kit vs "non-kit": Greetings All - curious as to to what determines a "non-kit' lens. Price? At what level does a lens go from kit to "non-kit"? Other than focal range, what does look...

jzett

Greetings All - curious as to to what determines a "non-kit' lens. Price? At what level does a lens go from kit to "non-kit"? Other than focal range, what does look for in a "non-kit" lens? Thank you for assistance. John

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

jzett wrote:

Greetings All - curious as to to what determines a "non-kit' lens. Price? At what level does a lens go from kit to "non-kit"? Other than focal range, what does look for in a "non-kit" lens? Thank you for assistance. John

Kit lenses are usually low cost lenses bundled with the camera.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

jzett wrote:

Greetings All - curious as to to what determines a "non-kit' lens. Price? At what level does a lens go from kit to "non-kit"? Other than focal range, what does look for in a "non-kit" lens? Thank you for assistance. John

Usually, kit lenses are "slow" lenses and vario-aperture lenses! I said usually, as there are exceptions, sometimes kit lenses are top of the line lenses, but that sure is not the norm.

CO

Many kit lenses have a plastic lens mount to save money. Some kit lenses don't have vibration reduction. As far as coating go, Nikon reserves their nano-crystal coat for their best lenses. Those lenses have a gold ring around the front of the lens barrel.

Most lenses now have aspherical lens elements. Kit lenses will often have hybrid aspherical elements where a moulded piece of plastic is cemented to a spherical glass element to make it aspherical. A step up from that is a moulded aspherical glass element. A heated piece of glass is pressed into a mold that has the aspherical shape. The best are precision ground aspherical elements Those are prohibitively expensive to manufacture.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Yes, kit lenses on crop sensor cameras are generally low end types, such as the18-55mm on both Nikon and Canon entry level based cameras. My first kit lens was this one. However, on more expensive full frame cameras such as the Canon. 5D Mark 4, you can purchase it sometimes as a kit package, with a 24-105mm "L" lens, which is not a low end lens. You pay extra for the kit combination. Nikon does the same occasionally on its full frame new cameras.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jzett wrote:

Greetings All - curious as to to what determines a "non-kit' lens. Price? At what level does a lens go from kit to "non-kit"? Other than focal range, what does look for in a "non-kit" lens? Thank you for assistance. John

It's a shame that "kit lens" became a common term. The Nikon 18-55mm is a very good lens, but many people consider it a throwaway because it's small and cheap and come packed with a camera. There have been some excellent lenses sold with cameras, but they are still called kit lenses. I bought only one camera with a lens because bodies only were not available at the time. I sold it right away because I had other lenses that covered that focal range.

If Nikon were to box a body with their $2,000 70-200mm lens, that would not help sales. Many people buying a DSLR for the first time have no lenses, so getting a lens with the camera is perfect, and it's cheaper than buying camer and lens separately..

Ultimately, you have to evaluate a lens based on its own merits. Look for reviews and comparisons.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-55mm-vr.htm

Ranjan Loc: Currently Cyber-Nation!

jerryc41 wrote:

It's a shame that "kit lens" became a common term...

True! The original kit lens the nikkor 50mm/1.8 that used to be bundled with film bodies was/is a superlative lens with high IQ.

The Fujifilm cameras often come with a Fujinon xf 18-55mm lens which is also a very high quality 'kit' lens.

I am sure there must be many more such examples of kit lenses in other brands

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

jzett wrote:

Greetings All - curious as to to what determines a "non-kit' lens. Price? At what level does a lens go from kit to "non-kit"? Other than focal range, what does look for in a "non-kit" lens? Thank you for assistance. John

There are kit lenses and there are kit lenses. A kit lens is a lens the camera manufactures include in the KIT. Nikon has levels of KIT lenses, the most common is this https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1280950-REG/nikon_1546b_d5500_dslr_camera_with.html?sts=pi, here Nikon is putting on a 18-55 lens that is included in the KIT. Then you have a better quality KIT lens included with the D500 with a 16-80 KIT lens, https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1214162-REG/nikon_1560_d500_dslr_camera_with.html?sts=pi-ps. So, as you can see Nikon will but together many KIT packages. The 18-55 is referred to as a KIT lens, it is not a top shelf lens but will get you by. On the other hand the 16-80 is a top quality lens from Nikon and they sometimes offer it at a KIT price. So, it is always good to shop these KIT lenses and make sure of what you are getting. Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

A kit lens is any lens that is part of a "kit" You know, bundled with a camera as part of a kit. Lower end cameras usually come with lower end lenses. These lenses are fine and usually match well with the level of camera. However, they do not match well when you move up to a better body. It is this weak migration route that makes many people (including me) disparage kit lenses. If you plan to progress in photography, you want a better lens before a better body. My first DLSR was a Canon Rebel xt. It came with a 18-55 lens that was fine for the first six months or so. After that I started to upgrade lenses. A 50mm 1.4 was my next purchase. I still use that lens. The 18-55 is long gone.

But, for some people, the original body and kit lens may be all they ever need.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

It is hard for me to answer all of your concerns. A lens is called a kit lens when it comes paired to a camera. The lens could be of so-so quality or the quality could be very good.
I do not really know how to answer your "when a kit lens goes to non kit." You can buy a kit lens as an individual lens in which case is not considered a kit lens meaning not paired to a camera. You can buy the camera without a kit lens.
What to look for in a kit lens without considering the focal length? Kit lenses tend to be slow at their long end, something like a f5.6. This is not the rule because some lenses designed as kit lenses could be pretty fast. The D750 made by Nikon sells with the 24-120 f4 as the kit lens, just to give you an example. If the kit lens is considered slow for the type of photography you have in mind then the kit lens is not your best choice.
I know there is nothing very specific in my answers but this is the best I can do.

cthahn

Kit lenses are the least costly of any lens and always included with a new camera for the lowest price. This is what most amateur photographers get because they don't understand anything about lens, just cost.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Examples:

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera with 24-105mm f/4L II Lens. The 24-105 f/4L is an awesome lens. It is sold as a kit with the Mark IV a high end camera.

Canon EOS Rebel T6i DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens. Entry level with a low end lens.

Canon EOS Rebel T6i DSLR Camera with 18-135mm Lens. Entry level with an "OK" lens.

What you won't see:

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens. High end camera with low end lens. (Except on Ebay maybe)

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

jerryc41 wrote:

It's a shame that "kit lens" became a co... (show quote)

I agree that "kit lens" invites a poor opinion these days. When I bought my first DSLR, Nikon D7000, I bought two lenses to go with it - the 18-105mm and the 55-300mm. My reasoning was that they covered pretty much the whole range of focal lengths and would be good lenses to start with while I learned how to use the camera. Yes, they are less expensive, undoubtedly not made the same way as a "pro" lens, but still good lenses. They have their limitations, but most lenses are limited by different factors and circumstances. After a few years, I decided to replace them with FX lenses, but never felt that those first lenses were "inferior". I just needed "better" tools.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

jerryc41 wrote:

It's a shame that "kit lens" became a co... (show quote)

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

jzett wrote:

Greetings All - curious as to to what determines a "non-kit' lens. Price? At what level does a lens go from kit to "non-kit"? Other than focal range, what does look for in a "non-kit" lens? Thank you for assistance. John

A kit lens is any lens that was or is included with a camera when sold in the same box new. Most kit lenses are entry level plastic lenses but some of the more expensive Canon cameras do include a pro lens like the 24-105mm f/4 IS L series lens. This is a pro lens, but it's about the least expensive lens that Canon makes so that is why they offer it as a "kit" lens.