Nikon D70: Lens choices?

[jokola]

I am about to buy a D70 which will mostly be used to shoot portraits, weddings, events, school classrooms, etc. I already have a Nikon 50mm 1.8, a Tamron 70-300 1:2 macro and (maybe) a Tamron 28-200XR (it's in for repairs... so who knows!), plus a Sigma 28-105.

My film camera is a Nikon N80, so if I could I would want to use new lenses on both cameras.

I am debating between the following lenses:

Tamron 19-35 vs. Nikon 18-35
Tamron 28-75 (fixed 2.8) vs. Nikon 24-120 (newer VR version)
Tamron 90 macro vs. newer Tamron 90 Macro (Di version)

I am open to suggestions, but can't even consider a lens that costs more than $750.

Thanks,

Jennie

[another view]

How about Nikon's 18-70 DX lens, which is the kit lens that comes with the D70? It'll be the equivalent of your 28-105 on your film camera. Since the angle of view on the D70 is 1.5X what it is on 35mm, the 28mm lens will have the effective focal length of a 42mm lens which might not be wide enough for group shots.

The DX lenses won't work on your film camera, and you're pretty well covered in the mid-range focal lengths there. The 50 would be good on both cameras in low light situations.

[jokola]

Thanks, I should have included the kit 18-70 DX lens in my list of possibilities.

For my "main" lens, I am debating three:

The 18-70 DX kit lens

The 24-120 AFS VR lens

The 24-85 AFS lens

The 24-120 looks impressive but many early posts from 2003 indicate there were some quality control issues. Does anyone know if there is still a problem with new lenses having focusing problems?

The early release 18-70 kit lenses also seemed to have quality issues. Is this still likely to be a problem?

Thanks,

Jennie

How about Nikon's 18-70 DX lens, which is the kit lens that comes with the D70? It'll be the equivalent of your 28-105 on your film camera. Since the angle of view on the D70 is 1.5X what it is on 35mm, the 28mm lens will have the effective focal length of a 42mm lens which might not be wide enough for group shots.

The DX lenses won't work on your film camera, and you're pretty well covered in the mid-range focal lengths there. The 50 would be good on both cameras in low light situations.

[another view]

I have to say that I've never used any of those lenses - I've got an older Nikon 20-35 f2.8 which has served me pretty well, and since I shoot both 35mm and digital it works for all of my cameras.

I have heard very good things about the 18-70 and 24-85 but so-so things about the 24-120. Personally I'd rather have lens speed (maximum aperture) instead of VR but it's a useful tool. Both is best though! Even at 24mm (which is a much wider view than 28), you're still at a 36mm angle of view which might not be wide enough in some cases. I'm gonna stick with the 18-70 recommendation...

I use the 20-35 mentioned and 28-80 Tokina lens most of the time whether film or digital. For low light, I have a 50 f1.4 and an 85 f1.4 - fast lenses like this are really great in low light because you can see much easier thru the viewfinder to focus (and the camera can see better to autofocus).