Tamron lenses for film vs 18 - 105 VR kit lens?

Hi there --- new to forum and new DSLR owner. I just brought home the D7000 with 18-105 VR kit , and am wondering if I should return it for the body only.

For the last few years I've been using a Panasonic FZ20 digital, but the smallest aperture available is 8, and I find that very restrictive when i need greater depth of field, hence stepping up to a DSLR. The extra 11 MP doesn't hurt either.

I already have a couple of Tamron lenses bought for my Nikon N80 film 35mm SLR at least 10 years ago. One is the AF Aspherical LD IF 28 - 200 1:3.8 - 5.6 72 zoom, the other is an SP AF 90mm F/2.8 Macro 1:1.

I like shooting macro, so I know I want to keep that one, and I like the zoom for landscape and general walking about. I wonder how the Nikkor kit lens compares with the Tamron zoom? Would they be redundant, or is there a reason to keep both of them? I like the 200, and often wished that I'd gotten the 300, so if I ditch one, it would probably be the Nikkor.

I don't photograph people much, mostly wild things and landscapes. I also do woodturning, so the other main use would be to shoot pictures of turnings: vases, southwest style hollow forms, bowls, pens, and such. I think the macro will be a bit long for this. I want these to be free of wide angle distortions. I would be open to a prime lens for this, but don't have any currently.

I am thinking of moving up to the successor of the D700, whenever it is released, so I'm not sure that I want to get any (many) more DX lenses. I don't often need really wide angle shots either. Is the Nikkor a true 18-105 in DX mode, or is it subject to the same conversion factor as a 35mm film lens?

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Dan

Hi Dan,

I have the Tamron 28-200 and I enjoy using it with my D700. It's very light and does a decent job. But I find the 18-105 a little sharper than the Tamron specially on the D7000. The 18-105 is a true 18-105 so with the DX conversion it is equivalent to a 27-157 on a full frame. But if you use it with a D-700, it will only cover the DX format, cropping about 50% of your image. So the 18-105 on the D7000 would probably outperform the 18-105 on the D-700 except for the high ISO situations and even then…
You also mention that you will use it to take pictures of objects probably in your shop. For this use, you will enjoy the benefits of VR believe me.

So, if it was me, I'd keep the lens since it performs very nicely on the D7000.

Thanks Marcel. I guess I'll keep the Nikkor lens and just play around with both zooms to get a feel for what the differences might be. The photos of turned objects will be done using a tent, neutral gradient backdrop and tripod, with maybe a few in progress shots taken in the shop. The high ISO available with the new camera should cut down the exposures quite a bit. Charged the batter tonight, hope to get a few shots off tomorrow, though there will be a LOT to learn about operating this thing, a lot more complicated than either my film camera or the digital I've been using. I know my exposure basics, but there are so many new terms and settings, and menus to learn.

Dan