Travel Photography - Which 2 lenses for my "new to me " Nikon D70s

Hi

I just bought a Nikon D70s body today at the electronics show ,
no battery , no lens , The seller had 10 of them !
and it was only $125

Yes I put his only battery and lens on it, powered it up and it worked fine ,

So now I need a lens or 2 for it , if it was a 35mm camera probably a 50mm and a 35-105 or so, but not sure about a big digital.

But what good used "cheap" lens would be a good one to look for ?

does a D70s have zoom in the body or is it in the lens ?

Auto focus would be nice , also macro so I could take good pictures for ebay,

What should I look for , what should I stay away from,
its replacing a $100 point and shoot Nikon so I do not expect miracles :)

Will lens off 35mm Nikon cameras work ?

I do NOT take care of my gear , I use it as a tool , its thrown in the car , taken to vintage car races, car shows , swap meets , and just to play around ,

So any advise ?
or if you have a cheap decent lens collecting dust send me a PM

Thanks for your help

Rally

Any Nikon (or Nikon mount) autofocus lenses will work with a D70s. Manual focus lenses will mount and focus, but metering will be an issue.

The Nikon "kit set" of an 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses would do very nicely. Get the one that have vibration reduction (VR) capability. Both are readily available on eBay.

If I travel light, I bring my Nikon 35mm 1.8 and Tamron 17-50 2.8 with my D300
Yes, with d70s, older lens should work

The Nikon 18-70mm zoom was bundled with the D70s. It's also a good travel light lens (with or without the 35mm).

It all depends on what your needs are. But as already pointed out by earlier posters, the 18-70 mm kit lens is not a bad choice. It is not the sharpest lens in the world, but it has a very useful zoom range and can be had for very little money.

As for the second lens, a 70-200 mm zoom would give you a nice coverage from 18 mm all the way to 200 mm. Another (or additional) option would be to get a fast prime, such as the 50 mm f/1.8 or even f/1.4. The primes are very sharp and good for low light shooting. My 50 mm f/1.4 is my main go-to lens and if I only could have one lens, that would be it.

The D70s has a DX sensor so it can use the lighter and less expensive DX lenses but it has no problems using a FX lens, either.

Cheers,
T.

Hi

thanks for the posts .

are all the Nikon lenses made by Nikkor ?

is the quality thru the years the same ?

thanks again

Rally

All of it. I'm a Canon guy, but Thalassa knows what he/she is talking about. One wide zoom, one long zoom (I lean toward a 70-300 instead of a 70-200, but I like shooting birds) and a fast prime for low light (my cheap 5/1.8 50mm broke, so I make do with better-quality 28mm and 85mm ones for now).

Nikon 18-200 DX zoom and a Nikon 35mm f1.8 Dx

Hi

thanks for the posts .

are all the Nikon lenses made by Nikkor ?

is the quality thru the years the same ?

thanks again

Rally

It is rather the other way around – all Nikkor lenses are made by Nikon. Nikon originally reserved the Nikkor designation for its highest-quality lenses, but in recent history almost all Nikon lenses are so branded.

Is the quality the same across the lineup and years? No.

Nikon offers several lens series at several price points. While you typically get what you pay for, there are few truly bad lenses in the lineup. Nikkor lenses are typically good to excellent optically and cheapish to indestructible mechanically.

Take the 50 mm primes for instance. The 50 mm f/1.4 costs around $400 while the 50 mm f/1.8 goes for about $100. The 1.4 has better optics and better build quality, but is it 4X better? For most users the answer is probably not; for those who really need the extra stop and the sturdier construction the answer is definitely.

I'd say that you first need to figure out what kinds of shooting you plan to do, then figure out what kind of lens combo you need for it and then define your budget. Then get the best lens combo you can get for the money.

You will almost invariably end up with a shopping list that exceeds your budget. In this case, I would suggest you should decrease the number of lenses instead of compromising on the quality. I would much rather have fewer high quality lenses than a closet full of lower quality stuff.

Cheers,
T.

The Tamron 18-270mm Di II VC LD ... zoom lens maybe all you need. If new, it would set you back $600. Check eBay for cheaper used gear.

The Tamron 18-270mm Di II VC LD ... zoom lens maybe all you need. If new, it would set you back $600. Check eBay for cheaper used gear.

While the Tamron (and other similar "super zooms") are undoubtedly handy, they in my opinion somewhat defeat the purpose of a DSLR. A single lens with a very large zoom range is, by necessity, a compromise. The image quality is not as good as with lenses with smaller zoom ranges plus the 6.3 maximum aperture at the tele end is quite slow and restricts low light shooting quite significantly.

Having a lens like the Tamron means that you are not likely to miss shots because you don't have the right focal lenght. But it may mean that you sacrifice image quality across the board and miss some low-light shots due to not having a fast enough lens.

But, having said that, I do know many people who are happy with the Tamron lens. Different photographers, different needs.

Cheers,
T.

...... A single lens with a very large zoom range is, by necessity, a compromise. .....

You are right about "compromise". That applies to any and all lenses. Life itself is a compromise.

But, having said that, I do know many people who are happy with the Tamron lens. Different photographers, different needs. .......

Yes, agree again. My Bold.

Unquestionably the Nikon 35/1.8G. The 18-70/3.5-4.5 as someone else suggested is a great second lens, but really depend on that 35/1.8G. That lens is unbelievably good.

While the Tamron (and other similar "super zooms") are undoubtedly handy, they in my opinion somewhat defeat the purpose of a DSLR. A single lens with a very large zoom range is, by necessity, a compromise.

But, having said that, I do know many people who are happy with the Tamron lens. Different photographers, different needs.

Cheers,
T.

I shot with a Nikon D100 and Tamron 28-300 for a few years in the past.

It was still much much better image quality and versatility than a P&S.

If I ever get a DSLR again, I'll be buying the new Tamron 18-270 PZD.

24-70 and 70-200, but if I am traveling light primes depending on where I am going...Nikon has some pretty interesting glass, 14-24 is one I wish Sony had in the mount :mad: