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Nikon users I would like your input on this please.
I have decided to go with the D70 kit and have the opportunity to purchase a used Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 AFD, in great shape, for $140 shipped from the east coast. I would like you input on whether this would be a good choice for an inside lens for my trip to Italy this summer? This will be my second trip to Italy and I can't wait to take some inside pictures of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and St. Mark's in Venice. Is this a good choice for indoors or will the 18-70mm kit lens be sufficient? As well as inside shooting I will also start the trip in the north around Lake Como followed by the Dolomites for some landscape shooting, will this and the kit lens be sufficient with proper filters?
Your lenses ought to work for both indoors and outdoors. But your indoor targets are unusually voluminous and detailed. You probably realize the 24mm lens will capture large portions of St Peter's rotunda, but not get it in one frame. You might think a fish-eye would do it, but that rascal Bernini made the baldachino too big--always in the way like some tourist. Bring a sketchbook and try the old fashioned way. Nice vacation. Ciao.
That is a great lens. It won't give you the wide coverage the 18mm kit zoom will, but it will be sharper. The extra stop or two vs. the kit lens may come in handy too, since most of the attractions don't allow either a tripod or flash. With digital, you will have the adjustable ISO to work with though.
For the subject matter you've mentioned, it sounds like 24mm is probably going to be a bit too long of a focal length.
Also, we're talking about roughly 2/3 of a stop in aperture (24mm F/2.8 vs. 18-70 at 18mm F/3.5), you could push your ISO a couple notches (ISO on the D70 adjusts in 1/3 stop increments) and get essentially the same result with your existing equipment. The kit lens may not be as sharp as the 24mm, but it's still a very nice lens, and you could shoot with it at 18mm.
It just seems like your subject matter is wide enough that the kit lens may be your better option for framing, and you don't have to push the ISO that much harder to get there (assuming you're inside).
If I had $100 to spend on a lens for indoor shooting it would go toward a 50mm F/1.8. Now that wouldn't help you with wide angle issue, but at F/1.8 it's nearly 2 stops quicker than the kit lens (actually at 50mm the kit lens is an F/4 as I recall, so it would be two full stops).
One other thing you might want to consider, I'm assuming you're not going to try to lug a full tripod around, so I'd recommend getting a little tabletop tripod ($25) if you don't already have one.
I have the 24 mm f/2.8 and it's a great lens but I'll second the opinion that it's not an especially wide lens on a 1.5x "crop-factor" DSLR. The angle of view will be almost the same as a 35 mm lens on a 35 mm camera, sort of a wide-normal, and might not be what you need for indoor stuff.
Here's a review of the 18-70 mm kit lens. It doesn't sound at all bad. I guess if money were no object, or less of an object, the 17-55 f/2.8 would be a great general walking-around lens, but it's a bit pricey.
