Hello Charles, You might try looking at macro lenses. The Pentax 100/3.5 is quite inexpensive and you could also look for any of the 90-100/2.8 macros from any of the manufacturers used. These lenses are quite sharp to boot. KEH has a few Tamron/Sigmas in AF for around $300 and some manual focus stuff for around $200.
That is the direction I would go. -- Best regards, Bruce Tuesday, September 20, 2005, 6:41:22 AM, you wrote: CR> I'm looking for something that may not exist. CR> Back "in my film days" when I shot a lot of concerts, I was quite CR> fond of my 135mm f2.5 zoom. Not the sharpest lens on the planet, but CR> the combination of reach and speed seemed to work well in combination CR> with the 28 and 50mm lenses. CR> These days, I have found that when shooting with my DS, I still like CR> my old manual-focus lenses because they are faster (f5.6 just doesn't CR> cut it on a dark stage). However, the 135mm lens tends to get me TOO CR> CLOSE to my subjects. CR> Seems like I want something in the 70-90mm range, that is no slower CR> than about f/4. Doesn't have to be autofocus, or even an "A" lens as CR> I tend to use them wide open in these situations anyways. Is there CR> something reasonably-priced out there that would fill this void? I CR> just don't have a clue. CR> And, as you can probably guess, since I am already using the Takumar CR> 135mm f2.5, I'm not hugely critical about sharpness and contrast. I CR> mean, I like a well-focused clear image, but again - concert CR> photography isn't exactly high art. CR> Suggestions, anyone? CR> -Charles CR> -- CR> Charles Robinson CR> [EMAIL PROTECTED] CR> Minneapolis, MN CR> http://charles.robinsontwins.org
