Steven.K.MacLeod wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>I find that a lot of my most cherished photos are those taken
during
performances and services. For example, next weekend my wife and I will
be
on stage doing a highland dance and bagpipe performance in a concert
hall
setting. Last week my son was at the lectern in church. My daughter
recently had an school awards ceremony. In most of these settings, a
flash
is not allowed so I must use ambient light photography.
At this point I only own the 24-120 lens for my N90s which is really too
slow for this use - although it's great for general use when flash is an
option!
I'd like some advice on the next lens to buy. As I see my options
include
the 50mm 1.4D and the 85 mm 1.8D. My goals are to get the best images
of
5-10 people on a stage, often in marginal lighting.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Answer:
Both of the lenses you mention are very fine indeed and have bright
maximum apertures which you correctly perceive as necessary. You might
also add the 85/1.4D-AF and 105/2.0D-AF to your list, if bright primes
are what you want.
However, I suggest that a better lens for your application would be the
80-200/2.8D-AF. Granted, its not a bright, but the focal length range
is ideal for the situations you describe. While you mention group
shots, I think there will also be times when you want to single out a
particular family member with a longer focal length. The 80-200, shot
with a film like Fuji 800 print, exposed at 800 or 1600 can cover many
low light situations and yield excellent results.
Since there are at lease 4 versions of the 80-200 on the market, the
one-touch non-D, the one-touch D, and two-touch, and the new AFS, you
can get a used one for not much more than the lenses you lists.
Hope this helps.
Dan Brown
Fort Worth, Texas
