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This is the kit lens I got with my D70. At first I was all about the long focal lengths. I did not really "get" wide angle photography. Zooming in was cool and I could see what it was good for. That is probably why I pretty quickly bought the Nikon AF Nikkor 70-210mm f/4-5.6 lens. Which basically replaced the long end of this lens for me. However soon I learned about hyperfocal distance and how wide angle could be used to achieve pan focus (fore and background in focus). Wide Angle is the key to achieving this effect. This cause me to "rediscover" the wide angle of this lens.

If you are really serious about getting into photography or you have the money, I'd just skip this lens and go straight for the AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens. The 18-200mm can do everything the 18-70mm can and much much more. The only reason not to get the 18-200mm instead is the price. If you can't afford it, then this is probably a good second choice. Consider this: I own this 18-70mm and a 70-210mm lens and I just bought the 17-200mm.

This lens gives you about as wide angle as possible without getting a specialized wide angle lens and enough zoom for many situations. This lens is probably not long enough for wild life photography, even when the wild life is in a cage at the zoo. It will probably be fine for photos of the kids in the backyard, but not at their soccer game.

In short, this is a good lens, made a bit obsolete by a newer better one.