I'm liking my 18-55 Nikon kit lens

[MystrE]

It's been awhile since I've been able to post anything... shift work is a PITA and health issues have slowed me down. On the few days I've had off, I've spent a little time playing around with my Nikon D5100 and the humble 18-55 VR kit lens that came with the camera. I will say that I've been surprised at how well this kit lens performs and I am more than satisfied with what I've seen. Here are a few samples of what I've seen flitting around in my back yard a few days ago. Now, if I can only get some hummingbirds to cooperate so I can try to photograph them with my 55-300VR lens.

 

[tirediron]

Kit lenses are much maligned for no particular reason. True, they are not pro-level glass, but what people forget is that even the most inexpensive kit lens still has hundreds of thousands of dollars of R&D behind it, and is, optically at least, many, many orders of magnitude better than even the best professional lens was just a few generations ago! Keep on enjoying it and good luck getting a hummer!

 

[MystrE]

As a side note, I lost some sharpness while posting these photos. My originals are much more crisp than these examples. I've started shooting more often in RAW and I can see the difference doing it that way versus shooting in JPEG.

 

[ruifo]

Great shots!!
Well done!!

 

[MystrE]

Thank you! I photographed this wasp in my Sweet Olive tree using my Nikon 55-300VR lens...

 

[NancyMoranG]

We are excited that YOU are excited! You will be amazed at your progress 1 year from now, which will fly by in no time!
please listen to Tirediron, he has great advice . I am still newer so can't give much advice other than looking forward to your growth!

I don't have fancy lenses either, but I made my choice and said I would not buy anything until I had learned more. I am happy with my advice. There is so much to understand before spending lots of $$$, even if you have $$$, I am not the wasteful type. Buy what you need, and use it.
Welcome,
Nancy

 

[W.Fovall]

use Flickr to host and share, they don't compress the image.

As a side note, I lost some sharpness while posting these photos. My originals are much more crisp than these examples. I've started shooting more often in RAW and I can see the difference doing it that way versus shooting in JPEG.