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[Garbear1020]

Hello,
I run a nikon D50 and when I was shoping for the camara I was solely interested in shooting wildlife (mostly birds in flight) I purchased a
AFNikor 70-300 1:4-5.6G. I am pleased with the lense as far as wildlife however I realized that I needed a smaller lense when my mom had to stand on the other end of the house to barly squeeze my proms date's and I face into the picture.....so i am shoping again

I am wanting a lense for general photography (Family events/snap shots) but I also like shooting pics of insets and flowers...what do you all think would be a wise lense to fill the gap.

Garbear1020

 

[Mav]

Depends on budget a lot, but there's nothing wrong with the 18-55 kit lenses. You can find the I & II versions for $60-80 used, or the new VR version for $120-140 used. They also focus fairly close so they'll act as quasi-macro lenses too. I picked up an 18-135 lens used for $200 and it's a great general lens too, although doesn't focus as close as the 18-55 does for floral/insect stuff.

 

[amba]

You can either go the Zoom way, then there isn't much to contemplate, wide angle should be 17mm or 18mm, and the tele end - as far as your budget allows.
18mm-55mm : ~$120 without VR, ~$200 with VR
18mm-70mm : ~$270 (Great lens, but no VR, so avoid if you plan low light photography) - I own this one, so I can testify it really is an excellent lens, and the lack of VR is noticed in low available light photography.
18mm-200mm : ~$660 (Very popular, VR, lots and lots of praise reviews across the web)

Or, buy a prime lens and learn why snobs say that zoom lenses will never match the optical quality of prime lenses (it is true, the question is, for the type of photos you take - does it matter?...)
BEWARE: Nikon prime lenses below require an AF motor in the Camera body, without it they will only focus manually, AFAIK, the D50 body does not have an autofocus motor.

IMO, the two main options are the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, which is an excellent lens for a very affordable price (~$100 new), however, with a 35mm requivalent focal lens of a 75mm - the lens is kind of narrow on a digital body. The other option, a Nikkor 35mm f/2.0 has a more 'normal' angle and costs ~x3.

Cheers!