New and clueless about lenses.

[camerajill]

Which is the more versatile lens to buy:

Nikkor 28-80mm or Nikkor 18-55mm?

I'm just starting out, so I just want a good all-purpose lens that will get me through most situations inside and out, as well as upclose portraits.

Thanks.

[rawpaw18]

Camerajill
The 28-80mm is not a great lens, that is why you see that kit cheaper than the 18-55mm kit. Sometimes they almost give this lens away when you compare it to the cost of the body alone.
Personally when shooting indoors I like the 18mm wide starting point to get candid shots of my kids. You can get in more of the action, of what is going on around the kids. The 1.5x crop factor of the sensor on the D50 makes the 28-80 lens comparable to a 42-120mm on a film slr. Which may depending on your shooting style be just too wide for indoor kid shot. I keep mentioning kids becasuse of your other post about your camera choices. If you are set on the Nikon D50, maybe consider the body only and the 18-70mm Nikon or perhaps a third party lens such as the Sigma 18-125mm or the Sigma 18-200mm.

[cdifoto]

Which is the more versatile lens to buy:

Nikkor 28-80mm or Nikkor 18-55mm?

I'm just starting out, so I just want a good all-purpose lens that will get me through most situations inside and out, as well as upclose portraits.

Thanks.


Neither of those lenses is a good "do all" lens. If you really want something for all-in-one, go for the Sigma 18-125mm. That's wide to short telephoto so you can get both close portraits without being too close as well as wider room covering shots. Downside is it'd be virtually impossible to handhold indoors or anywhere light isn't optimal. That's where a prime comes in. Most of the more versatile photographers (ie not specialists) have some zooms for the convenience, as well as primes for lowlight shooting so they're covered for most anything.

[jeisner]

Neither of those lenses is a good "do all" lens. If you really want something for all-in-one, go for the Sigma 18-125mm.

Have to agree the Sigma 18-125 is a good 'walkaround' kit lens to start out with...

[coldrain]

The 18-55 is actually quite a good lens, performance wise. The 28-80 is just an old kitlens for an entry level 35mm film SLR that they are dumping as "kit". It does not perform as well as the 18-55 and you will lose the wide angle end, because of the 1.5x crop factor. The 18-55 is to the D50 what the 28-80 was to 35mm film SLRs.

If you want more reach from just one lens, the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 seems to be a very attractive offering.