Most people buying an interchangeable-lens camera for the first time will opt for the ‘kit’ lens bundled with the camera. When you’re buying an entry- or mid-level camera, it’s a convenient way to get a lens (or two) that suits the camera.
Professional and pro-sumer cameras are usually sold in body-only configurations, although some manufacturers may bundle suitable lenses with them.

The moderately wide angle of view at the wide end of the zoom range introduces few distortions, making it ideal for landscape photography. (28mm focal length on a ‘full frame’ DSLR body.)
Bundled lenses are usually affordably priced and they generally cover popular focal length ranges for everyday photography. The most popular kit lenses have zoom ranges that extend from a moderately wide angle of view to a modest telephoto (typically 28mm to around 85mm in 35mm format).
Kit lenses are relatively small and light, so they are a popular starting point for building a camera kit since they enable you to sample the focal lengths most frequently used for commonly-photographed subjects. Once you have a general-purpose lens, you can decide which lenses to add as you develop different aspects of your photography.

Developers of M4/3 cameras have set out to make them small, light and capable of all the functions serious photographers required. The latest kit lenses for these cameras are very compact to complement the camera bodies. (Source: Olympus.)

Small and light kit lenses are much easier to carry on challenging trips than faster, more solidly-built lenses.
Limitations of Kit Lenses
Kit lenses are probably a lot better than many people give them credit for. But they do have a few noteworthy shortcomings.
1. Build quality. Many kit lenses contain a relatively high percentage of plastic because they are built to a price. There’s nothing wrong with this; modern plastics are tough and durable and they’re lighter than metal and glass components. Plastic lenses can be moulded with high precision and made from materials with high levels of clarity and light transmission.
However plastic lens mounts are vulnerable to wear and impact shock. If you are hard on gear and/or like to shoot in bad weather, you will probably need a more substantial lens. (But you’ll also need a camera body to match.)
2. Speed. Kit lenses are typically a stop or two slower than prime (single focal length) lenses or premium-quality zooms. This means they have poorer light transmission, which reduces the brightness of the image in optical viewfinders. They also make it more difficult to achieve smooth, out-of-focus areas when you want to isolate subjects from distracting backgrounds.
Built-in stabilisation, either in the lens itself or in the camera body, can support hand-held shooting in relatively low light levels, although it won’t make the viewfinder any brighter. Nevertheless, it’s worth paying more for a stabilised lens if your camera body doesn’t provide stabilisation.
3. Autofocusing. The autofocusing systems on kit lenses (particularly those for DSLR cameras) are often based on screw-drive motors. These are usually slower and noisier than the ultrasonic drives used on more expensive lenses.
4. Focal length range. You may find the zoom range is too limited for your requirements, particularly if you like to shoot landscapes or sports. There are ways around some (but not all) limitations, but it’s usually better to invest in an extra lens with the coverage you want.


Examples of the zoom range of a typical kit lens. (Taken with the Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II lens at 14mm and 42mm.)
Few kit lenses are long enough to take close-ups of animals and birds in the wild, although they can be fine for photographing pets. Kit lenses are also unsuitable for close-up shots of sports action or dramatic landscape panoramas.
Photographers who enjoy shooting extreme close-ups will also find a kit lens limiting. A dedicated macro lens will probably be required, or a telephoto zoom with good close-focusing capabilities.
Sometimes, simply moving closer could solve the problem for sports shots. Shooting and stitching panoramas may provide adequate panoramic coverage. Close-up attachments can facilitate ‘macro’ photography. But usually a dedicated lens is preferable.
5. Flare. Kit lenses are often flare-prone. Flare is caused when light is back-scattered by the elements in the lens, resulting in veiling, an overall loss of contrast. Sometimes, bright shapes are scattered across the image.
Fitting a lens hood that excludes stray light can often prevent flare. Unfortunately, few manufacturers supply hoods so you should consider adding a hood when the lens is purchased.
Kit lenses are often sold without lens hoods, which makes them more susceptible to stray light that produces flare, as shown in this illustration.
Shooting Tips
Kit lenses are usually quite versatile. At the wide end they’re useful for capturing landscapes, while at the tele position, they become handy portrait lenses. In between, you can use them for group portraits, street photography, tabletop shots and even some close-ups.

Kit lenses are often sold without lens hoods, which makes them more susceptible to stray light that produces flare, as shown in this illustration.
Explore the limitations of your lens by taking shots at each end of the zoom range. At the wide end, experiment to see how close the lens will focus. Try some shots of buildings to see how much it distorts vertical and horizontal lines (some cameras provide in-camera corrections for distortion to overcome such problems). Look at how perspective changes when you look up at a subject ““ and when you look down.
Kit lenses can be used with wide-angles for candid shots, regardless of the size of the camera. However, smaller interchangeable-lens cameras with touch screens make candid and street photography easier because they’re inconspicuous and the touch shutter control lets you shoot ‘from the hip’ and avoid attracting attention.
Longer focal lengths create an impression of compressed perspective, which can also be enjoyed when standard kit lenses are used. Find out how much your lens compresses by photographing a fence or line of trees.
Check out the lens’s bokeh (rendition of out-of-focus areas) by shooting a portrait or close-up with the widest aperture setting. Try different angles and you’ll soon learn how the lens handles highlights and how to avoid ‘choppy’ looking backgrounds.
Experiment with different focal lengths for different types of subjects to see which ones work best. Try walking towards a subject with the lens set mid-way in the zoom range instead of just zooming in. You might be surprised at how the perspective in the shot changes with different distances.
Exploring the capabilities of your lens will help you to understand its limitations. And your photography will improve as a result.
Many photographers keep using their first kit lens for the life of the camera body. For some photographers, one or two kit lenses will cover all the shooting situations they encounter. The only reason they would consider other lenses is when they require focal lengths not covered by the kit lens or larger maximum apertures.

All wide-angle lenses introduce some distortion but you can minimise it with a kit zoom lens by shooting with a focal length that is close to the middle of the zoom range and keeping the camera as vertical as possible. Tilting the camera even slightly upwards can alter the relationship between near and more distant elements in the scene and make close elements appear unnaturally large.

The convergence of verticals is emphasised with wider angles of view, as shown in this shot taken with a 16mm wide-angle lens on a 35mm format camera. (Source: Tamron.)

A candid shot taken at a temple complex in Tokyo with the 14-42mm kit lens on an Olympus OM-D E-M10. Being small and inconspicuous this combination lets you shoot at 14mm without attracting attention.
Excerpt from Lenses Guide.