The Canon 550D with 18-55mm IS, Good Enough?

[rishabh_destiny]

Hi There,

I'm a new member here, so first of all a big Hello to my fellow photographers. This month, I'm planning to get a Canon 550D which comes with 18-55mm kit lens. However, there are some points I need to confirm with you people.

1. How good will be 18-55mm for portrait shots?
2. I love bokeh (or can say, mad about it). Would I be able to get great bokehs with this kit? If no, which kit should I get in exchange?

Thanks

[inkista]

First off, I'd say check out the 18-55 kit lens group's pool on Flickr.

Secondly, while the 18-55 is a good general-purpose walkaround, and the best/only wide angle lens you're going to find in that price range, if you want a shallow DoF, and lots of background blur on the cheap, I'd consider scraping up another $100 and just adding an EF 50mm f/1.8 II, not replacing the 18-55, because you're still going to need a snapshot/travel lens that does wide-to-normal.

You may also want to take a spin through this website, which describes the basics of lenses, and most importantly, the mysterious "maximum aperture".

[rishabh_destiny]

Ah, thank you for such a quick reply

Well, I was too thinking of getting the 50mm prime since it's the cheapest out there :P

And hey, the vendor offered me a discount if I chose 18-135 in exchange to the in-box 18-55. Would that be a good deal?

[nokiN]

When you say bokeh, do you really mean shallow depth-of-field (DOF).

They are not the same thing.

Bokeh is a function of the lens optics and aperture blade configuration and shape of the blades.

DOF is controlled by the photographer by choosing

1. len focal length
2. image sensor to subject distance
3. lens aperture
4. subject to background distance

18 - 55 mm kit lenses have some limitations because they cannot usually open to a lens aperture wider than f/3.5, but by carefully controlling the other 3 factors decent DOF can be achieved.

[rishabh_destiny]

Originally Posted by nokiN

18 - 55 mm kit lenses have some limitations because they cannot usually open to a lens aperture wider than f/3.5, but by carefully controlling the other 3 factors decent DOF can be achieved.

Then what's the best option for me as a bokeh lover?