Kit Lenses Are AWESOME…. This is why!

[@carmenfissenden2530]

Chris, I rediscovered the joys of putting the kit lens back on my em10 mii. Naturally , the brighter days mean that the shutter speeds will be faster and those smaller apertures become less of a handicap . Sure , my primes are faster and sharper , but what I was looking for was replicating the look of my old BW prints and I need super sharp lenses to do that . I also came upon some of the images I had taken with another kit lens on a different camera or two and knew they really were pretty sharp . So, could I match the quality and given good light and an ability to fill the frame , I was going to be able to . Thanks again , Chris for encouraging me to revisit my youth and more importantly the humble and often put down kit lens .

[@blackbeans8096]

Thank you so much for this. I am just starting on getting to photography and bought a cheap secondhand Sony Nex-C3. And the lenses are really overwhelming me. Maybe I should have fun and master this lens first before exploring new stuff. Thank you!

[@g0fvt]

I think many kit lenses appear on the secondhand market just because they are kit lenses. The whole economy around cameras is strange, my M43 cameras that I paid about half the new price for had such low "shutter" counts that they could have each done on one battery. We live in an age where you can spend a fortune with just a mouse click, but then we fail to properly attempt to get useful results from what we have bought. In my case I have put lenses aside when I didn't think they were giving me the results I wanted. Maybe a challenge people could try is to take out their least favourite lense and actually use it. Certainly I have changed my mind more than once.

[@rjphotos]

30 years ago photographers would sell a kidney to get access to the kind of equipment available today, even the entry level stuff. And despite this, photographers 30 years ago were producing incredible work which not only still holds up, but in many cases is unmatched. Gear is only a part of a much bigger picture.

[@SaudagarWarna]

Enter Islam and success

[@TigerPaw193]

Thanks, Chris, for taking us with you on that photo walk through the woods. Definitely inspiring and uplifting images!

[@kevinridley8883]

Great photos Chris, always said it's the photographer not the gear, love the photo with the light on the bench & bluebells , even when you can't be bothered , just shows what you can capture , keep em coming . :)

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

Thanks Kevin, really appreciate the support!

[@c.augustin]

This particular lens model was the reason why I had my E-PM1 sitting in the drawer for years. I bought it used, tried it - and was disappointed by the image quality. When I adapted an old Leica M lens to it out of curiosity, I was instantly astonished about the image quality I've got out of the 12 MP sensor! After that I bought an E-PM2 and other m43 lenses, and never looked back. Interestingly enough, I now have the tiny 14-42 mm EZ (electronic zoom) lens, which purportedly has the same optical construction - and find it to be quite good. But it is the second specimen, the first one did not impress me at all (it seemed to be unreliable). So maybe sample variations are high at this price point, even though Olympus is known for its good quality control …

[@danny_r27]

My favorite kit lens is the Lumix 12-32mm. Can’t justify it on my E-M1 Mark III but maybe if I end up getting a GX85 in the future I’ll hope it comes with it.

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

I had the old GX7 which I coupled with the LUMIX version of the 14-42 and had some OK results. I just never got along with that camera.

[@PrivateRyan87]

I have to say I don’t think kit lenses are too bad, still use my RF 24-105 kit lens and have to admit some of my best photos were shot with that lens coupled with the RP. Great video again mate, everyone loves bluebells

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

Thanks Ryan. How you getting on with that camera? I hated it for photo but video it wasn’t too bad.

[@PrivateRyan87]

@@ChrisBaitsonPhoto I’m really enjoying the RP if I’m honest, I will at some point look at getting the R8 but for now it’s doing good, coupled with the RF100-400 I’m using for wildlife I think it’s really bloody good.

[@K9CareObedienceTraining]

Great video, The bench photo was awesome. Just came across your channel today. Top Job :)

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

Thank you. Was a case of right place at the right time that one!

[@aerialfilm1]

Kit Lens is not a four letter word. I went through the Netherlands and down to France with that lens on an e-pl2 in 2012. Never once did I feel disadvantaged, and even today there are many images from that trip I’m very proud of. I think the older version ii MSC is slightly better than the newer pancake EZ. They are however at their best on the 16 and 12mp cameras.

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

I was never a fan of the EZ version but like you say, the R version that I have isn’t a bad little lens at all!

[@lindaw5890]

Beautiful images! We don't have bluebells here in Nova Scotia so I love seeing images of them. I rarely take my Canon 18-105 kit lens out for a spin, but when I do I'm not unhappy with the results. You can definitely feel the quality difference between in and my Tamron 18-300, though.

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

I’d love to shoot over in Nova Scotia I’m not jealous at all! The bluebells were the best I’ve seen them this year, I think I timed it right.

[@lindaw5890]

I'm not jealous of your land and seascapes either! Not a bit.... ;-)

[@ededgar1959]

Great video Chris, i went micro four thirds 4 year's ago (Panasonic GX7) will give icm a go, I'm loving the music to. 👍🙂

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

Thanks Ed. The music is from Epidemic sound. Sign up for a free trial and you can just download a bunch of tracks.

[@ededgar1959]

@@ChrisBaitsonPhoto Thank you Chris I will have a look 👍🙂

[@ggwildlife]

nice one chris for breaking this barrier i love my 14-42mm its light and its sharp and does the job perfectly! I love ICM and have done similar to your trees.

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

Yeah it’s actually quite a good little lens for the money isn’t it. I’m not sure about the EZ pancake version but the one I have is nice. Aside from the locking mechanism on the zoom mind you.

[@ggwildlife]

@@ChrisBaitsonPhoto i have the EZ pancake version great bit of kit.

[@thomashakiel1344]

Excellent video Chris. Thank you. The ICM is something I look forward to trying myself.

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

It’s good fun to do but it can be a right pain to get one looking half decent. Look for straight trees. Any fallen or angled ones look horrible when you do this 😂

[@lensmine-gi4tg]

You are wonderful, melted into nature.

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

Why thank you!

[@seanb480]

The Olympus kits are the best. I use my 40-150mm kit for sporting events and its so spot on!

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

I like my 40-150 but it’s not often on my camera in all honesty. Maybe I need to get it out more.

[@seanb480]

@@ChrisBaitsonPhoto I also use for birding and am told that it does an exception job with macro if you buy a cheap extension tube which I need to do.

[@TheBlackSkimmer]

Did you take these as a RAW of JPEG? Just saw your JPEG video and these pictures are stunning. I am just about to get my first camera, a Lumix g7, and I am super excited to take some landscape pictures.

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

Thanks for watching! I these photos are all shot RAW and tinkered with in Lightroom.

[@fujiuser1968]

I loved my 14-42 locking lens,until it stopped working. seems to be a common problem with the internal ribbon pulling out or tearing over time 😞

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

I’ve had this happen. My old 18-55 broke years ago. I think the cable was about £1.50 on eBay and fairly easy to fix.

[@bernardsielski8903]

Once again inspiring, great photos you have proved the point 👍👍👍

[@ianparr1533]

My plastic fantastics have been the 18-55mm Canon EF-S and the 12-32mm Panasonic. Both have given some great images... but the Canon is horribly plastic, really horrible if you are using filters because the filter thread rotates when you focus. Grrr! on the other hand, it's still going at 14 years old so maybe the plastic-ness isn't really such a problem. The Panasonic is optically very good and takes (very small) filters with no such problems. The limitations of the 12-32 are mainly due to size, not build. The 12-40mm f/2.8 Olympus came as a kit with the E-M1 and I'm tempted to put it forward as the one lens to rule them all. It's ridiculously good and so nice to use.

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

Yeah I can vouch for the 12-40 Olympus, this video was recorded with it. Pretty much on my EM1 Mark ii all of the time. Very rarely have I needed to use another lens in all honesty. It’s really well built and optically it’s spot on.

[@Drmikekuna]

I love quality pro-level lenses, but recent offerings have been so expensive that I can't even consider them. Can you do quality work with a kit lens? Of course! I do a lot of real estate-type photography (interiors). I take photos on a tripod and use a smaller aperture so that everything is in focus. In this case, using a pro-level lens has no advantage (for me). I did one project that ran for months, where I was following a construction crew around for a major project. I needed a very small camera and lens that I could pull out of my pocket at a moment's notice, and I used a small micro 4 3 camera with a kit lens. It worked well until a worker accidentally knocked the camera around 2' to the floor. No more lens. A pro-lens would have withstood the fall. Yet, I could buy a used replacement consumer for a couple hundred dollars-so, no big deal. Influencers constantly tell us that we need a $3000 camera and (at least) a trinity of pro lenses costing $5000-$6000. That is not true in many situations. Although I now have some pro lenses, in the past, I have used consumer lenses for everything from portraits, to headshots,, to architectural photography, to professional web images, to events. Photography is more about telling a story rather than mega-pixels or low F-stops. Is there a place for a pro-lens? Of course! Beyond certain situations (like extreme low light), they are very durable, and if you are going to use a lens day in and day out, go pro. Otherwise, go with what you can afford.

[@colintraveller]

Are you able to capture in Grainy BW ?

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

This would be possible yes.

[@paulcomptonpdphotography]

i use my fuji kit lens all the time

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

I do, technically, as it’s now my video lens. I just think too many people worry about buying expensive lenses when the lens that comes with the cameras are perfectly usable.

[@ChristoMonte]

Kit lenses are more than enough for the majority of camera users regardless of whether we understand it or admit it. Furthermore Olympus except for the cheap plasticky 14-42, also used to sell as kit lenses (with em5s and em1s) the 12-40 and 12-100 pro which for many of us are anyway the lenses of choise. Although the 12-40 pro is also my lens of choise, I honestly find the 14-42 (which I always love) to be a better match to my em10 ii from a technical point of view. It is weird but in low light and with the same settings the autofocus performance of my camera with the 14-42 mounted is very good, while it struggles a lot with the 12-40. P.S. This lock/unlock button drives me crazy from the very first moment...

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

I have to agree with you, the lock function is a pain at times. I prefer the 12-40 on my EM1 MKii but on the EM5 MKii the 14-42 gives some really nice results.

[@drewselby1]

I have a few prime and zoom lenses that love, but I recently took my favorite longer exposure photo with my kit lens, I was so shocked!

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

There is nothing wrong with that!

[@kcphotogeek6207]

Are you and David Flower copying each others homework 😂 I would argue MFT have the best selection of kit lenses

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

Coincidence this one! I did laugh when I saw what his last one was called though.

[@jayabramson6702]

I don’t know about selection but the Fuji 18-55 is a fantastic kit lens. Before the 18-55’s ruled the Earth Nikon had a really nice 18-70 kit lens that came with my D70. Not a plasticky lens at all but a solid metal build and great coverage.

[@bigrobotnewstoday1436]

Thomas Heaton made a video about shaking the camera with another photographer he does it different then you. I don't know the name of the video but this other photographer holds the camera in one hand then shakes the camera kind of like its in a circle. Think slow shutter and you are moving the camera the focus ring. So you are sharking the camera but turning the camera kind of. I looked for that video I looked but I can't find it.

[@leeh6146]

He’s called Andy Gray. Based in Northumberland.

[@DRPHOTOGRAPHYPOV17]

My kit lens just stays in my cupboard. Maybe i need to take it out more.

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

That poor lens. Take it out and have a play.

[@DRPHOTOGRAPHYPOV17]

Its mainly because i have bought some new lenses so ive been using them more. Ill probably end up trading it in and putting the money towards a macro lens

[@TravelingBibliophile]

Kit lenses can’t be too bad because if they weren’t , and always resulted in shots that were dull or not sharp etc. , people would give up quickly and not go for the pro lenses as they evolve, or decide to make a job as a photographer.

[@photohiker81]

pls test the Oly 12-50mm as well

[@davidmccarthy6061]

I challenge anyone to look at any image and tell me which camera system or lens produced it. Especially these days when post processing is so easy and it could have been from a $700 camera bundle, a $9000 set up, or a two year old smartphone. Anyone looking at the picture to enjoy it won't care!

[@malcolmwright6948]

If Kit lenses were bad, everyone would be put off buying into a camera system surely?

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

My point was too many people worry about buying into expensive lenses. Myself included to be fair, but since dropping the Canon L series stuff I’ve realised I didn’t actually need to.

[@malcolmwright6948]

Why does no one question why you have to buy the Canon L series to get a good Canon lens? When it came to Canon APS-C in the EF format, there were no L series lenses specifically made for APS-C. So everyone ended up paying Full Frame Lens prices and having Full Frame lens weight on what should have been a lighter weight system. That made the massive EOS 7D mk2 popular as it balanced the handling. I don't know if that's still true of the RF mount, but I suspect it is. That's why I no longer shoot with Canon gear.

[@RamblingTog]

What's the annoying flashing line below your video

[@ChrisBaitsonPhoto]

I’m not too sure what you mean?

[@ericrjennings]

No flashing line on my screen.

[@bigrobotnewstoday1436]

Be careful I heard there are orcs there. LOL