Are thes kit lenses any good?

[ShaneF]

Hello a few weeks ago i bout a package deal canon t41 rebel and it came with these kit lenses, my question is are there and downfalls or disadvantages to these lenses? such as loss of image quality or anything. This is all new to me so im just asking for you opinions of these lenses since im new to this. I know there are more expensive lenses out there i just want to know where im at with what i have. Thanks

CANON
18-55mm
55-250mm
50mm f/1.8 portrait lens

 

[Danmunro_nz]

Hi. Hope your enjoying your new camera. My DSLR come with the 18-55. I later brought a 50mm 1.8, I regularly use the 18-55 for landscape shots and its a great little lens. The 50 is an awesome lens, it's ok wide open at 1.8 but a bit soft, stopped down beyond 2.8 or so mine is super sharp. Have a play with the 50 at different apertures and you will see what I am talking about. Hope this helps.

 

[tirediron]

There's one big advantage that 18-55 has over every other lens in the world. It's the lens YOU have, and it's pretty hard to take a good picture without one. Kit lenses tend to get a bit of a bad, and mostly undeserved reputation. Remember that even the cheapest lens has millions of dollars of R&D behind it, and under normal conditions, it will be VERY difficult to tell an image shot with a kit lens from one shot with a pro-level equivalent.

Certainly, there are lenses that are better made, have better optical quality, constant aperture, blah, blah, blah.. but, in 95% of situations, that won't make any difference, and they're an ideal lens with which to learn photography and decide where you want to go. DO NOT rush out and buy another lens because you think it's better; wait 'til you've found a niche this one doesn't fill, and then buy what you need. Buying gear for the sake of buying gear rarely goes well! Trust me, I speak from experience on this!

 

[Danmunro_nz]

There's one big advantage that 18-55 has over every other lens in the world. It's the lens YOU have, and it's pretty hard to take a good picture without one. Kit lenses tend to get a bit of a bad, and mostly undeserved reputation. Remember that even the cheapest lens has millions of dollars of R&D behind it, and under normal conditions, it will be VERY difficult to tell an image shot with a kit lens from one shot with a pro-level equivalent.

Certainly, there are lenses that are better made, have better optical quality, constant aperture, blah, blah, blah.. but, in 95% of situations, that won't make any difference, and they're an ideal lens with which to learn photography and decide where you want to go. DO NOT rush out and buy another lens because you think it's better; wait 'til you've found a niche this one doesn't fill, and then buy what you need. Buying gear for the sake of buying gear rarely goes well! Trust me, I speak from experience on this!

Very well put. I totally agree, I have friends that brought all the flashy lenses, yeah they're nice but I can still take a photo to equal theirs with my kit lens or nifty 50. I have been shooting with a DSLR for over 3 years now and the 18-55 Canon is still my go to lens for most situations.

 

[sm4him]

There's one big advantage that 18-55 has over every other lens in the world. It's the lens YOU have, and it's pretty hard to take a good picture without one. Kit lenses tend to get a bit of a bad, and mostly undeserved reputation. Remember that even the cheapest lens has millions of dollars of R&D behind it, and under normal conditions, it will be VERY difficult to tell an image shot with a kit lens from one shot with a pro-level equivalent.

Certainly, there are lenses that are better made, have better optical quality, constant aperture, blah, blah, blah.. but, in 95% of situations, that won't make any difference, and they're an ideal lens with which to learn photography and decide where you want to go. DO NOT rush out and buy another lens because you think it's better; wait 'til you've found a niche this one doesn't fill, and then buy what you need. Buying gear for the sake of buying gear rarely goes well! Trust me, I speak from experience on this!

^ +1 to That.
Besides, if this is your first DSLR, then you are not going to experience a "loss of image quality" with the kit lenses--they are going to provide you with the *opportunity* to get better pictures than you did with whatever you had before (with cell phone camera, point-and-shoot sort of cameras). I say opportunity because it will depend on learning to do what it takes to GET a good photo.

But yeah, the kit lenses will be fine to learn on. Then, at some point when you DO upgrade, you may experience an INCREASE in image quality.
I still use my kit lens. I've upgraded several lenses, but don't have anything below a 50mm, so if I need something wider, I don't hesitate to pull out the kit 18-55.

 

[Dao]

You are good to go. They are not the best, but not bad neither. They can help produce great images for sure. Of course, like every lenses on the market, there are limitations on each lens. Once you learn more, you may discover the limitations and want to get a different lens. But until then, ENJOY!