allen_a_george said:
Hi Steve,
Currently I own the 18-70 (D70 kit) & the 50 1.8 In retrospect, both were mixed blessings.
I appreciate the fact that the 18-70 is a good lens for the price. I wish however, that I'd known more at the time to buy a fixed apeture lens. There are times when I zoom in to 70mm, that I'm frustrated at the change to f/5.6. But we live with what we have :~) If a newcomer asked for my opinion on which lens to get with the D70, I'd suggest the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8. This is also the one reason I'm really leaning towards the Tokina instead of the Sigma wide angle. It's a hard choice. 2mm extra and somewhat mixed reviews vs. constant aperture and general satisfaction...
I really love the ability to shoot handheld - even as the light's fading. That was one of the reasons I bought the 50mm f/1.8. It does give me the ability to reduce my DOF significantly - something I enjoy! But for some reason, it's not on my camera a lot. I don't know why...
Unfortunately I don't use my camera enough (other priorities) to figure out what I really want in terms of lens choices. I'll figure it out over time though.
I hope :~)
I wish I was more familiar with the two zooms you're see-sawing, but I don't. Not sure what the negatives on the mixed reviews are one the one, but I would try to find out which one seems to be sharper, that can be a hard slog... sometimes searching in the *cough* dpreview nikon lens forum can be helpful, but always remember you read things there from authors with varying skill levels, etc. Maybe google both of them and look for reviews too.
Trust me, having a box full of primes is no picnic. Depending on your bag(s) especially it can be a real pain in the patoot. I have a think tank belt that holds all my primes (non micro, at least) and it totally rocks because it's the ultimate in accessibility (imho, of course), but even with good accessibility, it's a lot of work switching out lenses all the time - not to mention the fact that you'll have to clean the sensor a lot more because of all the lens changes. But the upside is fast to very fast glass, great bokeh, less flare and usually better to much better sharpness compared to a zoom you might own. The latter outweighs the former for me, but I DO pack and use my zooms when I shoot in good light, and it can be a much easier trip when I do

) But I always carry a few primes no matter what I'm doing. eg, I usually pack my 60mm micro in my tamrac velocity backpack (which I always wear with the think tank).
It's a lot to think about... but doing your homework will give you a better chance of being happy with the purchases you make.
Have fun! :shock: