Are Kit lenses “good enough”?
Photo by Irham Setyaki on Unsplash
What is a Kit lens?
A kit lens is a multi-purpose lens that comes with a camera whenever you buy it. Typically these lenses are a 16-55mm zoom lens or 28-70mm zoom lens that allow you to get both wide angle shots, as well as shots that are more zoomed in on the subject. Kit lenses tend to be on the cheaper side and a lot of photographers will tell you to opt out of getting the kit lens and put that money towards a more expensive lens that is better. Is this the right choice, or can you get good shots with a kit lens?
The disadvantages/advantages of a kit lens
As with every piece of equipment on the market, kit lenses can be a fantastic tool in your pocket, or they can be a waste of money. If you are just starting to dabble in photography and aren’t sure what area you want to focus on, the kit lens can be a fantastic tool that allows you to just start taking pictures. My first mirrorless camera was a Sony A7III and it came with a 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. I was all I used for the longest time and for what I was doing, it worked. I wasn’t taking portraits, I was just doing street photography. Though, I quickly learned that it struggled in low light situations. Why though? The problem with most kit lenses is the aperture, or the hole in the lens that lets in light. You can learn more about aperture in depth here.
Kit lenses typically have poor low light performance and their maximum aperture is usually in the f/3.5 to f/4.5 range, which means that they can’t let in as much light as lenses with a maximum aperture of f/1.8 or f/2.8. You will often hear kit lenses referred to as being “slower” or “slow” lenses. Since they have a narrower maximum aperture, that also means that you will have less background blur (bokeh) and less subject separation from the background. Another disadvantage is that as the lens zooms in, your maximum aperture will get narrower. So on a lens that is 16-55mm f/3.5-5.6, when that lens is zoomed all the way out you can open the aperture up to f/3.5 but as you zoom in, your maximum aperture will become narrower. When zoomed all the way in, the widest aperture you’ll be able to get is f/5.6. Most, if not all lenses have the aperture range written on the lens itself. Around the glass of the lens, you will see the lens focal length (e.g. 16-55mm) and the aperture range (e.g. 3.5-5.6)
Having a kit lens isn’t all that bad though. Despite what some photographers may tell you. They are still very capable lenses that you can get solid results with. Kit lenses allow you to just get out and shoot photos. They’re lightweight, cheap, and usually pretty well built. When you’re learning photography that’s one of the most important things. You can learn ISO, aperture, and shutter speed (exposure triangle) on a kit lens.
I want to get a new lens, which should I get?
If you’ve used the kit lens and you’re ready for an upgrade, there are a lot of choices for an upgrade. Though it depends on a few things.
What are you primarily shooting?
What is your budget?
What ecosystem are you in?
The first thing you need to consider is what you are primarily shooting. If you are shooting sports, your lens needs will be different than someone who is shooting landscapes. A sports photographer may need a telephoto lens with a wide aperture, whereas a landscape photographer may need a wide angle lens with a narrower aperture.
Secondly, you have to look at your budget. Zoom lenses with a wide aperture (lower f/ stop) will generally be much more expensive than a prime lens (doesn’t zoom) with a wider aperture. Personally prime lenses are my favorite and I actually don’t own any kit lenses other than a cheap kit lens that came with my Sony A5100 years ago.
Finally you need to consider what camera ecosystem you’re in, whether that be Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm, etc. This ultimately will determine what lenses you have access to as each brand has different lenses. Brands like Sony have a lot of third party lenses available which gives you a lot of options to choose from. However, brands like Fujifilm don’t have near as many third party lenses available, or even first party lenses as competing brands. It’s possible to get adapters that allow you to mix camera bodies with different brand lenses, but it’s not something people typically do or recommend.
A lot of people, including myself, typically throw a nifty fifty lens in our kit. This is a fixed focal length prime lens (50mm) that has a wide aperture (typically 1.8) that is overall a great “all rounder” lens and is one that a lot of people typically purchase early on. They’re great for low light and portraits due to the f/1.8 aperture and are still a wide enough focal length that they work great for landscapes as well. The downside of course is that you can’t zoom and have to zoom with your feet (physically move closer or further from your subject). Prime lenses are also typically significantly cheaper than zoom lenses, especially third party prime lenses.
Final thoughts
So what do I think you should do? Honestly, I think kit lenses are fantastic for beginners. In the beginning, it’s far more important to learn about the fundamentals of photography than it is to worry about what lens you are using. Yes you may be somewhat limited on what you can do with a kit lens, but you can absolutely learn all the fundamentals using it. If you are on the fence about whether or not you should use one, I say go for it. If you don’t like using it or feel like you reach your limit with it, you can always buy a new lens and keep the kit lens as a backup.