Yeah, you're right.  I have the D and use it on both my N90 and D70 and it
just blows me away.  I very recently picked up a well-used but optically
perfect 55mm f/3.5 AI Micro-Nikkor and it's probably the sharpest lens I
own, but a real pain to use with the digital camera.  I think that the 24-85
D-lens is sharper than my 90mm Tamron Macro but that's probably a toss-up
and the Tamron will go to 1:1 directly whereas the 24-85 only does 1:2.

   Norm

    How about the "28-105mm f3.5-4.5 D"?  not as fast as the
24-85mm, but it works quite well both with an N90s and a D70 (I have
both).  It is mechanically focused (through the "screwdriver" in the
lens mount) instead of the USM focusing of the "kit" lens (which I
*finally* got an example of, having bought my D70 "body only".  I had
gotten the 28-105 initially for the N90s, which had been converted into
a digital by Kodak (they called it the "NC2000e-c" and made it for the
AP back around 1995 or so.

    I consider 28-105mm more of a mid-range zoom than 24-85mm, but
that may be more of a matter of perspective.

    And, FWIW, the 18-70mm "kit" lens works quite well on the N90s
(as NC2000e-c), as it has a crop factor a bit more aggressive than that
of the D70.  But I can see the vignetting in the finder -- outside the
active area border.  The finder shows the full 35mm frame, with an
overprinted border to show the active area.  (I actually find that
rather convenient, being able to see what is about to come into the
active frame.)

    Enjoy,
        DoN.