Camera Labs

im in the market for a new lens finally. after, one year of owning my Pentax k10d
im upgrading from the kit lens

i need a lens that works really well in dark areas but at the same time be a good day to day lens
most of my photographs are in bar , taking photos of local bands

im looking at the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC SLD ELD Aspherical Macro Lens

http://www.amazon.com/... ..._1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218427465&sr=1-2
i was told if i got that one it would be great for the photos ill be doing
is there any other lenses out there that are just as good or better?

my budget is $500 usd for my new lens

i have the exact same lens. while i'm happy with the lens performance, nothing beats a shoe-mounted flash. even at it's widest aperture and iso 800, you'll be lucky to get the shutter to go faster than 1/30. maybe a 50mm f/1.4 might work, if you really don't want to have to deal with a flash.

i have the AF-540fgz external flash already

but alot of times in bars its tricky to bounce the light off something , cuz of all the mirrors

i wanna get a low f/stop lens for the fact i wanna soak up all the natural lighting that i can

well i do not know if that lens would suit you, but i bought it.. i'm talking about sigma 17-70mm 2.8-4.5 DC macro

i like it because it gives me good versatility from a decent wide angle to a moderate telephoto, for a humble price.. quality of pictures is good.

_________________
sincerely,
Mystic-grapher
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14258831@N00/
Pentax K20D;
AF-540GZ flash;
Pentax DA 12-24mm f/4 AL ED [if]
Pentax DA* 50-135mm ED [if] SDM 1/2.8
Pentax FA 28-105mm f/3.2-4.5 AL [if]
Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro;