Should I buy the A6700 with the kit lens?

[Jesper]

I'm a high school filmmaker. Photos are not my priority but I currently own a Canon DSLR with a 24-70 so my workflow is kind of a mix of both on the fly and I decided the A6700 suits me better than the FX30. I already purchased a vintage Canon FD 50mm lens and a cheap adapter to go with it but I was wondering if I should buy this bundle I found that comes with a bunch of extra stuff that's not necessarily good but I wanted a charger too. It is a hundred dollars more but the 16-50 lens is autofocus unlike my vintage glass.

[Phormula]

The kit lens is ...the kit lens.

There are many reasons to buy it and many not to buy it.

Kit lenses are designed to keep prices down, because they are sold with the camera and the price impact is calculated on the cheapest model in the range, currently the 6000 and 6100. Many people just buy the entry level model with the kit lens and are perfectly happy until the camera dies. Having to keep the dimensions, weight and price down means compromises on quality amd performance and in some cases higher than normal variability between samples because of poor quality control or wider tolerances in production. And, of course, limited zoom range and slowness, the Sony kit lens is tad slow at the higher end. 

That said, you should avoid kit lenses like the plague. 

My advice instead is to buy the camera with the kit lens, because there are many good reasons to do.

First, it comes cheap, when I bought my 6300, the delta between the body only and the body with the lens was 50 Euro, less than one tenth of the overall price and less than any used lens.

Second, it is light, compact and reasonably good in performance. I end using it more than I expected for this, when I want to travel light, in situations where the lens could get dirt or moisture and when image quality is not my main target. Family events, for example. The best camera is always the one you have with you, a camera that sits at home is useless.

Third, my experience is that if the situation will come in the future that you have to sell your camera or trade in with a new one, it is far easier to find a buyer if you sell it with the kit lens, because it becomes appetible to all those people that are looking for a good used camera with one lens and don't plan to buy fancy glass but just use it to take family and vacation pictures. Selling the body only means targeting a more restricted buyers arena.

So my advice is "if you can afford it and the price delta is reasonable, go for it", you will end using it and it will become a value in case you will sell the A6700.

 

[Pieter]

Fourth: if you want to get rid of the kit lens, you can sell it for pretty much the same as you payed for it in the bundle combo, as it is significantly discounted when bought as a bundle.