Most entry level DLSR cameras are sold with kit lens. What is a kit lens? It’s a general purpose lens that can capture good images when there’s good amount of light. It is catered for beginners who are starting out and discovering the world of photography. It is great for the most part of the day when there’s sufficient light but will struggle when the light starts getting dimmer and as a result, your photos start to get underexpose.
When that happens, what can you do?
You could try a few things:
1. Increase your ISO
2. Shoot at the widest aperture of your lens
3. Turn on the built-in flash or use on-camera flash/speedlight
4. Find a better lit location
Each action above will have its own drawback. Increasing ISO will increase noise. Noise in photographic term refers to the grainy effect that appears in an image. It will look more obvious in darker areas of the image and less so in brighter areas, so that’s one reason you don’t want to increase your ISO too high. Professional DSLR is build to better handle high ISO and that is one of many reasons they cost so much more.
Entry level lens usually has their lowest aperture settings at f3.5 or f4. At this aperture setting, the out of focus areas (bokeh) will not be as creamy as compared with f1.8.
Working with built-in camera flash or on-camera flash while it does the job of lighting your subject, but the results are not always flattering. A straight on flash will create harsh shadows and often makes skin tone too washed out. You can overcome this to some extent by using a diffuser.
A diffuser is usually a piece of translucent material that spreads the light source into a larger area. It softens shadows and makes the subject look more natural. Sometimes a well-lit area might not have the desired background or it might be too distracting.
In this week, we shall look at upgrading your kit lens to overcome issue number two above.
As I mentioned in my last article, I would highly recommend your first upgrade to be a 50mm f1.8 prime lens. All lens manufacturers have this lens in their collection and most are not overly priced. It is when you choose to go with f1.4 is when the price almost doubles. A prime lens has no zoom capability and you have to use your feet if you want to zoom in or out.
On a side note, most entry level DSLR comes with crop sensors (APS-C). Usually, it’s either 1.5x for Nikon or 1.6x for Canon. What this means is that when you have a 50mm lens on, it gives a field of view equivalent to that of a 75mm lens on a full-frame or 35mm film camera. Meaning if you use a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera, you will get a different field of view compared to using it on an APS-C camera. See diagram below.
A prime lens, like the 50mm f1.8, has a wide aperture that can give you about four more levels of light (stops) compared to the kit lens with apertures of f3.5. Four stops increase your ability to overcome underexpose problem when in low light, avoid the use of flash, reduce the need to increase ISO and gives you the freedom of more shooting location.
Since there’s no zoom capability, a prime lens is less bulky and weighs almost nothing.
The best part about it is that it’s reasonably priced. The 50mm f1/8 was one of my first lenses I bought and I still use them today. It is a very versatile lens that will work for a variety of photography.
The major disadvantage of a prime lens is there’s no zoom capability. Sometimes you might not have enough space to move back or you are too far from the subject and can’t get closer. To overcome this, you will need to get a variety of prime lenses such as the 35mm or the 85mm. However, you then face the problem of carrying all three lenses and needing to get a camera bag to fit them all.
You might want to upgrade your kit lens if the focal length is not sufficient for what you photograph. If you want to photograph your kids playing football, you are going to need a lens that can zoom out to 200mm. If so, then a general purpose lens such as the 18-200mm lens will be my recommendation. Most lens manufacturers have some sort of image stabilisation built into the lens which helps when you are zoom out to 200mm. Although much heavier than your kit lens, it gives you the added zoom capability and makes for a great travel lens as well.
ISSUE
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