I have a Nikon D70, and im thinking about getting a new lens in a little while. I i will start by saying i know next to nothing about them so im starting to look very early. I have heard that it is possible to get a lens that will do some zooming stuff, and also some macro stuff. This makes me think it could be a good thing since those are the two types im torn between. I don't know anything about them so i don't know if its good or bad or whatever. Any ideas about what would be good would be appreciated.

Milo - lenses that do both of these things tend to be compromised in one form or another, but from what I have read, Nikon's own AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D lens manages to perform both functions very well and it's not too hideously pricey either. You arent really going to get a longer zoom than that I would have thought that has good macro abilities as well. The AF Zoom-Micro Nikkor 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6D ED lens is supposedly a much better macro zoom lens but is twice the price from what I gather.

I have a Tamron 90mm 1:1 macro lens which I find to be excellent. You can see some samples in my gallery if you like. I think my brother had the lens phil mentioned on his camera which had a macro mode; I recall being quite jealous at the time but that was before I got my Tamron ;-) which would be far superior. Personally I would rather have a dedicated lens than one that does both but isn't quite capable of giving the results you really wat - I imagine you'll probably want to spend the money getting something dedicated later down the track anyway.

Milo, what lens do you have already?

ive got the 18-70mm kit lens. I guess i should have mentioned that before:P. Thanks for the ideas though.

So i went down to a local camera store, and was looking around. I thought that would help me decide what to get, but i have a feeling i am farther from where i was before i went. I was thinking it would be good to get some sort of telephoto thing, something like 70-300mm. I was looked at both the Nikkor AF 70-300mm f4-5.6D ED and the Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 APO Macro. Of course the Sigma is chaper, so that is a bonus, and it also has a switch to throw it into a macro mode. That would be nice, but im not sure if it is good being sigma.

Then i came across another problem. I started thinking about a macro lens. I looked at Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG Macro. Now i am starting to think i could have alot of fun with that.

So all of this thinking has really led me to four questions:
1) Is sigma ok, or should i stick with nikon. I kindof have a feeling that nikon is all i should get, but is that true?
2) What do you guys recommend as a second lens. Telephoto, or macro? Which do you use the most and such
3) Should i consider the new Nikon 18-200mm DX VR that has just come out.
4) Do you think i will always run into trouble with 4-5.6 to slow for 300mm?

ok well to decide what kind of lens you want you need to think about what photography you are doing, or what you are planning on going into

Sigma and Tamron make good lenses it comes down to their glass vs. Nikkor glass which is called one of the best out there so yes sigma and tamron is good Nikon is better (you have to decide if that little bit better and the name is worth the extra money)

the new 18-200 is a very nice lens i have tried it for a short peroid and i was impressed with it but also the more things a lens can do, you tend to lose some quality in the images or focusing but it is very nice for the price

i have that 70-300 and the lens is nice but the focusing is very annoying because is isnt internal and it is loud and slow... also if you are using the auto focus it kills your battery much faster then the 18-70 you have... so i would only recommend that lens if you dont mind manual focusing

and also if you are looking at getting a macro you might also want to look into a flash

www.henrys.com go to the used section and check out the lenses on there.. they ship to the nearest store for free then you get it from the store and it has a very good rating system i reccomend them for used stuff

The truth is i would like both:p. I think i am kindof leaning towards the macro now, but i would still be intersted in what you all use the most and enjoy the most. I checked out the website you suggested. There arn't any stores in calgary, so not sure if i would be going there. What would you people think the advantages and disadvantages of a sigma lens. Also does anyone know of some good reviews i can read over?

wow i never realized henrys was only in ontario and the states i thought it was all of canada... the sigma lens over the nikon lens, the only advantages i would say that it has is price and falls behind on the other areas. but keep in mind it may not fall far behind and it might make still the better choice due to price

http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_surv.html

Whoever writes that site seems to know what hes doin with nikkor lenses if you want to check it out but sorry i dont know anything similar for sigma equipment

He got the Macro!!!

but he made me want to go out and buy the Sigma 10-20 DX, what do you think?

so your hijacking my thread for your purposes eh.