Getting the most out of a kit lens?

[seananguswatson]

Hi all,

In June I'll be taking a trip to Europe for 5 weeks and I'm trying to come out of it with quite a lot of photos. As of right now, it's looking like I'll be bringing only my Canon T3i and the kit EF 18-55mm. I may bring the 50mm 1.8 as well because it's so small and considerably sharper than the kit lens, but we'll see, space is limited.

What tips and tricks do any of you know about increasing picture quality using a relatively cheap lens? I understand that for the most part, quality of image is going to come down to my skill as a photographer, but I'm wondering if there's any tricks of the trade that I'm missing. I'm still relatively new to all this.

 

[Derrel]

Make sure the rear element is clean, and free of smudges, built up film from cooking oil, smoke, or outgassing from foams, woods, leathers. The rear element is more critical than the front element, but make sure the front is grease-free, free of salt-spray, smoke, cooking oil, sweat, etc.

Focus for each shot, each frame. Do not focus, then hold one of the focus lock buttons, and shoot 3,4,5 frames; focus for each shot. These lenses are slow aperture, and short focal length, so the focusing brackets can cover a large area of the real world, and also the in-focus/out of focus information fed to the AF system is nowhere near as clear-cut as with say, a 300mm f/4 lens or a 135mm f/2 lens; with wide-angle settings, the central AF bracket on subjects that are 10,15,20 feet away can sometimes "overlap", and "catch the background", and cause back-focus. This is a potential problem with ANY short focal length lens, at certain distances, so focus carefully, for EACH shot!

Keep the camera steady, and keep the shutter speed fast enough to stop motion or action, and to prevent camera shake. The lens tops out at f/5.6 at the longer lengths, so that means slow shutter speeds in marginal light if the ISO is kept low; you need to elevate the ISO or shift to the 50mm prime to get to faster apertures like say f/2.5 in crummy light.

Use found supports if needed; tables, railings, walls, benches, kneeling and resting camera on your knee perhaps, etc. Shoot with good technique. Focus accurately, and for each shot. On critical must-=get shots, shoot enough to GET the shot you want.

 

[weepete]

Shoot in good light, stop the lens down to get maximum sharpness if you can. Use a nearby object like a wall, table or whatever to steady your camera if your shutter speed is below 1/60th, combined with your timer if needed. Shoot people at a faster shutter speed (like 1/125th and above) and shoot portraits where there is a large seperation between the subkect and the background to throw the background OOF

 

[KenC]

I don't know the lens, even though I have Canon equipment, but most zooms are a little weak at either extreme of focal length. In addition to the valuable advice given above, try to avoid using it at or very near either 18 or 55 mm unless you have no choice. If this lens is worse at one end than the other I hope someone here chimes in, but you could look up reviews of the lens, which might comment on that.

 

[ronlane]

Getting the most out of a kit lens....

Tip #1: Be sure to stretch and properly warm up your arm. (Google Pitcher warm-up exercises)

Tip #2: Leave the covers off of it. No sense in having extra parts that will fly off and could rob you of distance.

Tip #3: Start at a high point. Think overpass or top of the tallest building in your area.

Tip #4: Throw it hard.

(Or just follow the suggestions of those above me.)

 

[fjrabon]

f/8. Point it at interesting stuff in interesting ways.

 

[runnah]

Don't think of it as an inferior lens.

 

[fjrabon]

Don't think of it as an inferior lens.

can't be emphasized enough. Optically they're great lenses when used correctly. My only real issue with kit lenses these days is that I like metal mounts and weather sealing. There are extremely few instances where they "aren't sharp enough" or that you can even notice the difference in sharpness.

In some ways I half the time view the slow aperture as a positive for intermediate photographers who half the time I just want to constantly ask "why the eff did you shoot this at f/1.8?"

I just looked through my last ~200 images and 75% of them were at f5.6-f/11, 15% at f/4 and only about 10% faster than f/4. Given modern camera bodies high ISO abilities, I'd usually rather shoot at f/5.6 ISO 3200 than f/2 ISO 400

 

[soufiej]

Hi all,

In June I'll be taking a trip to Europe for 5 weeks and I'm trying to come out of it with quite a lot of photos. As of right now, it's looking like I'll be bringing only my Canon T3i and the kit EF 18-55mm. I may bring the 50mm 1.8 as well because it's so small and considerably sharper than the kit lens, but we'll see, space is limited.

What tips and tricks do any of you know about increasing picture quality using a relatively cheap lens? I understand that for the most part, quality of image is going to come down to my skill as a photographer, but I'm wondering if there's any tricks of the trade that I'm missing. I'm still relatively new to all this.

First and foremost, learn your camera. There are numerous features on any consumer level DSLR which can truly assist a photographer and many which are there for the person using the camera as a high priced point and shoot. If you can't navigate your way through the useless features to make good use of the beneficial features, you'll have mostly sub-standard shots when you get home. If you have not yet sat down with your camera and the owners manual, do that first. Become comfortable shooting on the manual modes; Av Tv, P and M. Don't be afraid to use fully automatic modes if you are in a bind. The camera will produce a good shot but not a great shot. A thinking and skillful photographer creates great shots. Practice around the house and in the yard to get a feel for how your camera operates in various lighting and space considerations. Your camera lacks the touch screen but many of the instructions I have provided in this thread also apply to your learning situation; 100D SL1 Image Quality Photography Forum

Even with image stabilization in the lens, a monopod or tripod makes a large difference in many shots. A monopod is quite easy to carry around as a tourist, a tripod less so. (If you're using a tripod, you want to turn off the IS system in your lens. Remember to re-enegage the system when you are not using the tripod. Do not disengage IS when using a monopod. Another reason, IMO, to go with the monopod.)

Learn your lens. There are several write ups on the kit lens and they will provide useful tips for how best to use your lens to your advantage. The Canon kit lens is pretty good, so, yes, don't think of it as an inferior lens at all. Learn though where it's strengths and weaknesses occur and plan your shots around the good while avoiding the less good. Simply place the lens designation into a search engine. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your system will be your greatest advantage when shooting in any situation. Understand and use manual focus refinements when you have the time to plan a shot.

After you feel you've absorbed the greatest amount of information from these materials, place your camera's model number into a search engine along with the phrase "tips and tutorials". Now you will have access to dozens of videos lessons aimed specifically at your camera from users in real world situations. You'll also find useful tips from owners who are using forums to communicate their successes and their failures plus ask the questions you might ask. Bookmark pages and keep notes when you find useful information. You might consider buying a cheat sheet for your camera if the settings are still confusing. Though, I would say, if you've been paying attention all this time, the settings should begin to make sense without a cheat sheet to rely on.

Take a class. Most local, independent camera shops offer weekend classes aimed at the student photographer. If this is a once in a lifetime trip, the minor expense of a class will prove its worth on the first few days of your travels.

As we develop in photography we tend to find areas of photography where we can be the most personally expressive. We then start to focus more on landscape shots rather than interiors. We shoot more wildlife and nature shots then we do portraits. And so on. Travel photography offers the student a never ending array of possible selections. It would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with some basic rules for each type of shot you might encounter and practice those shots before you leave. Set up shots which would be a food shot or a street shot or a landscape, etc. Learn how to take a good photo of an building from a distance and why most cameras will do weird things to the building's lines when shot in that fashion. You do not want to come home with a couple of dozen shots of buildings all looking like the leaning tower of Pisa.

Finally, buy one good "prime" lens to take with you. Zoom lenses all have weaknesses which you must work around to get the best image. Prime lenses, single focal length lenses, have far fewer issues and offer subjectively higher image quality over a zoom set to the same focal length. Primes are typically "faster" than zooms which will provide you far more control over the image you can achieve. The Canon 50mm f1.8 lens and the 24mm f2.8 lenses are both proven winners on your camera and almost dirt cheap. The 40mm is only a bit more expensive. The 24mm is a very compact lens which, when fitted to a DSLR, makes for a very comfortable package size to carry with you.

Personally, I would recommend the 24mm since it can do double duty as a sort of macro/close up lens. Though the extra few stops of the f1.8 50mm can create some really interesting background blur which will make a subject really POP out in an image. With the 24mm you would need to plan a bit more distance between the subject and the background to achieve the same effect. So they both have their own good and bad points. Manual focus on the 24mm is quite good.

They are all relatively inexpensive, almost as good as any lens Canon produces at any price and will offer the creative shooter a single lens they can walk around with to capture 90% of their shots. Select one and learn it by practicing with it. Rather than restricting the shooter, prime lenses tend to make the photographer think just a while as they compose a shot not created by the simple framing-via-zoom method of photography.

Filters can make a large difference in your photos but they are a category of learning in their own right. Explore the advantages of a filter or two but don't think they are the key to getting your best shot.

How to Take Better Pictures

 

[KmH]

Stopping down from it's wide open aperture is more a tactic for the short end of the zoom range - 18 mm (wide open aperture of f/3.5).

Do you have the EF 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II or the EF 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS.

Either way, if you don't already have it, get and use the Canon EW-60C Lens Hood

Getting the most out of the lens is mostly about understanding how to use your camera to maximum advantage by understanding exposure, depth-of-filed, metering, white balance, and the limitations of auto focus.

 

[Joves]

f/8. Point it at interesting stuff in interesting ways.

Yeah I have to agree with this. And as stated in his next post, do not shoot wide open. I would rather bump up my ISO in order to use a good f-stop, and shutter speed any day.

 

[TCampbell]

This is really going to depend on "what" you're shooting... how I use the lens for a portrait will be different than how I use it for, say, landscapes or architecture.

People tend to snub the "kit" lenses, but I recall going through old images, finding some that I thought were really nice, and checking the data to see which lens I used ... and then surprised to noticed it was the kit lens. The optics are fairly good... the weaknesses are mostly in other areas (it has slow focus motors, the lens "rotates" as it focuses so if you use a circular polarizer you'll have to keep adjusting it, it's a variable focal ratio lens so it doesn't offer a particularly low focal ratio, etc.)

Lighting really helps an image and you'll get the best natural lighting very early morning or late evening if you can take advantage of it (mid-day is usually the worst as the shadows are harsh). When I shoot portraits in mid-day, switch on your pop-up flash and set the flash-exposure compensation to roughly "-1" (which means you want it to fire 1 stop below what the camera thinks it would need -- or 50% power level. That causes it to provide just enough flash to weaken the harsh shadows. You still get shadow -- which helps provide dimension to the image (things look "flat" if there are no shadows) but the shadows are weak instead of intense.)

Late evening shots of cities & towns can look particularly nice if you capture them after the sun sets but when there's still dusky blue skies. The street lights come to provide some warmth to the scene, even though there's still enough light so that it doesn't look like you're shooting into blackness.

When shooting landscapes, try to put some foreground interest into the shot in addition to the distant background... often a low-ish camera perspective can help do that. These tend to be shot at wide angles (short focal length -- near the 18mm end of the lens.)

When shooting portraits, use a longer focal length (I'd use the longer / 55mm end of the range - although I actually prefer even longer. I tend to use my 70-200mm or my 135mm for the best looking portraits.)

For any given subject... always also consider both the foreground and the background. Is there some way to frame up your subject that improves the background or foreground interest of the shot?