Hi Sven! Unfortunately, when shooting Weddings, I find that zooms area necessary evil. Sometimes it is just very impractical to physically walk in closer or move further away from a subject. They become indispensible in many situations. Off the top of my head - an example is the wedding party walking down the aisle. If they are walking toward you, it is not usually possible to take a shot and then turn around and run up the aisle to ensure that you don't crop their heads off as they come closer.
The speed issues are for a number of reasons - currently, both of my zooms of this range have apertures of f4-f5.6. Slooooow. So usually, to achieve the blurred background that I need for most shots, I need to shoot with the lens wide open. Most people will know that when you shoot any lens wide open, it usually results in a softening of the image. So, I am looking for a zoom that is a tad quicker than say f5.6 so that I may shoot at like f4 and know that it isn't going to be completely soft, or wide open. Secondly, most churches are really poorly lit, and despite usually being able to use flash, I like to stop down and use a slow shutter speed to allow much of the ambient light to sneak in. That extra stop or two could make all the difference here in the bride and groom looking as though they have been blasted with a flash, and standing in a black hole, or having them appear to be naturally lit. I do have the FA 50/f1.7 but sometimes it just doesn't cut it when I need that bit of extra reach, or if I need to go wider in a pinch. Another instance is when I am shooting kids - I generally work outside with them, and they tend to run around with me chasing - a nice, fast zoom would be fantastic to have sometimes. I have a fashion photographer friend in NYC who absolutely refuses to buy any lens that is slower than f1.8!! Mostly for the reasons I have mentioned above. He only owns one zoom - it is a 28-80 f2.8 (a Canon of some sort), and he rarely uses it, but for emergencies. When I told him of my lens line up, most of which are quite slow in comparison, he actually laughed and told me that I need to start building a kit "like a professional" and not like "some kid who likes to wave a camera around". He is a harsh, cynical New Yorker (lol!), but I love him for it, as he doesn't mince with words, and he has often expressed things to me that have helped me to improve my work and which "normal" group of friends and family would never be "game enough" to come forward and say. I thought about his words for some time, and realised that he is completely right. This is why I have decided that from now on, I will only buy the best lenses that I can possibly afford, and I will wait UNTIL I can afford the best before buying any at all. I do need a zoom of this calliber, but I will be waiting for as long as I need to be able to save the $$$ and buy the best that I can. Hope this explains things to you a little better?!? :-) tan. -----Original Message----- From: keller.schaefer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, 15 May 2004 10:45 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: AW: The best 28-70 f2.8 zoom? May I question why you are looking for a zoom anyway? I can't believe that whatever zoom is there is *very good* at f 2.8 so other than in an emergency you probaby will not use it at 2.8. The AF doesn't need the extra stop either - other than in an emergency... But if you *are* in an emergency, in really low light and still want to continue shooting (or, in brighter light, *really* need that extra shallow DOF), then you would be even better off with TWO stops extra, on top of the 2.8, that you can get from a 1.4/50 (if you don't have one already). Sven -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: TMP [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Gesendet: Samstag, 15. Mai 2004 13:25 An: Net [EMAIL PROTECTED] Betreff: The best 28-70 f2.8 zoom? Woohoo! I'm back in business, so here is the first of the posts I've been trying to send all day... I notice a few people posting that they are looking for a constant aperture auto focus zoom available in a Pentax mount, that is around the 28-70mm (or 28-80, 28-75, 24-70, 24-90, 28-105 etc) mark. So, I was wondering - aside from the Pentax FA 28-70 f2.8, which lens is generally thought of as the "best" in or around this range? So, I am referring only to the "latest" AUTO FOCUS models available, as I know that there have been many variations over the years. Or if you have a particular favourite of a certain model that exceeds what is currently on the market, please feel free to name that one too. (eg, Tokina ATX Pro II etc). The Tokina 28-70 f2.8? The Sigma 24-70 f2.8 or ? The Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 macro? And, I just discovered that Sigma has two lenses available - they are 28-70 f2.8-4, and a 28-105 f2.8-4. They are only USD$119 and $199 respectively at B&H. Anyone have any experience with these? I particularly like the 28-105mm focal length (I have the Pentax 28-105mm FA Powerzoom, and I love it, but at f4-f5.6, it is just too slow), and the Sigma 28-105 f2.8-4 would certainly address the issue of speed that I have with the Pentax FA 28-105, but with these two Sigma lenses being so inexpensive, it makes me wonder why it is the case... Also, how many of the above have macro capabilities? And why is your particular choice your favourite? Bokeh? Sharpness? Flare (or lack of it)? Build quality? AF Speed? Price? Value for money? etc... Also, is f2.8 the fastest anyone has ever seen in a zoom lens of constant aperture? Is there any record of anything faster ever being produced? So, here is my "wish list" for such a lens - a sharp, nice bokeh'd AUTO FOCUS lens, focal length of 28-105mm, f2.8 constant aperture, less than usd$400. I'm not asking for much, am I?!? lol. Then, after this one peters out, I'll post another similar topic covering the f2.8, 80-200-ish zooms. I don't own any of the above lenses, so I can't really participate here, but I am leaning towards possibly purchasing the Tamron (when I can afford it!)... tan.
