good lense for both N80 and D70 recommendation.

[photosmile]

Hi everybody, I am looking for a good all around lense for my N80 and very near future D70. I have a Tamron 28mm-200mm right now for the N80 but it takes ok picture. I don't want to invest in the D70 lense kit since I can't use the lense with the N80. Can anyone recommend a good telephoto zoom lense between 20mm-120mm range for both cameras? Thanks so much in advance.
PS. How good is the lense that come with the D70 kit?

[Acadia25]

The 24-85 AFS nikkor is a very nice all around lens. You may find that it is not wide enough for the D70 (approximately 36 at the wide end).

The kit lens with the D70 is supposed to be very good. AFS and reportedly sharp. There are some pictures taken with it scattered about this website, but of course, judging a lens based on web images is an inaccurate method at best.

Both lens are a very good value.

Good luck!

[another view]

I've heard nothing but great things about the new Tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens. Should work fine full frame (35mm film) too. It's very small, light weight, sharp, constant f2.8 aperture(!) and sells for about $350. I don't think you can go wrong with this lens except that 28mm isn't very wide on a D70.

[Audrey S.]

For my N-80 and D-100, I have two lenses that are my workhorses: a Nikkor 28-80 and another Nikkor, 70-300. I love both these lenses, not least because they are very lightweight, important to me as I have nerve damage in my hands from neck problems . They're sharp, stable -- and likely not cheap (they were gifts, so I don't know). I've tried Tamrons out for special shoots, and since I shoot "raw" files, the Tamrons resolution just doesn't hold up for me.

Hope this helps!

AGS

[Acadia25]

Hi Audrey,

I'm glad to hear that you like your zooms so much. Cheap is a relative term, but they are less expensive than most Nikon lenses. If you like those lenses, and have "special shoots" with raw files, you may want to try out a 50mm 1.8 Nikkor. For less than a hundred bucks you can have a very fast lens that is one of the sharpest that Nikon offers. As much as you like your zooms, I think that you will be pleasantly surprised at the resolution from that little 50mm lens (which would be a nice 75mm on your D100.)

Have fun!

[Audrey S.]

Sounds like it would be a nice everyday addition to the armament for this summer's vacation!

Thanks for the tip, I'll plant the seed with my DH (he likes to buy these things, and I like to let him ;).)

AGS

[photosmile]

Thank you everybody for taking your precious time to answer my question. I guess I have to stop by the store and try on the lenses. Doug