howard

a while back, when i was looking for an 70-200 2.8 lens (and strapped

for cash), i also came across the sigma. i bought it, used it for a

while, sold it, and ended up finding the canon 80-200 2.8 for just a

little more. my experience was that the canon is a little faster in

focusing, better constructed, and will always be compatible with

canon bodies. i know original lenses are more expensive, but i

believe it would be money well spent.

is the sekonic a shoe mounted unit?

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did leica make one for the iii?

i've also been doing weddings for a while now. one of the hardest

part of a wedding is when the father and the bride walking down the

aisle. i would think that it would be the same as a catwalk. i use

85mm 1.8 usm. ultrasonic focusing, constant 1.8, and very very nice

optics. 50 wouldn't be bad either, but i have found that the 85 is a

little faster in focusing than the 50. if you want to get the 50, i

would suggest the 50 mk1, metal mount, distance scale, larger

focusing ring, better built.

EF is the designation of the canon eos mount. usm stands for

ultrasonic motor. so, usm and usm ef are the same thing. but there

are lenses for the ef mount that does not have usm. the best place

for you to get information on canon lenses is at

http://www.photo.net/photo/canon/canon-reviews

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the three lenses you have listed are all lower level consumer lenses.

they use micro usm instead of ring usm. so you loose the full time

manual focus (which is one of the main benefits of usm) i would

recommend the following lenses 24-85 usm, 28-105 usm, 100-300 usm.

like the previous posters, i love the 17-35 2.8L. but i also have to

agree that the 20-35/3.5-4.5 is the best bang for your money. pretty

good distortion control, resonable price, but make sure you get the

lens hood for it. i never recommend 3rd party lenses. if you shoot

mainly landscape and buildings, you won't need the 2.8. i never

recommend 3rd party lenses. another option is to find a used 20-35

2.8L... it doesn't have USM, but it's a great lens also...

i believe the canon lens is available with usm. for that alone, i

would get the canon. also, you didn't state the body you have right

now, but in the future, if you upgrade to a newer eos body, your

tamron lens (or any other 3rd party) might have compatibility

problems. it seems that both are consumer level zooms, the image

quality shouldn't be too far part.

looking for sources for 8mm (not super 8) film and processing in

southern california... if you know any, please let me know...

thanks...