Kit lenses - get the best from them ?

[dee]

Maybe I am the only one who uses kit lenses -
Panasonic G1 / Sony A35+A290 / Pentax K10D / Samsung NX100 and a couple of Olympus 4/3rds for the Pan L!/Digilux 3 .

I tend to stay at f8 , adjusting ISO to keep it that way , although the CCD cameras , are limited to ISO 400 .

Maybe I am less concerned about IQ , but I generally find them quite acceptable for viewing on-screen . I seldom print photos and , if I do , it will be from the M8 / CV 35mm + J3 , with X-Pro 1 / 27mm entering the quality equation .

Any other tips for getting the best from them ?

dee

 

[sevo]

Nothing wrong with kit lenses, if you can live with limited speed and focal range - indeed, as they are the one thing that defines the IQ of any camera system, they must be good enough to show up the quality of the kit they are part of, or the whole kit will not sell. They sometimes don't have much reserves beyond that - don't expect a kit zoom from the 6MP era to be as good on a 24MP camera...

 

[lynnb]

Most kit zoom lenses are limited to a maximum aperture of around f3.5 at the wide end and f5.6 at the long end. In my experience the #1 thing that usually makes a difference is good camera technique, i.e. holding the camera steady and using a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake; #2 is to use an aperture two stops down from wide open if maximum lens sharpness is what you're after (which in my case, often isn't the main consideration).

It's hard to generalise beyond that as kit lenses can vary widely in quality and performance. The mounts you mention seem to be ones with a reputation for reasonable to very good quality kit lenses so I'd suggest you test them in situations that will stress the lenses - e.g. shooting into the light - and decide for yourself how best to use each lens.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

Kit lenses can produce great images.

For best images:
- Don't shoot wide open
- Keep the shutter speed up enough, keep the ISO moderate
- Great outdoors daytime
- Adjust and crop the images in post
- For indoors or other low light settings, use a basic prime lens instead

Little story: Non-photo friend on a big vacation trip. I armed him with a Sony NEX-5n and the small kit zoom, camera set to full auto, RAW+jpg. He came back with great photos, all outdoors in good light, but the images are really good.

 

[dee]

Thanks .
I tend to do as suggested , and have been surprised at how good they can be , given the negative press that they gather ... that is except for an earlier Sony lens gathered with a used A390 .
I use a Sony 35 f1.8 low light .
I confess that I have problems with camera shake/hand-eye coordination .
dee