Quote Originally Posted by tprep77
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Weight - no big deal. As long as it is not some massive beast I can handle a heavier lens.
Use - Travel. Mostly vacation pictures. Super zoom not really important, quality shots of the two of us together. Also have a couple nephews, I like have a good lens on there when they are around which is fast enough to capture them when they are playing and what not.

Here are the lenses that I have now:
18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G 6G ED II AF-S DX
55mm - 200mm f/4-5.6G ED AF-S DX VR
Nikon 70-300mm VR f/4.5-5.6 G AF-S
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D-AF LENS - NI5018DAF

I keep the 18-55mm on the camera most of the time. The quality is very low, the plastic feels cheap, it seems fairly slow, the I just do not like it.
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I use the Nikon 18-55 non VR and Sigma 55-200 with my D60 when I'm on vacation or for anything risky. Good performance, small, inexpensive - OK the lenses don't feel good but I don't have to use them all the time. I can understand you saying you can cope with heavier lenses

Some massive beast = the Nikon 28-70 f2.8. It unbalances the body. It feels fine with the battery pack on my D300, this is really a combination I can hold on to and all the controls are just under my fingers. But it's a big combination that I use for an assignment like a wedding, not for walking around all day.

You don't define what you mean by "quality" but this is how I would rate the lenses you mention:

Nikon 24-120VR = does not have a good reputation for optical performance. It's intended for a camera with a bigger sensor (the D700)
Nikon 18-200VR = Feels a bit lightweight in construction, especially at the tele end with the long tube extended
Nikon 16-85VR = Feels rock solid, very heavry for it's size. This lens is intended for professionals and I think it's what you want
Tamron 18-270 = Never tried it but it seems to me that Tamron are pushing the limits too far with such an extreme zoom. At f6.3 the Nikon autofocus is not supposed to work any more (but it does)