best night lens

guys, what would be the best lens or lenses to use with a rebel xti for night photography?

i'm planning to buy a 24-70mm f/2.8 and the 70-200mm f/4 IS. i just want to have an idea what would complement these two especially for night photography, or if i should even bother adding another one on my list.

thank you.

You mean with or without a flash?

I have the 24-70 and I love it, but if it was really dark, I take out the 85 1.8. Now, add flash and any lens will be fine. I shot some Christmas lights last week and used my 24-70 with flash on my 5D to shoot portraits of my kids in front of the lights. Expose correctly and you get a wonderful shot.

For low light/night shots I would go with either the Canon 50mm f/1.4 or Sigma 30mm f/1.4.

My vote goes to 50 1.4 for night photography without a flash.

I have the Sigma 30 1.4 and its a great lens

I think my 50 1.4 hunts too much in the dark. The 85 doesn't so much.

The Legend of course 50mm f1.
Discontinued but still out there.
If you can find it and if you have the $2500-3,500 to buy it.

Another vote for the Sigma 30 f1.4...

85L

Camera on tripod, subject isn't moving, manual focus - then any lens. But, seriously, what are you going to take pix of at night? Does make a difference.

Swap that 70-200 f/4 for the f/2.8 variety for low light. You could save some money and get the Canon 50 f/1.4 for a decent in-expensive low light prime.

I would vote for the Canon 35 1.4L. Great low light performer and steller in good light.

How about the 17-55 with the IS on. It has done well for me at night.

Best night lens is the lens you have on the camera when you mount it on the tripod. Until I learned about photography, I always figured "low-light" meant "as dark as the back of the closet". Shooting at night all but requires either a flash, or tripod depending on what you are shooting. Once you add either of those two item to the equation, any decent lens will take decent pics when exposed properly. F2.8 is nice, but if you are standing outside at night, you aren't going to get many handheld shots at 2.8 without a flash.

thanks for the replies. i'm considering everything you've shared.
well, for some reason i'm one of those who tries to avoid flash as much as i can. maybe, i'll go for the 50 f/1.4.