Kit Lens Comparison

[Martin The Hat]

I've been thinking of upgrading to a Canon 40D lately which has led me to the issue of whether to go for a body & lens bundle or just go for the body alone.

This got me thinking about the quality of kit lenses in general so last week I spent some time reading some lens reviews.

The first thing that struck me is that the kit lens that came with my Canon 350D (EF-S 18-55) is widely regarded as being not up to the job and should be replaced asap. Now I always thought it gave me pretty good results, so I decided to find out just how bad it actually is - or more accurately - how much better off would i be with a different lens!

A close friend of mine has a 450D and the kit lens for it (the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS) is regarded as being one of the first kit lenses produced by Canon that is actually pretty good and worth having.

So last week my friend and I conducted some extensive tests, we took several shots at varying apertures and focal lengths (with flash and without) on my 350D and compared the results. We were amazed to find that the resulting images were virtually identical, the distortion, CA, sharpness... all the same.

Is the industry trying to hoodwink us into upgrading our lenses needlessly?
How much stock should I take in the reviews (no matter how universal the opinions appear)?

Any thoughts on the subject would be most welcome!

[JamesStan]

well with the 40d you would get the canon 16-85is a the standard kit lens, and i can tell you this is a fantastic lens.

[Martin The Hat]

thanks James, i had heard that the 40D kit lens is very good and bought with the bundle it is half the price too. I'm wondering how much better than the other 2 it is!

[Marvin]

I think we have to look at it from a manufacturer's viewpoint.... They want more money from you so they want you to buy more lenses. On the other hand, many users will buy the kit and never buy another lens. Their cameras are constantly being compared with other manufacturers and in many cases this will be done WITH the kit lens. Yes, they have to keep the price down to get their share of the market but they dare not sell a camera with a poor quality lens as this will reflect as being a poor camera.

Personally, I find the Nikon 18-55 kit lens as "not bad" and I have seen reviews that compare it favourably against the more expensive 18-70. (I have not had chance to try that one.) Yes, I have better lenses in this range but they are primes or have less zoom.

I see you are comparing against an IS lens. I have my reservations about these. Are they not just a "sales gimmick"? IS (or VR) is very useful at 200-400mm but does anyone really need it at 18mm??? :confused:

[bryan]

Is or Vr is very useful at higher ends of lenses like 200 or 400 at nigel says and my first thougth was it isnt really needed at 18mm, but after about 3 ses of thinking(along time in my book) the IS or VR even at 18mm will give you an extra stop or so hand held and depending on the type of photography maybe the differnce from having a usable picture or not. as for kit lenses in general, i think most are good lens. i know on my old d200 that the 18-70 lens was regarded as a very good lens and took some cracking pictures. only limitations on kit lenses i can see really is the low appertures.

[Martin The Hat]

wise words from you all gentlemen, thanks for your in-sights.

I think I would rather go for a lens that produced the best results, if it had IS then that would be a bonus but it isn't vital by any means.

I don't have the funds for an L lens so I suppose what I need to find out is... will i get much better results from the 40D kit lens than i would with my 350D kit lens on a 40D body.. do i actually need to buy a new lens?

The results of last weeks test have cast doubt in my mind on the validity of the reviews that i have read!

[Marvin]

Of course there is another factor we haven't even touched upon... operator skill, or lack of it. Some people would make a mess no matter what equipment you give them. :o
Most of us here have seen many of your shots Martin, and in my opinion you would make masterpieces using any old rubbish! :top:

[Hicarrumba]

I have both the 18-55 is and the 18-55 standard, and so far have not found that anything is different quality wise. the IS does feel different though, better built and very slightly heavier.