nothing but color blotches.
There are some aspects though that are more tangible. First of all, there is a question of the build quality that is required which far exceeds most other lenses. If you're going to have a lens that opens its aperture that widely on a consistent basis and do so acurately again and again, you're going to need to build beyond the exacting specfications of a Swiss watch builder. There is also the question of getting the auto-focus right.
There are several highly technical articles about these kinds of lenses, but I warn you: if you easily find yourself fetishizing certain technical details, this will quickly become a very expensive habit.
Finally, keep one thing in mind: especially here on The Photo Forum, there is a lot of talk about various cameras. However, there's a lot of photographers who actually care more about lenses than the box attached to the small end.
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