Comments on: Kit Lens Photography: The Ultimate Guide (With 18-55mm Examples)

By: Mechanomoll

Mechanomoll — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 21:26:49 +0000

I have a Canon M3 mirrorless. I use my 18-55mm lens 99% of the time. I do occasionally find some of the photos don't come out as sharp as I'd like, so the tips there are great. Over time, I think I've learned to tailor my photos to the abilities of the lens and, occasionally, stitch the photos for the panorama I can't otherwise get. I would like to upgrade the camera, as the response time isn't always great for taking movement, such as birds in flight, but I get the occasional good shot to keep me happy for now. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f9c73dea433486c6ee8a2c8795ed9f50a2a3c3389796534cc57fe130e512f68c.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/96c94896303f25c60431f33241217cc27d0d697ce3952c93d71e166c6f8ff96f.jpg

By: Sunflower_2

Sunflower_2 — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 08:11:02 +0000

My 18-135mm Canon kit lens has served me well on both my old T3i and my 90D. I’ve won awards in my camera club using it.

By: Dale Smith

Dale Smith — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:30:17 +0000

In reply to Leslie Hoerwinkle. I totally agree and just got back from a month in Mexico with my Fujifilm 18-55!

By: pete guaron

pete guaron — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 12:00:29 +0000

I still use the 18-140mm fNikon kit lens It’s convenient, and helps in the planning of serious shots, because of its versatility. I don’t find the lack of extreme wide apertures an issue because I use it mainly around f/5.6 through to about f/11 anyway.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 17:48:49 +0000

The kit lens which came with my fabulous Olympus OM-D E-M5 is the 12 ~ 50 mm lens with macro ability. It gives excellent results. Of course, this system has very good image stabilisation as well.

By: Frank Nazario

Frank Nazario — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 19:48:17 +0000

I LOVE MY KIT LENSES 18-55mm and 55-200… its funny because if you take this lens and multiply your crop factors, which is 1.5 in my case because I use Nikon, they are almost a 24-70 ish and a 70-200 🙂 … also, i don’t know about Canon but the kit lens in my APS-C is super sharp… Oh, btw, I do own an 18-35 Sigma Art 1.8 and a Tamron G2 85mm 1.8 too, so when i tell you that the 18-55 is an amazing lens… believe me it is.

By: Charles Black

Charles Black — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 12:41:53 +0000

I totally agree with Andrew Gibsons observations on kit lens.

I have a Canon 18 to 55 mm IS kit lens which came with my camera. However, wanting more range I went to a 18 to 270 mm Tamron superzoom which I have used for several years.

Now super zooms aren’t the sharpest lens in the bag ( in fact Chris Frost reviews gave it one star for Sharpness compared with 4 stars for the Canon) so I have to sharpen it well in order to get acceptable images.

Nevertheless, I enter all the photo competitions in our Camera Club – all judged by a professional photo judge – and have always seem to win several of the categories each time.

Several of my competition are professional photographers with professional Gear – one even uses a hasselblad – so this proves you do not need expensive lens to produce winning photographs.

I have more recently been using the Canon 18 to 55 mm lens for studio shots and sometimes as a lightweight walkabout lens. However it is limited in its zoom range – although the images are pin Sharp.

Recently, have proved just how soft the superzoom is when I compared it with the cannon – both at 55 mm. I decided superzooms don’t really suit so I purchased a canon 18 to 135 mm IS USM lens to give me the extra focal length I need while retaining sharpness. It is actually heavier than the Tamron, but I think the sharpness more than makes up for that even when cropped to match the 270 mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9c9606f34fac886f80569b1a1134ac0e90c9d1dec4af4687aed2a33eca7360ad.jpg

By: pete guaron

pete guaron — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:54:58 +0000

I’ve kept the original kit lens that I think came with my D810. There’s nothing “wrong” with it. As you point out, the max aperture is is “slow”, but with modern sensors and post processing software you can claw back the “lost ground” by adjusting the ISO, with no really noticeable difference. Except DOF. If you really want F/1.2 or f/1.4 for shallow DOF, or you’re shooting in the wet and want better waterproofing, or faster AF is your thing – fine – but it will cost.
As to “build quality” – I’ve had my kit lens for a number of years now, and I don’t see anything wrong with its build quality.
I don’t use it all the time – I shoot with plenty of other lenses – but I don’t turn up my nose, at it, either, and I still use it whenever I feel like it. The AF issue is a negative, sure – but since I often shoot MF with other lenses, it’s perhaps not as much of an issue for me as it might be for someone else.
And the DOF issue doesn’t bother me – in fact it’s a plus, because taking photos of pets at f/1.4 might give you sharp eyes but a blurry muzzle – YUCCKK

By: Albin

Albin — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 04:10:32 +0000

General utility is the reason an inexpensive 18-55mm lens has been issued as the industry default “kit” but I doubt there are so many complete newcomers buying completely unfamiliar gear for unfamiliar uses as during the DSLR Boom of fifteen years ago. Better to buy a body-only and put the kit $100 or so toward better glass.

By: Marinus Beers

Marinus Beers — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 06:39:18 +0000

The kit lens that came with my Nikon D500 is the AF-S NIKKOR 16-80mm 1:2.8-4E ED, and although in the meantime I bought several other lenses, both prime and zoom, it is still my favourite ‘walkabout-lens’, and I have no intention to get rid of it.