Nikon lens recommendations?

My daughter just received a D200 from her father-in-law. She has the use of a couple of his lenses for now but will have to by her own eventually. She's interested in getting decent walk around lens that is suitable for general photography (landscapes and such) as well as pictures of her kids. She's looking to me for guidance, but I'm a Canon guy and really don't know anything about Nikon gear. Anyone have any recommendations for decent walk around lens?


Nikon makes a 24mm F/2.8 for $400. It's a good lens as far as I know. That can certainly be a nice lens, but it won't be wide enough for some landscapes, nor long enough some kid shots.

They don't make the equivalent (18mm) for the crop-sensor cameras like the D200. The lack of wide-angle primes for crop sensor cameras is a big complaint among Nikon users.

The closest options are the $600 20mm F/2.8, and the $2000 14mm F/2.8.

Otherwise, there's zooms. I'm pretty happy with the 18-70, which isn't really available new anymore, but can be had for less than $200 used. Reportedly, the 16-85 not only covers a slightly wider range, but manages to perform a little better...but for several times the price. Or there's the 17-55 F/2.8 for over $1500.

However, since she can borrow lenses at the moment, she should (as long as she treats them nicely). Then she'll figure out on her own what focal lengths she uses.