Should You Buy An SLR With A ‘Kit’ Lens?

Today, higher end SLRs or single-lens reflex cameras are not prohibitively expensive; yet purchasing a digital camera is still quite a challenge. There is so much choice and such a huge price variation in the market that you need to study various brands and models and then compare them to your needs to decide which one would meet with your requirements.  

The high-end SLR cameras do not come with a lens because the buyer usually chooses them and buys them separately. The entry-level cameras come with a kit lens for the convenience of the user. A kit lens also called a starter lens is usually a low-end zoom lens that could range between a wide-angle to a basic telephoto lens for choice. These are okay for the novice photographer who is just getting started. Let us take a quick look at the types of lens used with SLRs: 

• Standard Lenses are in the 50 mm range and included with the camera.
• Prime Lenses have a single focal length, and offer great image quality and speed. These are faster than the zoom lens.
• Zoom lenses, which are more versatile and the most popular
• Telephoto Zoom Lenses – there are available in different quality and configuration. The good thing about zoom lenses is that you do not have to keep moving to get the right focus on your subject. While buying telephoto zoom lens, remember that the longer the focal length, the more impact the camera shake will have on your photos. You get zoom lens with image stabilization feature to take care of this though.

If you already own an SLR camera and plan to buy a new one, take into account your existing lens. If you look at the lower priced zoom lenses, you might enjoy better picture quality with the wide-angle lens than the telephoto. A wider zoom range is advisable. SLRs invariably come with the kit lens, but photography experts advise buying just the camera body and getting a better lens that can do more. In case you anticipate requiring a longer range than the standard kit lens that comes with your camera and you have the money to spend, you may consider going in for a camera body with the full range zoom. It will allow you the ability to shoot more, while your saving on the cost of the kit lens could make up a little towards the cost of the full range zoom.

SLR cameras are for the serious photographer as they have the ability to capture images quickly in challenging conditions. Thus, the most important thing to assess before you buy an SLR is the lens. Most of the SLR cameras are sold as camera body with or without the kit lens, which ranges from 18 to 55 mm. Because there is a huge choice of lenses, you may as well avoid the kit lens and go in for better lenses. While investing in a professional camera that costs close to a thousand dollars, it makes sense to go in for something better than the $50 lens, if you are keen on better quality images.