Newbie (first post) and Q on wide angle f1.4 lens & batteries

Hello all,
I been lurking on the boards for sometime and finally signed up. I am looking for recommendations on a wide angle lens with a fstop of around 1.4.

As far as what I shoot - it is a mixed bag but typically people/photojournalism. I was a photo major in high school and for two years in high school and switched to graphic design. I am currently working for a college in which they have given me the task to take pictures since I take "great" shots. I haven't imagined myself taking pictures as a career in YEARS but always kept up with it as a hobby. So now they keep making more demands on what they would like so I am trying hard to play catch-up on everything.

Anyway, My ideal would be a lens with a 1.4 fstop so I can have shallow depth of field and I have found the appeal of a wide angle. I shoot with a Nikon but I am certainly not married to Nikon lenses.

My personal camera: Nikon D70, saving up for a 700.

Work camera: D80


ADDED: I also run into this issue with my nikon speedlight flash (SB-800). The batteries are dead with in 25-50 pictures shot. They are freshly charged re-rechargable energizer batteries, how do you pro's keep your batteries going? Constant changes - some form of battery pack?

Thanks in advance!

SB800 issue: Battery capacity.

What's the milliamp/hour rating of your batteries? And how old are they? 25-50 shots seems VERY low. I use batteries with 2500 mA/hour capacity and I use two sets. usually get a few hundred flashes off each set of batteries. I take the charger with me and when I switch to the second set I fast-charge the first set. They're ready long before the second set is drained.

I never knew about mA! Learning so much lately. Anyway the batteries I am using are 270mA for 16 hours. What type of batteries do you find that mA to be 2500?

They were purchased late last year along with our 30 min charger.

I use in my flash the Sony 2500mAh Rechargeable (I have about 6 packs of 4 AA) Also I have their fast charger it only takes 15 min to charge (even though I have never needed to use it at a job, it's nice to know you can re-charge that fast) One set of AA (4 in the flash) lasts me few hundred flashes too (when you see the re-cycle time slowing down it's time to put in your backups) The batteries have made it more than 2 years. But again I do have 6 packs of 4.

Anyway the batteries I am using are 270mA for 16 hours.

That's a very oddball rating. Batteries almost always use milli-Amps per [1] hour, not mA for a certain number of hours.

What type of batteries do you find that mA to be 2500?

Stari uses Sony. I've got two different brands. Don't be concerned about what brand you get, but always check the mAh rating.

thank you for the info everyone!