Oh the delima! D80 replacement lens

[znelbok]

So I reported a couple of weeks ago that my D80 with its 18-135mm lens took a dive off the top bunk while we were on a cruise and snapped the plastic bayonet ring on the lens.

I have since replaced the ring on the lens and everything still works, but this is the second drop for the lens and the pictures are decidedly soft now so I think the lens is out of whack a bit.

This prompted me to buy a D600 and I got a 24-70mm F2.8 lens to go with it which is awesome.

I don't want to get rid of the D80 because the wife actually owns it and will use it and i am trying to get the kids interested in photography (which they have on and off).

So I want to get a lens that is a decent all-rounder, nothing over the top but I cant decide if I should just buy FX lens lens that is suitable for both or get a DX solely for this camera (yeah I can a DX on the D600 as well in crop mode).

The 18-300mm DX seems great but at $1K its a lot for a DX lens (see below).

The 28-300mm FX ($800) also seems like a good choice since its cheaper (the 28-200 is also an option), but on the DX I calculate it to be a 42-450mm which is probably not quite wide enough at the bottom end. it suits the 600 fine though.

So what do I do? Can anyone recommend a lens for me. Does not have to be Nikon, but I want something decent for walking around with that is not too heavy and will work well on both cameras.

Mick

[arthurking83]

28-300! .. yeah it's narrow but still usable in most situations.
When you want it to be wide, you have the D600 for that.

Sorry to hear about your now soft lens, 'spose it's to be expected.

I have a friends 18-105VR here with me waiting to be fixed .. as soon as the mount(s) arrive.(I bought a pack of 6 quite cheap)
She has a D7000 and the issue there is that it may have taken a bit of a knock and the focusing system is a bit out of whack.
(it's not focusing as well as I'd expect it too).

You could also add an 18-55VR to the mix for the wider stuff on the D80, I guess. They're kind'a cheap nowadays.

[J.davis]

I have been looking at a Nikon 24-120 FX lens for travelling with the D7000 - might be worth a look, as it will work on the D600 as well.