Does anyone use the kit lens for anything?

[Richard J. Johnson]

I'm about to spend a lot of money on glass and kind of forgot about the lens I have already. Is it good for anything. I'm late to the 7D party so if there is another thread please direct me to it.

[Jordan_S]

Lower-performing kit lenses are good for situations in when there's a higher than average risk of damage.

[Richard J. Johnson]

LOL. That is great. So pretty much worthless unless I'm skydiving? I wish I had been more educated on the lens factor when I bought it. I would have gotten the Tamron or something and spent a little more.

[Barry_Green]

What lens did you get? The 18-135 isn't bad for video work, and it has a pretty decent range. Only real problem with it is that it's slow, but then again, all kit lenses are usually quite slow.

[N635DC]

Yea as far as the quality of the glass. kit lenses are usually s*%t. The main difference you will see (if you can get past the fact that they are usually slower than a turtle with a broken leg) is the CA, distortion , vignetting, less bokeh and general lack of sharpness compared to their more expensive counterparts.

Personally, I would use them as a somewhat comical doorstop, problem is that kit lenses can't even do that well.

[Richard J. Johnson]

Yeah. I have the 18-35. With the other glass I hope to purchase friday. I don't know how much use it will get.

What lens did you get? The 18-135 isn't bad for video work, and it has a pretty decent range. Only real problem with it is that it's slow, but then again, all kit lenses are usually quite slow.

[Barry_Green]

The main difference you will see ... is the CA, distortion , vignetting, less bokeh and general lack of sharpness compared to their more expensive counterparts.

In stills, yes.

In video, no. I've tested this to death, and the kit lenses on the GH1 and 7D are just as sharp in video mode as the best high-buck still lenses. The video mode on the DSLR is "the great equalizer."

[Barry_Green]

Yeah. I have the 18-35. With the other glass I hope to purchase friday. I don't know how much use it will get.

Might be able to sell it for a few hundred, I think it goes for like $400-$500 on B&H...

[N635DC]

In stills, yes.

In video, no. I've tested this to death, and the kit lenses on the GH1 and 7D are just as sharp in video mode as the best high-buck still lenses. The video mode on the DSLR is "the great equalizer."

Interesting, I still haven't jumped on the "still camera body for video" bandwagon. Call me old fashioned. Have you hammered out why the lens gives different results in video mode?

[RyanT]

Because the resolution is so much less. It's only 1080, and it's definitely not a raw image.