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I'm about to buy my first Digital SLR camera (looking at the Nikon D70S), and I'd like to know about lenses. The kit I'm looking at on Amazon right now comes with 18-70mm and 55-200mm Nikkor lenses. The 18-70mm apparently has a 3.4x zoom or so, and the 55-200mm has a 3.0x zoom. However, It seems like this is not all and I am missing something. I'm looking at the technical information for the two lenses and I don't understand much of what they are saying. They mention picture angles a lot, and I'm just confused now. Can somebody please help me understand this, and let me know what lenses I should be using for what? Thanks!

very quick primer:

the millimeter numbers refer to the optical length of the lens. the smaller the number, the wider the angle. For instance, if you want a picture of a whole football field at once, while close up to it, you would pick a lower number (18mm, or 24mm, or similar).

If you are trying to take a picture of just one football player (or bird on a branch, etc - something farther away), you would probably choose a longer lens - which is sort of a small telescope. Maybe a 150 or 200mm.

All this is complicated a bit with most DSLRs because the millimeter numbers are calibrated for 35mm film, and the digital is slightly smaller. So alot of what they are telling you is how the lens acts, in relation to film. For the most part, you won't have to worry about this right now. It just means that while 18mm is very very wide on film, it is not quite as wide on the digital. Not a big deal, and if you are not already used to the old style, not usually an issue at all.

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the f stop that photonojustu mentioned, refers to how much light the lens lets in. The smaller the number (1.8, 2.8, etc) the more light, and usually the better and more expensive the lens is. Kit lenses are usually a compromise between a low number, and an affordable price, so are a good place to start.

You can also adjust the fstop when taking a picture, in order to control the depth of field (how much is in focus) as well as to better control what shutter speed you want to use (if you want to stop motion, or slightly blur it, for instance). This you'll learn as you take more pictures.

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Any other data on the lens will refer to the filter size (designated by an O with a line through it) - this tells you what size filter you would need to buy to screw on the front of the lens.

There will usually also be designations by the manufacturer for the types of lens, quality level (in some cases) and compatibility or autofocus methods. With a kit lens set up, this is usually again a compromise, and a fine place to start until you learn more about what features are important to you and why.

Hope that helps some.

Yeah, Rouge is pretty awesome like that. ninja I don't think they make lesnes that'd fit onto my camera, otherwise, I'd get one. x.o;