Since I made the switch to a full frame camera (Nikon – It fitted my hand the best!) I have always bought the best lenses a person can buy – why? Because this is my job and how I make money and I need the best advantage I can to make sure everything is the best it can be and part of that is making sure the image quality is the best and whilst I have changed camera bodies several times and have never needed to change lenses because I bought right first time. Now I love all my lenses (no, I really do) and they all have a purpose and I know how to use them and get the best out of them but I realised something the other month; I’ve stopped taking my camera everywhere and I just use my iPhone. Don’t get me wrong, my iPhone is brilliant and the camera produces some great results but it’s still not a DSLR and there are still some things it cannot do the same and not every shot is in perfect light and I need that little bit extra but I really don’t want to take a DSLR and massive lens (or two) with me all the time, well actually I never want to take it.
So this got me thinking about buying a really cheap and small kit lens and after finding a DX 18-55 ( equivalent to a 27-82.5 on FX) lens which was only £40! I thought I would take a punt – it’s only £40.
Hmmm, a £40 lens on a £2,700 camera – what could possibly be wrong with that – as it turned out …. NOTHING! Now let me state that this lens wasn’t going to be used for commercial work but more for me to take photos wherever I go and use on social media or my own personal album. It certainly couldn’t replace my tilt-shift for landscapes! I was absolutely amazed by the results it produced and perfectly fitted that gap in my photography I had been missing by just using a phone.
Yes I could have gone for prime lens but I wanted a bit of flexibility and that’s exactly what I got. Now it plastic and cheap and love that – I don’t worry about it, it fits in my bag easily and I can always produce amazing results on demand. Don’t get me wrong a lot of the results come from the fact that I use it on a D850 and that camera is awesome and I wouldn’t expect the same results from and entry level DSLR (I’ve actually seen the results and wouldn’t be happy using them).
Sometimes it pays to take gambles and just try things, you might just be surprised.
