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The Nikon D80s on ebay all seem to come with an AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens.

Am I correct in thinking this has both wide angle and zoom capabilities?

Are these good lenses or cheapies put in the pack to make the deal sound sweeter?

Yes, you are correct that this lens has a wide angle (18mm) with a zoom through to 135mm. These lenses are not great and are certainly a come on in the sense of it being a price point package.

IMO it is always better to go for a body then add a lens to suit your style of photography.

Well... It is a zoom lens - note the "18-135" which denotes how wide it can go (18mm) vs how long it can go (135mm).

You probably meant - does it have wide and telephoto capabilities (zoom means that it can change focal lengths). And the answer is yes, sort of. 135mm is a medium-ish telephoto length that is quite good for headshot portraits etc, but not quite enough for sports photography unless it is a small field/court.

I take it you would be familiar with point and shoot zoom lenses? As a point of comparison, a typical "10x zoom" camera would probably be in the region of 35-350mm, compared to the adjusted 27-200mm of the 18-135 above.

As far as "kit" lenses go, the 18-135 is not too bad. Certainly not the worst. I think the best kit lens going around is the 18-70 that came with the D70. Smaller range than the 18-135 obviously, but IMO brilliant quality for the money.

Hope that helps

Thanks for that - I guess I should consider buying body and lens separately. Is there a single lens wide angle/zoom combination lens which would be better quality for a beginner or should I get separate lenses?

Probably the 18-200 VR. Never used one since I had that range covered before that lens was available.

Thanks for the help everyone, it's much appreciated. Cheers

Hi guys - have been out of commission for a while.

Already have 18-200 VR and am thinking of getting the D80 body...any reason you can think of why you might actually get the 18-135 that comes with this kit?

Thanks

Feldy