You are right about the 200 1.8, it is Canon has been discontinued and I can't figure out why, it's an incredible lens. I got mine off of eBay and there were tons of bidders. I didn't get a good deal on it I was just happy to get it at all. I took it with me to Hallie's handling class tonight and took some shots of the class after ours just for fun. I will be shooting a dog show next weekend, I just do the groups. I only get about 40% keepers of the movement shots (could keep a few more but I'm picky) but it really is amazing at close up head shots, the bokeh turns the background into one solid creamy mass sometimes and the dogs face is tack sharp.

I am wondering if a 1.4 or 1.2 would do an even better job with the action but I imagine I'd lose to much in the quality and would be farther away so would have to crop more and thus lose more quality.

I do find it to sometimes be too long for some instances but I actually like that as it forces you to take some intersting close up crops that you might not think to do with a zoom. I now know where to be to get the best distance from the dogs as they are gaiting, and can get the whole dog in, and when they are stacked closer up I just get nice head shots and get the stacked ones when they are out having the judge go over them. But yes I would love it even more if it was a zoom.

I agree with Possum Corner, I think with anything less than 1.8 you won't be getting many indoor shots. I used my 70-200 2.8 at first which is why I decided to buy the 1.8.

I almost always use ISO 800 for the indoor shows. It can sometimes be a bit grainy on darker animals but I've found that it prints out really nice.

That lighting thing with the flourescent lights drives me nuts too. One photo will be yellowish the next a nice blue.

I have not shot in raw yet I need to do that, I just go through cards so fast and raw would fill them up a lot faster yet, I haven't done it yet.

It would be a good idea I think to rent a lens to see if you like it, if you can find a place near you. I had to laugh this summer when I went to a horse show to take photos and in my calendar I had written a note that said "Rent the 200 1.8 lens for this show." I had never dreamt at the time I'd ever have one, but I had had mine for several months by then.

(is it possible to post a picture here from my hard drive or do I have to publish it first?)