Kit Lens Has 4 Classic Focal Lengths in 1 Lens
Even though it looks geeky, a kit lens has 4 classic focal lengths, in other words a kit lens can replace four prime / fixed lenses at once. The four classic focal lengths were: 28mm (wide-angle), 35mm (medium wide), 50mm (normal) and 85mm (portrait).
The focal length figures above are numbers for full frame cameras, the equivalent focal lengths for APSC cameras are 18mm, 23mm, 35mm and 56mm, respectively.
And currently the majority of kit lenses for APSC cameras sold have a range of 18-55mm. Another option is kit lenses with a range from width to near telephoto medium: 18–105mm or 18–135mm. Likewise, when you buy a full frame camera, the most commonly offered lens kit is 24-105mm.
Indeed, the kit lens will not offer a fierce opening, the largest at f / 3.5, but at least you get the basic functions of four (or more) lenses in one kit lens.
Small and Light
The kit lens that is most often sold in a package with an APSC camera is an 18–55mm lens. This lens does look plain, but keep in mind that it is also very light and petite.
For example, the Canon kit lens 18-55 f / 3.5-5.6 IS STM only weighs 200 grams and the maximum length is only 6 cm.
While similar lenses with semi-pro specifications, Canon 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM weighs 650 grams and a maximum length of 11 cm. Almost 2 times longer and 3 times heavier.
Same for Nikon. The Nikon 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.5.6 kit lens has a weight of 195 grams and a maximum length of 6cm. Compare with Nikon 17-55mm f / 2.8G DX which weighs 755 grams and a maximum length of 11cm.
If there is a long walk or going on a tour, the weight and size will be very grateful.
Kit Lens Has A Cheaper Filter
Lens filters are still useful, even though we live in a digital age. And for the filter applies this law: the greater the diameter of the filter the more expensive the price.
The basic kit lens as we mentioned above has a small physical size, automatically requires a smaller filter size as well.
Kit Lens Has a Good Minimum Focusing Distance
Minimum Focusing Disctance, as reviewed in this article, is a measure of the ability of the lens to capture objects that are close at hand. We don't expect to be able to match the capabilities of a macro lens, but the kit lens surprisingly has a better MFD compared to a more expensive lens.
The two lenses above (18–55mm f / 3.5–5.6 both from Canon and Nikon) have better close focus capability compared to the much more expensive 17–55mm f / 2.8 lens.
