Who needs a tripod? Shoot raw and pull shadows via pshop
But in all honesty, hit up samys camera and just talk to them. Talk to a different person each time you go and ask the same question. Get all that info in. A tiny bit of googling. And then make a choice
Everyone is gonna have different...
picked up a nikon 24-85 f3.5 for a mere $130.
it's nothing fancy at all, but I finally have something other than my not-so nifty fifty
2485test 019 by Sasquatch Snapshots, on Flickr
2485test 011 by Sasquatch Snapshots, on Flickr
i pushed the living crap out of the d610 sensor the other day
this first image was pushed a couple stops and shadows were pushed all the way. virtually no visible grain to the naked eye. it's amazing.
CAE meet 2-18-15 095 by Sasquatch Snapshots, on Flickr
also like this shot so im sharing...