d50 lens

[winged_fear]

what is the difference between the 28-80mm and the 18-55 mm lens. i kinda need it explaned in newbie terms

[Jason25]

The 18-55 is the D50's "real" kit lens. The 28-80 is a lower-cost alternative that places have been selling with the D50. The 18-55 is actually made for Nikon's digital bodies, while the 28-80 can be used with film as well.

If you're trying to decide between the 2, get the 18-55. An even better, though more expensive option, is to skip both lenses and get the 18-70 DX.

[winged_fear]

thanks that solved a little bit but what do the numbers mean that i think is the real question. or atleast for me

[Jason25]

Those numbers are the focal range of the lens. It can zoom from 18mm to 55mm. This should help: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/focal_lengths.shtml

[coldrain]

The 28-80 was/is sort of a kit lens for lower end film SLR bodies from Nikon.
This range has become so popular, that it has come to be known as sa standard zoom lens.

28 is moderately wide angle, to fit houses in the photo, to offer a bit wider views on landscapes. 50mm is the "standard" focal lenght, photos give the best impression of how we view the world with our eyes. 80mm is a nice lenght for portraits, a slight tele with a shortening effect, which is flattering in portraits.

Now, your D50 has a smaller sensor than the film in a 35mm film camera. Because of this, parts of the image get cut off. The sensor is 1.5 times smaller, and so the cropping that takes place is called a 1.5x crop factor.
Becauseof this crop factor, the field of view on the photo changes. On your D50, 28mm becomes 42mm, 80mm becomes 120mm.
For DSLR's with APS-C sensors they came therefore with new lenses, and the standard zoom is now 18-55mm. This translates with the crop factor into 18 -> 27mm, and 55 -> 82.5mm.

As you can see, 27-82.5mm is darn close to 28-80. So, to have a moderate wideangle to portrait range, you best choose the 18-55 (if you want to keep costs low for now, and want just one lens to start with).