Is kit lens useless?

[sactown024]

I just got a t2i with a kit lens and a 55-250 lens. This is my first dslr and after using the zoom lens I can't see why I would ever want to use the kit lens, seems like it takes crap photos compared to the zoom.

Anyone have a good use for the kit lens?

 

[obscure.individual]

what lens is the kit lens, exactly?

 

[sactown024]

Sorry! I was talking about the 18-55mm lens, thought that was a standard kit lens.

 

[myko5]

The kit lens is a great lens, especially to learn with. But, it is cheaper for a reason. It has more limitations and a lower build quality, but it is capable of worthy photos. Some members here have posted examples of using the kits lens if you try searching the topic. Since upgrading to some nicer glass I cannot say that I use mine anymore, but I have yet to part with them because of feeling that they are useless.

 

[obscure.individual]

well the 18-55 isn't useless at all! its in a different focal range than your 55-250, and would be very useful for wider angle shots that you wouldn't be able to get with your 55-250, such as landscapes, skyscapes, seascapes, etc.

 

[sactown024]

Thank you, I just didn't know, the quality of photo didn't seem as good and seems harder to get that blurred background. What would be a good lens for me to pick up next? I havnt found my niche in photography yet but I would like to pick up a new lens. What's the difference between the 18-55 and a fixed focal 50mm?

 

[obscure.individual]

Thank you, I just didn't know, the quality of photo didn't seem as good and seems harder to get that blurred background. What would be a good lens for me to pick up next? I havnt found my niche in photography yet but I would like to pick up a new lens. What's the difference between the 18-55 and a fixed focal 50mm?

i wouldn't pick up a new lens just yet, if you only just got your camera then you need to learn! and as you said, you haven't found your niche yet, so you don't even know what direction you want to go in. you might buy a wide angle lens, then figure out that you actually love macro photography. so just wait, and learn.

 

[Ernicus]

The kit lens is a great lens, especially for a beginner. I would not worry about a different lens in terms of quality until you learn to take great photos with that one. For a different focal length...sure, but not for quality. when I first started I was thinking it was crap as my landscapes sucked. later on I realized the lens is great, I sucked. It is a perfectly capable lens and I use my stuff as examples quite often, both online and at work. I have a few images that people reply with "wow...that was with a kit lens". So don't knock the lens...learn how to use it. ;-)

 

[Ernicus]

This shot was taken with a kit lens, and is one of the very few I am proud of. I am quite hard on myself in terms of showing off my work as anything other than learning tools and "how do I improve" tools. This is one of the few I quite like and looks great in print. Just one of the few (of which I can count on one hand) that I got right.

Kit lenses get a bad rap because they come with the camera. New they are about 200-250 bucks. Many people try to knock them down as crap, plastic, etc...etc. They do very well for a mid range zoom at 3.5/5.6

 

[TheKenTurner]

Don't buy a new lens until you know how to read lens specs.

-Ken Turner

 

[Heitz]

OP, I agree with Ernicus (Ps, great photo dude!) -- kit lenses can produce great pictures, particularly the newest crop of kit lenses. Here is a comparison I did a while back of the Nikon 18-55 kit lens versus some primes:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...m-1-8g-vs-18-55-3-5-5-6-lens-comparisons.html

 

[KmH]

[h=2]Is kit lens useless?[/h]

Not if used within it's capabilities.

Many people using a kit lens are new to doing photography, and don't yet understand where the limits of gear performance are.

This image was made with a Nikon 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens and illustrates that photography is mostly about the lighting and composition.

 

[CouncilmanDoug]

I've taken most of my favorite photo's using my 18-105

 

[Buckster]

These were all shot with the 18-55mm on an (ancient by today's standards) Canon 20D:

Keep working with it. It's a very capable lens.

 

[imagemaker46]

I have used the 18-55mm and for some things it's just fine, for wide shots, it really starts to fall off. But then what do you expect from a lens that feels like it's an empty plastic tube. The t2i is a great little camera, I shot a day of swimming with it yesterday and it out performed the quality of my 1D Mkll, I was using a 300 2.8mm on it. These entry level cameras perform really well with good glass in front of them.