How bad is the 18-55mm kit lens?

S

S.C

Active member
I'm gonna be getting a T3i probably some time in early june and have the opportunity to get it for $800 with the kit lens. Obviously its not a great piece of glass, but will it get the job done well enough. I will be using the camera for all video, and probably get some more lenses in the next year or so. The first lens I'll get for it (if i don't end up getting it with the camera) will be the 50mm f/1.8

Also, I can get a refurbished 60d with a Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC for around $1300. I would need to wait much longer on this set up, so im not sure if it would be worth it.

btw, heres some of my work: http://www.vimeo.com/stephanc
 
It's OK. Much better than I expected to be honest. You will want to get another lens at some point for sure (the 50mm you mentioned is a great choice, i personally bought the canon 17-55mm f/2.8), but it will do the job for a while. The non-fixed aperture and shitty build are annoying, but other than that it's decent. Here's some of my work with the kit 18-55 lens:
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Word, +K and the canon 17-55mm is nearly twice as much as the most expensive lenses I would be looking at, but I heard its some great glass. I think that I'll get the kit and then my 1st lens would be the 50mm prime for low light. Then I'd look into getting the 17-50 or a wide angle lens.

also thoughts on 60d vs. T3i???

To me it looks like the main differences are size, build quality, Kelvin white balance, and shutter speed. Also the T3i has the 3x-10x zoom which looks interesting. Thoughts on the cams?

I can either get a refurbished 60d body or a T3i kit (new) for the same price...
 
yea i love the 17-55mm and i have no regrets about buying it, but looking back i probably would have bought the tamron if i had to make the choice again.
60D is in my opinion a much better buy than the T3i. Aside from the articulating screen, almost all of the T3i's features are really gimmicky. The fact that the 60D has an articulating screen, a better body, and manual audio levels make it a much more professional purchase, especially considering that they're developing a 60D Magic Lantern
 
the T3i still has the articulating screen and manny audio, so they're still not that different
 
oh word? yea i know it has the articulating screen but i forgot about the manny audio, been a while since i looked at T3i specs. pretty much your call then
 
do you think its worth $150 (give or take) more? and if I was to get it should i just get the 50mm f/1.8 and pick up the 17-50 next winter, or get an 18-55 now?
 
That's really something that only you can decide. it's just how much you value those features. personally, if i were looking at a Canon DSLR again, I would probably still go with the T2i. But others, like DownToFilm, went with the 60D because the features seemed worth the extra money. So it's really just personal opinion.
the 50mm is a dope lens, but it's tight. you have to remember that you're gonna be shooting on a crop sensor, so it will shoot more like an 80mm lens. It's a little too tight for me most of the time, and sorta tough to shoot with handheld. So if you can't buy the 17-50 right away, I would recommend getting the 18-55 so you have at least something wider until then
 
word, right now it looks like ill be going with the 60d refurbished... Good starter lenses for $300 Or less anyone? anything better than the 18-55 IS
 
Check out the Helios 44m-2 58/f2 for an amazing filming lens. You should be able to cop one on ebay for like 40 bucks total with shipping from the former USSR countries. It's also an amazing candid lens. If you want a basic 50 check out the Pentax SMC takumar 50 1.4 I copped one for 50 bucks and it BLOWS OUT the canon 50 prime for price and IQ.
The original EF 70-300 USM is a damn good cheaper option for the telephoto route as well.

Keep in mind you'll need an adapter and you'll have to manual focus; but you MF for video anyway.
 
but then again, it's not like i was just cranking contrast and saturation. i intentionally brought them that high while at the same time making sure whites stayed white, blacks stayed black, etc. so there was a lot more to it than just saturation and contrast
 
right, it wasnt like a teenage girl editing photos for facebook, i just always use those words to get to the point.

i was just making sure that wasn't the camera doing it. i know some cameras are over the top on both in both of those areas. my nikon p100 needed some adjustment at first.
 
oh word. yeah that was also when i was an idiot and filmed with saturation and contrast turned up all the way in the camera haha
 
id save the 150 and buy a couple cheap primes. you can find 35mm 50mm for cheap but wider will cost a little more but an off brand 17mm or 20mm at 3.5 ot 4 will be around 100 and better imo. the kit lens is probablt canons worst lens but it works especially if youre broke
 
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