Nikon D50 lens for student

[tamalsen]

Hi,

I am a film student and I need to practice my framing skills extensively for the next few years.Right now I have barely enough money to buy the nikon D50 body and one lens.

I do have a weakness towards macro photography and black & white portraitures.But I need to buy a lens which will fit my all round needs for the time being...I read in dpreview conclusion that the kit lens wasnt good enough.Please suggest me a lens which will suit my needs.I am guessing my average needs should be met by a 28-80 mm lens but I am a novice so I could be wrong.Please help me out.An suggestions you can give is most welcome.Thanks in advance.

[Jason25]

First question, how much is your budget for a lens after the D50 body?

[tamalsen]

The maximum i can shell out is around 200$ but even then thats stretching my limits.What i had thought was that i would buy a lens which would make do for now and i would later save up for a lens which will take care of the telephoto range...

[Jason25]

I have the 18-70 DX Nikkor, and absolutely love it. Fast focusing (it's got AF-S), lightweight, and is generally right around $200 on the used market. With the FoV factor, it equates to a 27-105mm. You can shoot fairly close-up with it as well. Here's a couple samples I took in Mexico recently with the 18-70.

http://home.comcast.net/~jmodzik/Mexicoflowerweb.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~jmodzik/mexicokyleweb.jpg

[tamalsen]

First let me aplogize for the late reply.I want to thank all of you for helping me understand which is the right lens for me.I went ahead and bought the Nikon D50 ,but the shop said that they are out of stock temporarily of the Dx 17-70 lens...So they said that I can use a 18-55 lens for the next 2 days while they get me my 17-70 lens.I am using it right now.Day after tomorrow i will have my real lens with me. I do have a few nagging doubts about the lens/camera( my inexperience is at fault here.) I noticed a few things which has me wondering..if you guys could explain them to me...First and foremost i am noticing that when i am focusing in AF mode,the lens fails to focus in many a case(in daylight in a room with ample sunlight) and it tries for a while after which it extends the lens completely which makes it totally out of focus and stays there.Doesnt respond.This happens 3 out of 10 times.IN low light (say a room with minimal sunlight in daytime or artificial light at night) its worse.the Af assist lamp switches on but still the same thing happens.But here it is more frequent.Moreover say I try to focus at a shelf 7 feet away.the AF lamp switches on for a while when the camera attempts to focus,then switches off...if i try again...same thing happens.by the third or the fourth try,the AF assist lamp doesnt switch on anymore.I read in the troubleshoot page that this might be because the lamp had become hot due to continious use and needs to cool down.The other 2 things are about the physical appearance of the lens and the viewfinder.I found a discolored spot on the lens glass towards the outermost perimeter..the spot is miniature and it will take a long time for anyone to actually notice it.Its not a physical damage,but rather looks like discoloring in the coating.And in the viewfinder,above the top bracket i can see a dark speck.
I know these probably sounds silly but i would appreciate anything you have to say in this matter.