Kit Lenses vs. Prime Lenses

[lisameowrie]

Currently I have two kit lenses that I am finding out are probably not that great and wondering if I should sell them for prime lenses. Could I even get the money back I spent on them? I am shooting pets and would want a variety of shots (different distances and such) which is why I went with these two off the bat.

18-55 f3.5-5.6
55-300 f4.5-5.6

I also have a 10-24 3.5-4.5 wide angle that I plan on keeping.

What I am considering are:

35 f1.8
50 f1.4
85 f1.8

I want a great DOF, bokeh effect... I want my photos to be super sharp and dramatic looking.

Any thoughts?

I just love the range kit lenses offer... :/

 

[Vtec44]

I have the 35 f1.4 and love the wide angle + shallow DOF effect. I'd think the 50mm f1.4 would be more practical. The 85mm may need more space than you have especially indoor. I have the f1.4 version of all 3 lenses (35, 50, 85) and love them all.

 

[weepete]

I doubt you'll get your money back on the kit lenses. A lot of the time kit lenses are looked down upon because they are not quite as sharp or as fast as other's on the market but they can be perfectly acceptable if you use them under the conditions that they perform well at.

However, if you are shooting professionally then I'd expect you to have some quality lenses.

Bearing in mind that the shorter focal lengths tend to distort slightly I'd go for the 85mm which should be a nice length for portraiture. I recently bought a 135mm myself for that reason. Vtec44 is right though you'll want to check your minimum focal distances on your lens so that you have enough space to use it.

 

[KmH]

I want a great DOF, bokeh effect... I want my photos to be super sharp and dramatic looking.

Any thoughts?

Dramatic looking is more about lighting, than DoF.

A shallow DoF can be accomplished with most lenses if you set up the shot properly to make the DoF shallow.
It's more about the point-of-focus distance than it is about the lens aperture and lens focal length.

To get close enough with a 35 mm or a 50 mm to have a shallow DoF makes a lot of people/animals (subjects) uncomfortable.
Many portrait photographers use 105 mm to 200 mm prime or 70-200 mm zoom lens.

 

[Buckster]

Are you shooting pets indoors or outdoors?
What are you using for lighting?
How long have you been working with the lenses you currently have?

There's a tendency for newer shooters to start looking for "better" lenses when their shots aren't turning out the way they'd hoped they would; The way they see really great shots online from others. And the first thing that gets the blame is "kit lenses".

The truth is that kit lenses are actually quite good. The problem is that ALL lenses need the person behind them to learn how to best work them, AND the subjects, AND the backgrounds, AND the lighting, ALL together, in order to MAKE it all come together. "Better lenses" aren't a magic bullet to better photos. To get great photos, you need to get understanding and control over EVERYTHING.

Are you already shooting with your aperture wide open to get a shallow DOF? Because that's what those "better" lenses allow you to do. If you're not opening up your current lenses all the way, getting lenses that open up even more isn't going to fix it.

Are you paying attention to the backgrounds and doing what you can to get them as far behind the pets as possible? This, combined with opening up the aperture so that the iris is round and not jagged from the aperture blades is one of the things you really need to pay attention to in order to get that great bokeh you want.

Are you using off camera flash for lighting? Softboxes? Umbrellas? Reflectors? Scrims? On camera flash? Sun coming through windows? Neutral density filters? Understanding light and shadow and how to make the best use of them in different situations is what separates the snapshots from the photographs. Full control over your lighting also allows the control you need to get the aperture and shutter speeds you need for the round bokeh and more blurred backgrounds you're looking for.

What do you do when it's so bright that you can't open up your aperture to get the blurry background and round bokeh you want, even with the ISO as low as possible? Do you just crank down the aperture and then wonder why the background looks too sharp, not the buttery look you want? What do you think you'll do in that same situation with a "better" lens that allows you to open it up even more, when you simply CAN'T, unless you have some other way to get a handle on the light? That's where that ND filter comes in, by the way. Do you have one?

Your kit lenses, in most cases, can do that stuff you're looking to do, IF you HAVE control over the various aspects of your photography, and THAT is the difference between an actual photographer and just another person with a fancy camera who knows how to aim it and push the button.

My advice is: MASTER your kit lenses first. Squeeze every last drop of potential out of them first. THEN, when you FULLY understand EXACTLY how (if) they're limiting you, reach out and buy a "better" lens.

 

[goodguy]

Keep your kit lenses, they are handy for general use which I am sure you do too, they are perfect when lighting conditions are good.

Primes will give you the sharpness you are looking for but choosing which lens to buy is more a matter of your style and where you shoot.
The 85mm is a great lens but might be very limiting because you might not have enough space to zoom in or zoom out with your legs in closed space.

You can test that with your existing lenses, just set your 55-300mm to 85mm and try do the shoots you want with it, if its too restricting then its not a good range for you.
I personally would first get a 50mm lens, its called nifty fifty for a good reason, I find it to be best balanced lens for so many things, it can do well portraits (on crop sensor) landscape, night photography and more.
35mm is more clssic for street photography.

Also you dont have to get the 50mm f1.4, these lenses are actually not as sharp as the f1.8 and in most cases you will not use it on f1.4, DOF will be way too shallow and lens never perform well on this aperture, you use it on f1.4 only if you have a very specific need for a super shallow DOF or lighting conditions are so dark you really need that extra light coming into the camera.
f1.8 lenses are always much cheaper then f1.4

So lock your lenses on 35mm, 50mm and 85mm, experiment and see what focal range is working best for you, matches your style and needs and then go and get the lens.

Good luck

 

[astroNikon]

I'd have to add
Be careful about getting a Fast lens. A 50mm/1.4 is great to use
But if you are taking portrait type shots from 10 feet away
you'll get about 4 inches in focus (.71 feet - half of which is in front of the focus point and half behind the focus point ==> A Flexible Depth of Field Calculator )

So you'll get the dog's nose in focus if you were focusing on the nose, but not much else.

As mentioned above you have to learn how to use the lens.
Not just use the lens at f/1.4 because you can.


another Depth of Field Calculator that shows focus in front and behind the focus point. ==> Online Depth of Field Calculator

 

[Dave442]

I would not rush out and buy three new lenses. If you have been using the kit lenses for a year or two then go pick up the 35mm f/1.8 and work with that for a bit. You need to have enough time using each lens so you know beforehand at what distance you are going to be from your subject.

 

[KenC]

Very good advice above. I would say that, if you can pick up a relatively fast 50 for not much money, which is possible in most camera systems, you could add that to the mix and then master that set of lenses. Having used a fast prime, you will have more information on what you may need later, without having spent much.

 

[curtyoungblood]

I've got 3 prime lenses at the focal lengths you're looking at, and I would suggest doing something slightly different. 35 and 50 really aren't all that far apart. I find myself leaving the 50 at home quite often because the 35 and 50 are so similar, and I also often get frustrated that the 35 isn't wider than it is. I'd consider something in the 24-28 range, or just skip the 50.

I've found that getting the primes was quite worth it. They're fantarisct little lenses, and. A lot of fun to use.

 

[petrochemist]

Many of my prime lenses were kit lenses.
I agree with those above that say it's not likely to be worth selling your zooms. I find my kit zooms still get plenty of use, and they won't have any significant value on the used market.

If you don't mind focusing manually there are LOADS of excellent 50mm primes that can be had for relatively little (under $100 even if you need to get an adapter for it too). Most of these are easily sharp enough for use on digital, and fast enough to help in low light situations. the 50mm focal lengthworks well on crop cameras for portraits, but is often a bit tight for more general interior shots. If you feel autofocus is important the lenses will cost somewhat more. Unless you're getting a package deal there's nothing to be gained in getting all three primes at one go. You should be able to see the field of view the focal llengths offer from your zooms & select the one most useful to you to begin with. Get familiar with that then get the next one. My line up is still missing the quality 300mm f/2.8 prime...

Despite astroNikon's warning, I don't think theres any great need to be careful in getting a fast lens, it's just using it right. You can usually stop down where the thin DOF isn't suitable, and if you can't stop down then you really need the lens that fast. In his example though you really NEED to focus on the eyes.
With the exception of that one word all the rest of the advise seems spot on to me!

 

[astroNikon]

FYI, I'm not against OP getting Primes. i'm all for it.
The 3 lenses I bought after my kit lens were:
24mm f/2.8
50/1.8
85/1.8

You learn ALOT using those lenses. But, as mentioned above and in my post it's about learning how to use them correctly. And yes, focusing on the eyes is the primary way of taking portrait shots. I've just seen alot of ppl taking pics and the nose is in focus and eyes aren't. lol

 

[fjrabon]

you will likely get next to nothing money wise by selling your kit lenses. Sorry. People who buy kit lenses typically are buying a new camera, and just buy it all at once. Nobody goes out and thinks "let me buy a used kit lens!" I ended up giving away all my kit lenses after they were covered by better lenses I bought.

I'd say keep your kit lenses and slowly upgrade by adding primes as your budget allows, and then when a kit lens is redundant, either keep it as backup or give it away.

 

[petrochemist]

I've actually brought quite a few used kit lenses. I got my mirrorless camera body only, to use with adapted lenses, then decided to add the kit zooms to increase the flexibility as I grew to like the camera more.
With my DSLR I got it with the shorter kit zoom, but again added the telephoto option later, then there was the upgrade to a weather proof kit zoom...
All have been cheap options and it's only the DSLRs telephoto kit thats ended up being replaced with a better option. I'd like to be able to upgrade my other kit zooms to better quality/faster options but unfortunately the rest of the family has first dibbs on my limited funds. For some reason they want a nice house & food more than a better lens, not sure I understand but they outnumber me

 

[Mattis]

I agree that you should keep the kit lenses. They aren't awful, they are just a little basic. But they are still pretty decent! The camera manufacturers want you to start with a decent lens, but they don't give you an all-purpose lens either to make you buy more glass^^
When it comes to primes you need to get one that suits your needs. I'd suggest you go through your photos and check which focal length you use the most. That focal length would be your best candidate for your first prime!
As for the aperture, that greatly depends on what you need. For example, I don't see that much of a difference in terms of bokeh and overall image quality between the 50mm f/1.8 and the 50mm f/1.4. All I know is that the f/1.4 version will focus slightly slower, which can be a problem if you want to shoot pets!
You might also want to look at the Sigma Art primes. People are praising the 30mm f/1.4 for example.