Thanks for all the comments most helpful. Sorry I lost the threard for a while or perhaps it was the plot (lol) but after research it was between the Sigma and Pentax and I managed to buy a Pentax smc-fa50mm 1.4 off ebay . A bit more than Still27 paid but good bargain which I'll enjoy using!

Thanks Matt that's brilliant much appreciated.
Lovely portraits on your site by the way.

Cheers

Neil

Thanks Graham that's worth noting.
Probably a different thread here but I noticed you have a Pentax 50mm 1.4 lens. I was just wondering how you rate this lens , this is the one size lens I was looking to purchase. Sigma do one also and I thought it might compliment my Sigma stock! but reviews not brilliant .
Any advice most helpful
Cheers

Neil

I was just wondering if anyone can recommend a top quality lens 1.4 aperture preferably 50mm. I have Sigma lenses 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 , but looking for a faster lens. There is a Sigma 50 HSM 1.4 , but reviews not brilliant on the net. Pentax version available on ebay from North America but last time I bought from US I had to pay handling charge! So preferably from UK stores. Any recommendations please.
Thanks
Neil

Thanks Stefan that's great

Thanks Stefan most useful, I thought the Stofen might be Ok at a few feet but in the heat of the moment after reviewing a few shots I should have removed it- I guess I got involved too much!. Using a 2.8 lens with ISO3200 coming out constantly I should have realised. My flash usage is quite limited but have mainly used P-TTL so that is reassuring, thanks for the advice about trail curtain and manual and will check out the link
Many Thanks

Neil

Just wondering if anyone can offer some advice. I normally take theatre photography which the K20d copes well with together with my Sigma 2.8 lenses - 24-70 and 70-200. I was asked to take shots of a Stage Combat workshop, it was in a dark theatre space with only the odd strip light- no theatre lights available in a theatre!. so I had to use flash, and I had a stofen on my flash. Shutter speeds I was using 180 / 125 mainly to capture the action, but also 60 / 90 when they were sat down discussing things. I could get quite close up to a few feet, but despite all of this the ISO was 3200. Shots are good but grain is evident. I was trying different settings - Shutter Priority mainly and the TaV setting a lot but out of 150 shots it only went down to 1600 and 2200 a handful of times. Interesting on one shot and one shot only it went down to ISO100, this was the only shot I tried against the Manual setting, dont really understand why!. Is there anything I could have done to reduce the ISO across al the shots?
Shame about the magazine ending but looking forward to posting on here.

Many Thanks Neil

One reason I went for Pentax was because of its low light capabilities. I have shot countless drama/dance performances using my K100D with 50-200 lens. ISO is usually 3200 with slow shutter speeds. A couple of weeks ago I shot Synchro Swimming and for a shutter speed of 1/350th I had to use 3200ISO - good results though. Last football I event I put a 2x convertor on my 50-200 and it struggled as half the pitch was in shadow - kept going too bright or too dark. ISo was between 800 and 1600. Now that I have a K20D ,for football I want to try setting a fast shutter speed say 1/1000 aperture 4 and let the camera set the sensitivity. I'm optimistic the results will be good. But I do need a faster lens to increase the shutter speeds in low light conditions and this is the reason to my original question. I'm moving more towards the Sigm 70-200 at the moment. cheers Neil

Thankyou for your comments. So for the delay in replying but I have had a family bereavement to deal with. I will decipher your information and get back to you.
Richard - I am only in Cheltenham so if you have a shoot somewhere let me know please!!
Annette I'm sure the Sigma should auto focus on the Pentax- you have to go into the menu and 'permit' the use of all lenses I think. Or that is what I did with old manual lenses on my K100D
Thanks

Neil

Hi Everyone.
I have a K20D and K100D plus 18-55,50-200 Pentax and Tamron 70-300. Although I have had good results from all lenses, they have struggled in certain situations. I was at football game and my Pentax was totally out done by the Canon 1D with 100-400 lens which I borrowed for one game. So the penny dropped and I realise that I need a faster lens - 2.8 I guess. I've been looking around and have come across the Sigma 2.8 70-200. Just wondering if anyone recommends this? or any other models. I do know of the Pentax 50-135 from the magazine but I need one with a longer focal length. Any help and advice on 'cheapest' prices would also help.

Cheers

Neil