What lens would be a good beginner lens for a Nikon D70S?
Just needs to be a alright lens for taking pictures nothing specific for yet
That used camera should come with some lens. Maybe a 18-55 mm?
For the first lens (if you are buying only the body) the 18-55 mm lens is an excellent lens.
It covers landscapes, group shots, full body shots as well as head and shoulder portraits
Get the fastest 50mm prime you can afford, stick it on the camera, and don't take it off for a year.
Originally D70S's would have be kitted with the AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 ED-IF lens, this is quite a nice premium grade lens. If it isn't a kit package, as many of these older cameras may have had these packages split up, you probably will find that the AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 VR will do the job just as well.
The D70S should have come with its own 18-55mm lens. That's enough for most shooting conditions you will encounter. If the camera did not come with its own lens and you want something to learn seriously with, I suggest getting a 35mm f/1.8. The non-zooming lens will force you to move around to get the best angle of view and make you a better photographer.
As above the Kit lens is good, if you didn't get one, ebay'll be cheap.
But, if you're moving on, or starting from scratch, the 35mm 1.8 is excellent. Ideal even. It replicates a 50mm on a full frame (focal length) is super sharp and offers a fast, wide aperture. And is very reasonably priced.
On your camera 35mm is a 'normal' focal length. It's called normal for one of two reasons. One, it relates to the zone of interest you see, that is, what your gaze takes in. Secondly the aspect ratio matches with the image taking surface… Your sensor in this case.
This is a prime, meaning it only covers one focal length. But because it only does one thing, it does it very well. And it's cheaper to manufacture. So these lenses tend to be very good bang for buck.
If you've not had a fast lens before, you'll love the 1.8.It allows throwing the background out of focus and lets in more light for shooting in dimmer conditions.
Well, all lenses are for taking pictures! What sort of pictures do you want to take?
If you are using a D70S, then it's going to be second hand. The good news is that camera will work with just about any cheap secondhand autofocus lens. Going second hand will keep prices down. I guess that's important to you if you are using a camera as old as the D70S.
If you aren't worried about wide-angles for landscapes or buildings, you should be able to pick up an old 28-100mm autofocus Nikkor lens very cheaply. That's actually a pretty decent lens with a useful range, but not popular now because it won't autofocus on the cheapest of the new Nikon DSLRs like the D3100, D3200 and D5100.It will autofocus nicely on the D70S though because that camera had the body focus motor built in.
The 50mm F1.8 AF-D lens which others have mentioned is a very sharp, relatively cheap lens, but it does not have any zoom function. That's fine if you are into portraits, but it's not always the most convenient lens to use.
If you can pick up a second hand 18-70mm zoom lens which was originally sold with that camera, that would also give you a very useful zoom range at not too silly prices, and that does have a reasonable wide angle.
The 18-55mm zoom lens is also okay, and should be cheap second hand.
Any Of Nikon's Nikkor AF-D or AF-S lenses should work fine and with autofocus on that camera.
Sigma, Tokina and Tamron also make good lenses for the Nikon range - just make sure it is fitted with a Nikon mount and not one for Canon, Sony or Pentax!
At just 6MP, you don't need the very best quality lenses. Even the cheapest 18-55mm zoom will have more resolving power than your sensor, as will an independent manufacturer's lens like Sigma.