Lenses purchase advise

[awp]

I need to purchase a lenses in the 16-70mm range. I am looking at 2, 16-35 and 24-70. This will not be a lense that I would use every day however, I find that my 70-200 is limited for indoor use and I often need to shoot stage scenes (weddings, recitals, plays...). I prefer not to use flash. Is there any reason other than cost that I should not purchase 2.8 lenses?

[m3elmo]

if you are indoor, and you do not want to use flash, you will more than likely want a constant F2.8 lens. I'd go for the sigma/canon 24-70, or go for the tamron 28-75. All are F2.8 and receive great reviews. The sigma and tamron versions can be had for under $380 or so.

[Jon]

For indoor use, no, in fact if you could find something faster (stage scenes imply you may be able to choose where you're working from) in a prime lens it'd probably be worth the extra effort of finding the right place to sit/stand.