There are a variety of reasons...
1) "kit" lenses are usually of lower quality, to keep the price low. Even if
the optics are descent, they are usually built with all or mostly plastic. On
some, even the bayonet mount is plastic, so readily worn, if swapped out often.
2) these days, nearly all kit lenses are zoom lenses, and fast zoom lenses are
very expensive to design/make, so the faster ones are normally not offered as
kit lenses.
3) what you remember was the days of cameras coming with a prime lens. For
primes, f1.8 or f2 is easy/cheap to produce. (Even here, as they get faster,
they get considerably more expensive at f1.4 or f1.2.) The same cannot be said
for zooms.
4) it is not a matter of "market", it is a matter of price. In the end, it all
comes down to money. Nothing more.
5) One of the worst lenses I ever owned was a "kit" zoom that came with my
Canon 20d. I took it to Costa Rica, used it for 3 weeks, came home and sold
the lens. Mind you, the difference in price between the body alone, and the
body with kit lens is often no more than $50, which tells you what the lens is
worth! OTOH, I've never had problems with "kit" primes in the 50mm range.
6) Lastly, when Pentax was Asahi Pentax, they did a cute trick. They designed
a 50mm f1.8 as their standard lens. Those lenses that failed to make the grade
at the edges, were not discarded. They were simply given a new trim ring that
reduced the aperture to f2, and they were then sold as kit lenses at a lower
price. Smart!
I hope this helps. (If anyone wants to elaborate on this, have at it!)
David.
Good afternoon to you all. Here's a question for you all based upon------
something that I've noticed over the last few years.
Camera manufacturers and retailers have been offering combo (lens and
body) bundles at bargain prices, which is not unusual I admit, but the f-
stop range on the lens is what has caught my attention. There's hardly
ever a lens being offered in a combo deal that has an F-stop below 3.5.
F-stops of 2.8, 2.0, or 1.8 and below are never on offer. Is it a case
that since its so easy to change ISO on every frame and ISO ranges
available are so high that lens designers can ignore wide open
aperatures? Is it a function of manufacturing expediency and the
"market" is not asking for wide open lens at the lower pricing of the
value spectrum. I note that you can still purchase the lens with super
wide aperatures, but they tend to be on the just past mid-range to
higher end of the price spectrum. I still remember not too long ago
beginner's starter kits having 50mm f2.0 or 50mm f1.8 as being the
standard issue. Just thought I'd throw it out there and see what y'all
thought. Thanks.
Best regards,
Peter S.------
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