Which kit lens? 15-45 vs 18-55 ...

[Robmas4229]

As I said above though, it's not the outright cost, it's whether to spend the extra £150 for the 18-55 bundled with the X-S20.

Getting the 18-55 bundled with the kit is the best way. You're getting a $700 lens for a price you could easily profit from if you decide to sell later.

The 15-17mm or the smaller package would be the only reasons I would take the 15-45 over the 18-55. But understandably your needs may be different.

 

[Jeff Biscuits]

Getting the 18-55 bundled with the kit is the best way. You're getting a $700 lens for a price you could easily profit from if you decide to sell later.

I don’t think that’s true. In fact I’ll confidently state that it isn’t

An X-S20 body costs £1249, so the 18-55 kit is £350 more. That’s a good price if you were intending to buy a new 18-55 but even on eBay that lens doesn’t command high resale prices.

Even as a private sale in mint condition and on a good day you wouldn’t get more than £300 for it, so you’d lose £50.

Whereas the 15-45 kit is £100 more than the body and it’s easy to sell one for more than that.

If you prefer selling to commercial buyers than via eBay, the argument is even more compelling: selling each in “like new” condition to MPB (who are one of the highest-paying buyers for most items) you’d lose just £23 on the 15-45, but a whopping £185 on the 18-55.

 

[Robmas4229]

Getting the 18-55 bundled with the kit is the best way. You're getting a $700 lens for a price you could easily profit from if you decide to sell later.

I don’t think that’s true. In fact I’ll confidently state that it isn’t

An X-S20 body costs £1249, so the 18-55 kit is £350 more. That’s a good price if you were intending to buy a new 18-55 but even on eBay that lens doesn’t command high resale prices.

Even as a private sale in mint condition and on a good day you wouldn’t get more than £300 for it, so you’d lose £50.

Whereas the 15-45 kit is £100 more than the body and it’s easy to sell one for more than that.

If you prefer selling to commercial buyers than via eBay, the argument is even more compelling: selling each in “like new” condition to MPB (who are one of the highest-paying buyers for most items) you’d lose just £23 on the 15-45, but a whopping £185 on the 18-55.

"stevesayskanpai wrote:

As I said above though, it's not the outright cost, it's whether to spend the extra £150 for the 18-55 bundled with the X-S20."

I was basing my comment on the OP's information stating that for an extra 150 he can get the 18-55 bundled with the X-S20.

Maybe you're right, maybe the OP is right. Sorry I didn't check with you before posting.

 

[Jim in Hudson]

Getting the 18-55 bundled with the kit is the best way. You're getting a $700 lens for a price you could easily profit from if you decide to sell later.

I don’t think that’s true. In fact I’ll confidently state that it isn’t

An X-S20 body costs £1249, so the 18-55 kit is £350 more. That’s a good price if you were intending to buy a new 18-55 but even on eBay that lens doesn’t command high resale prices.

Even as a private sale in mint condition and on a good day you wouldn’t get more than £300 for it, so you’d lose £50.

Whereas the 15-45 kit is £100 more than the body and it’s easy to sell one for more than that.

If you prefer selling to commercial buyers than via eBay, the argument is even more compelling: selling each in “like new” condition to MPB (who are one of the highest-paying buyers for most items) you’d lose just £23 on the 15-45, but a whopping £185 on the 18-55.

"stevesayskanpai wrote:

As I said above though, it's not the outright cost, it's whether to spend the extra £150 for the 18-55 bundled with the X-S20."

I was basing my comment on the OP's information stating that for an extra 150 he can get the 18-55 bundled with the X-S20.

Maybe you're right, maybe the OP is right. Sorry I didn't check with you before posting.

Regardless, it's only a $700 lens if you insist on buying it new and unattached. Excellent copies go for around $375 in the used market and I think that's a better gauge of its functional price.

 

[Jeff Biscuits]

I was basing my comment on the OP's information stating that for an extra 150 he can get the 18-55 bundled with the X-S20.

Fair enough, though I’m not sure how that figure of £150 came about. By the OP’s own figures (which are correct UK RRPs), the 18-55 kit is £250 more than the 15-45 kit, which is another £100 more than the body.

Sorry I didn't check with you before posting.

No need to be snarky

I hadn’t replied as some sort of personal slight—it’s just that the 18-55 costs £350 in kit form, and even mint they just don’t sell for that much on the used market, so buying the 18-55 kit and selling the lens certainly won’t be profitable. (Whereas doing so with the 15-45 can be.)

 

[xtm]

I've never owned the 18-55 so I can't comment on it, but I've owned the 15-45. I've compared it with my 16-55 2.8 as well. There are some shots where you can't tell the difference in sharpness between the two, but the main thing about the 15-45 is the ergonomics - It's terrible IMO. On my XPro3 it would poke in and out when hitting image preview, and it will also do that when turning on the camera. There is no way to zoom fast on this thing, the zooming is done by wire and it's frustrating. About the only good thing about it is sharpness and portability. Other than those, it just wasn't for me.

 

[guitarjeff]

Hi all (again),

I'm almost ready to get the X-S20 however I'm having a last minute crisis over whether to get the 15-45 as planned, or go for the 18-55.

The 15-45 just seems like a unique kit lens with a 15mm wide angle, and given I'm not going to be buying a wide angle lens soon seems more useful. It's also light, and IQ gets great reviews given its price. I'm also likely to get the 50-230 in the near future.

BUT

The 18-55 is obviously better build quality, better IQ I think and lower aperture for night-time shooting.

One thought is that the 27mm 2.8 would give me the low light capabilities in the future if I go with the 15-45.

Has anyone faced the same dilemma? What did you do?

--
Constructive criticism of my travel photography portfolio is always welcome:
www.stevenjamesmartin.com

I have owned both. I sold the 18-55 and kept the 15-45. It has as good and imo, better optic quality than the former, is lighter and smaller. The thing you have to get used to is that damn motor drive crap, but it's no big deal and you get used to it quickly.

I also own tge 50-230 and it too is a serious bang for the Buck, maybe the best bang for the Buck deal in all of photography. I mean, OIS, huge range, wonderful creamy bokeh, some of the best you will see. A ff equiv of 75-345mm, and it is light and you can get them cheap. I have the version 1 and have never had a problem with it. Version 2 supposedly upgraded the ois but I have never once had a problem with my ois, and optics is no different. So don't pass on a version 1 cheaper if you see one, mine works great.

Also, don't forget about the XC 16-50. It was the brother to the 50-230 and many love that lens better than the XF 18-55 lens.

 

[NorCal Jim]

I think your initial plan is a good one. 15mm is a useful focal distance and factored heavily in my decision to purchase the 15-45mm lens along with the relatively compact size.

I have been balancing two ILC systems for years as they complement each other's deficiencies. So, when I decided to add FujiFilm as a third system, the X-T3 was my camera body choice. My initial thought was to pick up three of the f/2 primes (23mm, 35mm & 50mm). Since I no longer have the rock steady grip of my youth, I decided to get two OIS zoom lenses (the 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS & the 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS) and start with just the 35mm f/2 as my only prime. I wasn't concerned about photos in getting the zoom lenses. It was more a matter of what if I wanted to capture some video, then I would be glad to have the 18-55mm lens handy. I talked myself into getting the 15-45mm lens due to size and 15mm on the wide end. Instead of overthinking what I might need, I should have just picked up the three primes, especially since I use another ILC brand for video.

Back to your dilemma...your idea of getting two good bang-for-the-buck lenses is a good one! The motorized zoom of the 15-45mm lens irritated me at first and I regretted purchasing it just on that basis. However, after picking up an X-A5 to play with, the small zoom was a good match. I did end up getting a 23mm f/2 lens and tried that on the X-A5 but switched back to the 15-45mm lens. Image quality was never a concern with this lens--I was just put off by the motorized zoom. In that regard, earlier posts have pointed out that the 16-50mm OIS II lens is a viable alternative.

Jim

 

[Bruce in Virginia]

I use the 15-45 on my X-T3 for a travel camera when I want to go light, but never use it for anything else. It’s virtue is that it’s light and compact, and the image quality is very acceptable.

I hate the power zoom because it’s response time is so inconsistent that I am never sure how long it will take to change focal length. However, I have gotten used to using the manual zoom ring because it has much better feel and is easier to control.

You also have to be careful with keeping your fingers off the front side “thumb” wheel on the X-T3. It’s used to manually set the aperture on the 15-45 because there is no aperture ring. Spin it the wrong way and you suddenly have an unintended fixed aperture. Not sure how it works for manual aperture on the other Fuji bodies.

 

[McWoodley]

Hi all (again),

I'm almost ready to get the X-S20 however I'm having a last minute crisis over whether to get the 15-45 as planned, or go for the 18-55.

The 15-45 just seems like a unique kit lens with a 15mm wide angle, and given I'm not going to be buying a wide angle lens soon seems more useful. It's also light, and IQ gets great reviews given its price. I'm also likely to get the 50-230 in the near future.

BUT

The 18-55 is obviously better build quality, better IQ I think and lower aperture for night-time shooting.

One thought is that the 27mm 2.8 would give me the low light capabilities in the future if I go with the 15-45.

Has anyone faced the same dilemma? What did you do?

I have owned both. I sold the 18-55 and kept the 15-45. It has as good and imo, better optic quality than the former,

I am sorry but that just isn’t true at least with my experience. Maybe you had a poor copy of the 18-55? Don’t get me wrong the 15-45 is a decent lens and optically very good 15mm but starts dropping off in quality in the 20’s. The purple fringing is what is the deal breaker for me.

You and others are correct there are some other great options or pairings. The kit 18-55 isn’t a bad deal at all considering the modest bump in price from body only.
I’ll completely agree the XC 50-230 is an unsung hero. Probably the best bang for your buck with Fuji lenses.

 

[fz750]

FWIW my issue with the 15-45 was not so much the powered zoom* but the delay in extending and collapsing when powering on and off. That became tiresome and problematic for me. Optically it’s perfectly acceptable, and it’s tiny. I tend to think of the 18-55 as the most compromised of all compromises: not especially wide, not the lightest, not the nicest aperture ring (an unmarked one is no benefit over using the dial on the body IMO), not the cheapest, not the longest… I like the 16-80. And the 16-50 mentioned above is a viable option too: light like the 15-45 but with a mechanical zoom.

.

* – I certainly don’t like the PZ, but as a mostly-prime user I tend to use any zoom at its widest setting most of the time and when I do zoom in it’s normally straight to the longest, so actually the PZ isn’t a big issue for me in practice.

I use the 15-45mm on my X-T30 (which is my "lightweight" camera).

I like the lens but the PZ is just annoying/frustrating, and I tend to use it just as you do, but the issue being that I often forget (should just use more often, I know ;-) ) which way it rotates to zoom AND it's very slow to react when you do change it. A manual 15-45mm would have been so much better.

 

[NCWF]

Similar thoughts here, having included the XF16-80 F4 to the choice dilemma.

At the end, probably going for the XC15-45 and XF16-80 (comes at a nice bundle discount as well) and looking for XF16-55 F2,8 some time next year.

 

[stevesayskanpai]

Hi all, I'll post my initial thoughts on the X-S20 later this morning for those interested.

But for now I will say that the 15-45 IQ and size are clear advantages, but its rattly build quality and power zoom are clear disadvantages.

Personally I'm not convinced I can bear the power zoom!

 

[Jim in Hudson]

In the US, the marginal cost of getting the 15-45 in a kit is $100 over the XS-20 body only. At that price, it's hard to justify not getting it to see if you like it.

 

[stevesayskanpai]

Hi all,

To clarify, in the UK the prices are:

X-S20 Body only £1,249

X-S20 15-45 £1,349 (+ £100 to body only)

X-S20 18-55 £1,599 (+ £350 to body only, + £250 to 15-45)

 

[Robmas4229]

I was basing my comment on the OP's information stating that for an extra 150 he can get the 18-55 bundled with the X-S20.

Fair enough, though I’m not sure how that figure of £150 came about. By the OP’s own figures (which are correct UK RRPs), the 18-55 kit is £250 more than the 15-45 kit, which is another £100 more than the body.

Sorry I didn't check with you before posting.

No need to be snarky

Yeah, sorry about that. Turns out I was operating with incorrect information to begin with.

I hadn’t replied as some sort of personal slight—it’s just that the 18-55 costs £350 in kit form, and even mint they just don’t sell for that much on the used market, so buying the 18-55 kit and selling the lens certainly won’t be profitable. (Whereas doing so with the 15-45 can be.)

 

[fz750]

Hi all,

To clarify, in the UK the prices are:

X-S20 Body only £1,249

X-S20 15-45 £1,349 (+ £100 to body only)

X-S20 18-55 £1,599 (+ £350 to body only, + £250 to 15-45)

Seems expensive? The body is for sale here in Switzerland for £1027, with 15-45mm £1101 and with 18-55mm £1292 (digitec.ch). vat is less (7.7%) but still doesn't explain all of it..

 

[Lokito]

I just faced the same situation and I think I made the wrong choice, don't know, only time will tell, I will update here.

I will advice you to get the 15-45mm for $100, no brainer, and use the left over money to buy you a good macro prime lens with a F1.4 aperture.

Everyone is different, but I hardly use any of the zoom kit lens, I always end up with a prime lens and that is what I mostly use for some odd reason I can't explain, so I taught I learned my lesson not to ever expend any big money on any kit lens.

I don't like that the 15-45 has a power zoom, and from what it looks like it is made to a toy quality, but at $100, it is not that big of an investment, it will give you a walk around town zoom option with an unusual wide angle, to me it is a no brainer.

Save the difference in money and go for a solid macro f1.8 prime for portrait and experimenting, and the $100 kit for when you just hanging out.

I couldn't afford the $1600 for the XS20 / 18-55, when I could get the XS-10 / 18-55 for only $1200 with a $26 extension tube set for macro work, I hope this will all work out for me.

 

[MFiftysomething]

15-45 is quite good optically but not nice to use. I would go with 18-55

 

[DJ STU-C]

Don't forget the 16-50 lens too, it can be had for bargain prices and has OIS.