Hi francelet,
generally speaking zoom lenses don't offer the same image quality as primes lenses. This becomes especially noticable when using small pixel pitch sensors, where optical flaws show even more.
The D50 is not a very high-res sensor, so this might not apply as much as more modern nikon APS-C DSLRs, such as the D5000 and D7000 series.
I personally owned the 18-55mm lens and, to be honest, the quality is nothing I would get excited about. But then again, if your budget is only around 200$ then one can't expect miracles. Good lenses, such as the Sigma Art series, start at around 800$ and the supreme (worth drooling over) Zeiss Otus go for over 4000$.
Some other things to consider: Nikon divides its lenses into DX and FX. DX are lenses for APS-C sensors (24x16mm) while FX is for full frame sensors (36x24mm). You can mount FX lenses onto APS-C cameras. The advantage is that the coverage is larger, meaning that the corners of the FX lens are cropped, which usually are the weakest part of the lens.
Therefore one possibility is to get some legacy lenses, such as the 28mm 2.8 AIS (not the e-edition!), which should be in your budget. The focal length on a DX-camera is equivalent to 42mm lens on a full-frame camera. This lens (I have it) is fairly sharp and the weaker parts, such as the corners are cropped, so nothing to worry about. Disadvantage: No autofocus.
A 50mm lens on an APS-C camera would be a equivalent of 75mm, which for me personally would be to tele.
There is lots of information out there on the web, take some time and read about different lenses; dpreview, luminouslandscape, cambridgeincolor, dxomark are good places to start.
Cheers!
Topic: What lens for my Nikon D50 (Read 6203 times)
