It's Time to Praise the Kit Lens

[Steve Eisenberg]

These are some great shots.


I love this thread... too often we associate good photography with good equipment, and should remember that the photographer is the most important variable.


(Of course there are a lot of 5D II owners out there to whom "kit lens" means 24-105 f/4 L.... but that is missing the point )



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Thanks!


Please post some of your photos. And never mind the naysayers. This is not a community exclusively for professionals, or those that can afford the most expensive gear. I'd like to think all are welcome at The Digital Picture!

[Vlad Xp]

I think the kit lens has a lot of great uses. It serves as a good paper weight. It's an OK hammer when the tripod locks get jammed and my small dog likes to chase it across the floor.


Please stop the insanity!LOL Next, we'll have a thread on the superior IQ of camera phones.
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In this case, I&rsquo;m sorry for posting here; I did not realize that this forum is dedicated only to professionals. So, if my lens is not an &ldquo;L&rdquo;-lens, then, according to your theory, I can&rsquo;t achieve a &ldquo;wedding photographer professional&rsquo;s&rdquo; image quality, and therefore may not post, comment, or admire others&rsquo; work derived from using a non-1xD body, and a kit lens? It&rsquo;s a good thing that we&rsquo;re all entitled to our opinions, and are free to express them regardless of how tactful (or not), and smug we may sound.

[Colin]

(Of course there are a lot of 5D II owners out there to whom "kit lens" means 24-105 f/4 L.... but that is missing the point )

Ah, yes, I LOVE my kit lens... []


I bought it separately, with my Rebel XT, but it eventually met up with my 5D, which should be back from service right about now []

[Colin]

Well, as much as I really love the 'L' stuff, and I think it's easy to say that the cheap zoom that comes with a rebel is not nearly the same, still, I think it's really, really cool when you can grab a truly fantastic photograph with truly economy hardware. That's art, and absolutely inspiring.


I dig the picture of the dogs, and it gets back to the point of lighting and composition.


I'm not going to go out and buy the cheap kit lens for the sake of having one, but being able to get a cool picture with something that you might roll off of the end of a table for the thrill of it, that's really neat.


OTOH, I'd love to get a point and shoot camera, when finances allow, that I can take underwater, come summer time. There are a lot of shots that I'd love to get, which would require some degree of abuse, and just isn't viable for me to go the route of underwater housing, full professional lens/body combinations, whatever.


They're jut toys and tools. Use 'em!

[SRPHOTO]

kit lens photo :]

[Daniel Browning]

I think the kit lens has a lot of great uses. It serves as a good paper weight. It's an OK hammer when the tripod locks get jammed and my small dog likes to chase it across the floor.

This part is funny. I appreciate what should have been sarcastic humor.

Please stop the insanity! LOL Next, we'll have a thread on the superior IQ of camera phones.

This comment turns your post from something funny into something that is condescending and rude.

I'm sure the kits lens has it's place, but not in a serious photographers bag.

I disagree. It so happens that the kit lens *does* have it's place in the serious photographer's bag: any landscape photographer that hikes long distances to get the best shot. The kit lens is very light-weight, so it allows the photographer to carry more food, water, or additional lenses.
The equivalent professional gear would be 24-70 f/2.8 and 1Ds3, but the increased quality may not be worth the extra weight, if the photographer could even have the capacity to carry so much additional weight. The resolution and contrast of the kit lens is surprisingly good.

For very small prints and thumbnails the IQ doesn't have much impact. For my wedding business, L-series glass is mandatory. Bridal portraits often end up enlarged beyond 16x20 and the better glass means happy customers.

Wedding photographers are just one type of professional photographer, who are in turn just one type of serious photographer, who in turn are just one type of photographer that is welcome on this forum. So whether a lens is serious or not should not be cause for condescension.

[Tim]

Hey nice shots, and I'm not at all surprised that the kit lens can produce great photos. Yeah the amount of keepers might not be as high as L glass, but it still can be sharp, its not like canon makes its cheaper lenses unsharp on purpose, rather it will make it as good as they can while keeping it inexpensive. Heck, I love my 50mm f1.8, and thats the cheapest lens canon makes.

[Steve Eisenberg]

Thanks all for your great photos!!


If you are reading this thread, and aren't sure if your photo is "good enough", POST IT. If you are proud of your skills, and what you have accomplished, show it off. This is not the critique thread.


There are alot of unregistered users here. Sign up and show off our work!! (Yes, that's an order)

[Itheone]

I get great use out of my kit lens:


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Relax, I'm just trying to be funny.

[Keith B]

I for one am very impressed with my kit lens and have use it in many professional applications.