Best standard zoom for a D70s?

Hi all,

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I'm shortly migrating from a old Canon EOS 500 to a nice new D70s.

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Body and flash are decided. But I'm at my wits end when chosing a lens.

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I could just go for the standard kit 18-70, which seems to get good

reviews. But I'm wondering if I can go a little better.

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Current considerations are:

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1. Standard kit 18-55.

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2. Nikon 24mm-85mm 2.8f-4f D.

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3. Nikon 24mm-120mm VR.

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Price is a consideration and if I go for a cheaper option I can

compliment the standard zoom with either a Nikon 50mm f1.8 (which

seems highly recomended by this forum and I fancy a prime for a

change), or possibly 70-300.

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My main reason (excuse) for the new kit is becasue we are excpecting a

baby in December.

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For this reason - Wide angle isn't too important. <br>

Sharpness is important. <Br>

A fast lens could be handy, as could VR (as I don't want to use direct

flash).<br>

must be at least 24mm at the wide end.

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My favorite at the moment is the Nikon 24mm-85mm 2.8f-4f D. But I have

read some bad reviews regarding quality control.

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Any advice? Any other suggestions?

18-55 and 55-200

18-70 DX over 18-55 if you want quality.

17-55 DX can be pricey.

Terms of sharpness best of it all apart from pro lenses is the 24-85 AFS, from my readings its shaprer than 24-85/2.8-4 but less in speed.

I'd go with the kit lens. It really is the "best standard zoom for D70".

you'll be happy with the kit lens. your next step up are primes.

Yeah, I've taken almost 2000 pics with the 18-70 and have no complaints. Next buy is the 50mm 1.8 (I have a wonderful 50mm 1.4 AI but it won't meter on the D70). After that probably the new Sigma 30mm.

 

Scott<div></div>

I have the 18-70DX and 24-120 VR. For the 24-120 VR is the better choice.

 

With midrange zooms I expect to do a lot of handholding. My hands are not very steady any more and the VR technology enables me to handhold again. That's a huge factor.

 

The lenses are comparable in every other significant factor: perceived sharpness, contrast, flare resistance, etc. The 24-120 VR is slightly sharper over a slightly wider focal range, roughly 35mm to 100mm or so. The sweet spot of the 18-70DX is roughly 24mm-50mm, maybe 60mm. Both need to be stopped down one stop for good sharpness and there's a significant improvement when this is done. Both suffer from diffraction when stopped down too much, as is true with most lenses.

 

The 24-120 VR is bigger and heavier, which doesn't matter much on my D2H, an already big, heavy camera. If you want to keep the D70s compact the 18-70DX might be a better choice. And if you have steady hands and can hold steady at 1/15-1/30 sec., the 18-70DX or any non-VR lens might be a good choice.

 

IMO, a good lens kit for the D70/s would be the 18-70DX, 70-300 ED (not the cheaper non-ED version) and the 50mm f/1.8D AF-Nikkor.

 

The two zooms will cover a wide range of needs better than a single "superzoom". The ED element in the 70-300 ED really makes a difference compared with the cheaper version. And the 50/1.8 is the best value. It's sharper than almost every other Nikkor, regardless of price, can enable handholding in very dim lighting, allows the choice of shallow depth of field to minimize distracting backgrounds and can be manually focused - if desired - more easily than the two zooms, which have mediocre manual focus feel.

 

BTW, even if you think you don't want to use direct flash, Nikon's dedicated flash is excellent. Using it outdoors, at least, will help your people pix. And I think a snap-on diffuser is available from Nikon for the built in flip up flash.

The kit lens (18-70) is quite nice (I love mine) BUT for your usage, I think you can save a few bucks and be equally happy (if not happier). I have seen quite a few VERY impressive photos taken with the Nikon 28-105 and it turns out it has quite a reputation for its sharpness. The good news is that you can pick 'em up on eBay for around $200 or buy 'em new for around $300. For your baby pics (and growing baby), I think you'll find it more useful to have a bit more choices on the telephoto end rather than the wide angle end.

 

BTW--The photos I saw on here that impressed me with their sharpness, put my 18-70 to absolute shame in that aspect (granted, I don't have many shots taken on a tripod to compare them and don't know if the 28-105 shots were taken on a tripod or not). But, they were some of the sharpest shots I've seen in a long time.

Thanks for the <b>useful</b> awnsers. :)<p>Especialy for posting the example shot from the standard 18-70, quite impressive. Much better than my current Cannon 28-70.<p>

I'm kinda in favour of the 24-120 VR now, though I quite like the idea of having a apature ring, if I'd actualy find this useful in real life I don't know.<p>

Babies are indoors a lot and you need the 50mm 1.8 or something else fast to get best results. Any of the variable aperture zooms will require flash or high ISO, both of which will detract from your photos. Int he first year, you can get as close as you want (your baby can't get away) so a zoom is less important, but I'd want a macro feature for little hands, etc., if I could get one. Later, as your children age, a longer zoom like the 55-200 will help you catch them.

There are very good reasons that Nikon packages the 18-70mm DX with the D70 and D70s as their kit lens. By no means it is the best lens Nikon has ever produced, but for roughly $300, it is a very good choice. The traditional zooms that starts from 24 or 28mm are simply not wide enough on the D70s. The newer 18-55mm DX is intended to be a much cheaper alternative for the less demanding users of the D50.

"I have the 18-70DX and 24-120 VR. For the 24-120 VR is the better choice."

 

Whoops. I meant to write "... for ME the 24-120 VR is the better choice."

I bought the 24-120VR for a film camera a couple of years ago, and the 18-70 with the D70. Both lens are good on the D70, but the 24-120 is a better quality lens. The problem is 24mm is not very wide on the D70. I recomend the kit lens, and pick up a tele. zoom later.

Just wondering which flash you picked. I love my SB600. Can be used wireless with the D70 in commander mode.

I'm no too worried by the 24mm wide end, thats about 36mm in traditional terms, which ok, isn't very wide. But should just about be ok for what I want. (I have a Nikon digital compact with a wide end of 35mm and I seem to get on ok with that).

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Having seed that, if I decide to go for the 24-120 VR I can see myself buying a wide zoom/prime to cover the wide end of the spectrum.

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At the moment the 24-120 is my favorite, the longer focal length, slightly better image quality over a slightly larger range and Vibration Reduction are all very useful.

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The only down side is the 24mm wide end, which can be fixed with the addition of a wide lens.

"Just wondering which flash you picked. I love my SB600. Can be used wireless with the D70 in commander mode."<p>

 

Yep, I've picked the SB600 as well. Don't need anything facny.

Sometimes the lens need some help...

What is the point to discuss?

Quality lens or digital "dark room" knowledge?

Creativity or new camera?

 

Roberto