In this video, we're gonna have a look
at the Canon 18-55mm kit lens.
Let's have a look.
(gentle instrumental music)
So, as you may know, a kit lens is just the name
for a somewhat basic but versatile lens
usually used by beginners.
That you can often buy bundled with your camera.
For most photographers and filmmakers,
before they get into more advanced lenses,
a kit lens is often the first lens that they actually use.
The reason is because it's not only inexpensive,
but it's also very versatile.
(cat meowing)
(chuckles)
So, should you buy this lens bundled up with your camera,
or should you even buy it by itself?
Let's delve deeper into the specifics of this lens
and see if it's worth it.
First off, let's talk about build quality.
Okay, come in, come in.
Okay, step, step, (laughing).
Do you wanna sit somewhere?
Ideally not in front of the camera?
You okay?
Oh, (laughing) that's very nice.
And as I ...
(laughing)
You're terrible. You're a terrible cat (laughing).
Okay, sit on the back of the chair, that's fine.
So as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted
by the cat, this is actually,
since it's an entry level lens,
it's actually quite light, it only weighs about 200 grams.
I've had a few of them over the years
and they're actually quite sturdy,
even though it doesn't necessarily feel like it
because it's so light.
So, the newer model of this lens
has what Canon calls STM or an STM motor,
which basically means that autofocusing
is a lot smoother and quieter.
Now, if you are gonna buy this lens, make sure that
in the name of the lens, it does say STM
because if it doesn't, it means it's an older model
of this lens, which is not only louder,
but also focuses less smoothly.
Next up, let's talk about image quality.
I've actually done multiple photo shoots
with professional models with the lens that I'm reviewing,
specifically to show you what this lens can do
even on relatively basic camera bodies
such as the Canon 77D,
which is also what I'm shooting this on right now.
As you can see, as long as you know what you're doing,
even with a very basic kit lens like this,
you can get some beautiful shots.
Now, if you look at the name of the lens,
you'll see that in there, you'll you'll find
something that says "f/3.5-5.6."
That is the aperture range and in simple terms,
in regular light conditions.
So if it's relatively bright outside,
you'll be able to shoot quite comfortably,
but if you're in a darker environment,
such as this for example, where it's a completely dark room
except for my light over here,
this lens would struggle somewhat.
For example, right now I'm shooting
on a 50mm f/1.4 lens
which is what I've got on right now
and that allows the aperture to open a lot more,
which allows in more light,
which obviously gives you more freedom.
So, in most circumstances especially outdoor shooting,
especially during the day,
this lens would work perfectly fine,
but if it gets darker you're gonna struggle.
When reviewing lenses, photographers and videographers
often talk about fringing and chromatic aberration.
Honestly, it doesn't matter at all,
because chances are you're taking photos
that are to be viewed by yourself or other people,
not just photographers
and often photographers tend to obsess a bit too much,
in my personal opinion, over the tiny little issues
that lenders can have, oh look,
there's a bit of chromatic aberration in the corner
if you zoom in five times, no one cares.
Honestly, no one cares.
If you're like me, you take photos that are gonna be seen
by a larger audience who isn't gonna pixel peep
and care about any of that as long as you take good photos
and you know what you're doing with your lighting,
no one's gonna care about chromatic aberration
or anything like that.
By the way, if you're enjoying this video,
make sure to leave a like down below,
that will basically tell YouTube that this is a good video
and it'll recommend it to others.
And with that in mind, let's go to the next point,
and that is image stabilization.
If you look at the name of the lens you'll see an "IS"
and that stands for image stabilization.
And this is my favorite thing about this lens
because even though it's a basic entry-level lens,
it is so good for stabilizing footage,
especially if you're doing handheld vlogging
like in this video that I made, for example.
And in fact, all the B roll that you've seen in this video
has been shot on this lens.
It's all shot handheld and slowed down.
It has a tiny bit of stabilization done
in post-production in Premiere, but not that much.
A lot of it is just a combination of
my ability to hold the camera
and not move it around too much
and the built-in image stabilization.
It's really good.
It's the reason why I shoot my B roll on this lens.
Now, obviously because it only goes to f/3.5,
not ideal, you know, I wish it went a bit wider,
but you know, that's where the way more expensive
L lens series is for.
Right, so what is this lens useful for?
Why should you buy it, what does it excel at?
It doesn't particularly excel at anything,
but it's really good all around.
You can take portrait photos.
Good kitty.
You all right, you're doing good,
you're having a good day kitty?
You're having a good day?
Are you enjoying yourself?
You enjoying all the attention that you're getting?
(laughing)
Why are you rubbing on my microphone, stop doing that.
So as I was saying, it's really good for everything,
though it doesn't particularly excel at anything specific.
But really, you can basically do anything with this lens
just not particularly super well.
It's a fantastic lens to learn on
and you get used to things.
For example, I could shoot this video on this lens
but I prefer the depth of field
that the 50mm f/1.4 offers me in this scenario.
Plus, it's kind of a dark room, it's kind of
a dimly lit scenario and that lens allows more light in,
whereas this lens allows less light in.
Now, what is this lens not good for?
So as mentioned before, the main weakness of this lens
is the aperture range.
So, it doesn't allow in a huge amount of light
which is fine during the daytime
but if you wanna shoot particularly towards the evening,
you're not gonna have a very fun time with this lens
because what you're gonna have to do
to compensate for the aperture,
is you're gonna have to lower your shutter speed
and that's fine for photos up to a point,
at which point you start getting motion blur
if it's too slow.
You could increase your ISO,
but then that introduces a lot of noise.
So, what it does is it sort of limits your options
in low light conditions.
So, in conclusion, should you buy this lens?
I would say yes, purely because, here's the thing.
Normally when I make a review, I say,
okay, you know you should buy this thing
if you wanna do this, or this, or this,
but you shouldn't buy it if you wanna do this.
In this case, this lens is kind of for everyone.
It doesn't do anything super well,
but it does everything well enough
that you can start a channel on YouTube,
you can do podcasts, you can do vlogging
and as long as you learn how to be a better photographer
and a better videographer, you're going to be able
to pull out so much more value out of the lens.
The more you learn,
the better this lens will be in your hands,
is I guess what I'm trying to say, that's the moral here.
So, if you wanna check out
any of the products that I've mentioned in this video,
I've got a link down below
where you can check out the camera, the lenses,
everything that I've talked about is gonna be done there.
Thank you very much for watching.
If you have any questions whatsoever about this lens,
you can leave them down below and I'll do my absolute best
to get back to you and help you out
with whatever questions you may have.
Thank you for watching.
Don't forget to leave a like, subscribe and hit that bell
and I'll see you in the next one.
Bye bye.
(gentle instrumental music)