is the kit lens VR?
are VR lens better? pls advise.
VR, or Vibration Reduction, lenses compensates for your handshake. So, having a VR lens is like shooting with a tripod or monopod, but there are limits to VR lenses. When I first got a VR lens, I thought it would do magic... then I realized the limitations :bsmilie:
VR lenses are good if you are shooting out of a moving vehicle... but photographers have survived decades without VR lenses and yet got such great shots. Also, VR lenses are useful at long focal lengths, e.g. 100mm onwards, but in short focal lengths, it is not so important. This is basically because of the rule of thumb that the shutter speeds should be around 1 / focal length to avoid it being blur, so if you are shooting at 200mm, your shutter speed should be about 1/200s to get a clear shot.
Also, VR helps in your handholding, but not if the subject that you are shooting is constantly moving. You may still get blurred shots because the shutter speed is not fast enough to freeze your moving subject... and that is why I would recommend the f/2.8 lens. I would personally take a fast lens (those with f/2.8 and lower f-stop numbers) over a VR lens any day... of course the best if it is a fast lens + VR
A f/2.8 lens allows more light into the sensor, hence, at the same ISO setting, having 2 different lenses (one at f/2.8 and the other at f/4), the f/2.8 lens allows 1 stop of light in more than an f/4 lens, and hence, the shutter speed can be twice as fast (i.e. if it is 1/1000s for f/2.8, then it will be 1/500 for f/4), which means that you can freeze a moving object better. Also, if you shoot indoors, a fast lens would help you a whole lot.