In article <5s023d$2hf$1@eskinews.eskimo.com>, paulkrik@mail.eskimo.com says...

>I am curious as to how other people balance the trade offs between the
>range of a zoom lens and the speed of the lens. For example, a
>Nikkor 35-70 zoom lens can be had with a speed of f/2.8. However, the
>zoom range is relativley small. One can get a greater range such as
>the 35-105 f/3.5-4.5 and lose a stop or more of speed. And there are
>28-70 lens that also give up about a stop in speed.
>
>Which is more important to you? Zoom range or speed?
>Why? What is it about the photography that you do that made you reach
>this decision?

It depends on what kind of work you do, and how...
I rarely use a tripod, and much of my work is done in poor light
and requires a lot of image-making in a short time, so the
choice is easy: fast primes (easier to focus, and faster to use).
If your shooting position is anchored, or if you prefer to use
a tripod (hmmm, same thing, really...;-), or if the light level
is high, or if you have time to fiddle with a zoom, you may
prefer a zoom...
Also, while there are some zooms that rival primes at fairly
wide stops, and many that rival primes at mid and smaller stops,
in general, primes will provide a bit higher image quality
(especially at the edges and corners, and at f2.8-4).
Hope this Helps
(David Ruether - http://www.fcinet.com/ruether )