I know there are many factors that are taken into consideration in producing a good quality photo. However I've been bothered by this notion that lens too plays an important role. But how far is this from truth? I'm a beginner who owns an entry level Sony A300 camera with 2 lenses (18-70mm F3.5-5.6 lens kit & 55-200mm Telephoto lens kit). I've been snapping photos but somehow I could not get the quality desired. (I even applied other techniques possible) Is it the camera? Will it make any difference if I change the lenses?

I got to the point where I almost gave up photography...until I found out about EOS 60D...

nothing to with lens or brand ...all about skill problem.

sometimes yes, if you're taking pictures for work, clients might wanna ask u to get things sharp for them. but in most cases which is non work related, its not much of a difference, as skill does matter, literally.

No matter how, for taking picture, need skill 1st...

yes...100% yes

well... before you jump into thoughts that your slr or your lens or both of them are the culprits and good photos must be from a D3x(sorry i am nikonian)

maybe its time you snap back to the basics... starting with how you hold your SLR, you grip, your posture, your center of gravity etc... a lot of times, me included... bad picture comes from unstable posture...

cheers mate!

1. Skills
2. Lenses
3. Cam Body

A pro photographer can snap BEAUTIFUL pictures with a compact cam. You have a DSLR, Why not?

Yes. Lenses does affect the image quality. It would be absurd to say that lenses does not affect image quality. If that were true why would people pay thousands upon thousands of dollars to get premium lenses?

Quality premium lenses do affect image quality. They will give you sharper pictures and render your image with more contrast.

Talking about Sony DSLRs and Carl Zeiss lenses, have you ever looked through a Zeiss lens? The first time I looked through a Zeiss lens, I immediately noticed the color difference that the Zeiss lens produces as compared to a kit lens. That is merely by peering through the viewfinder. When taking pics I noticed that certain colors tend to pop out better using a Zeiss lens.

Other than that premium lenses also gives you better CA and flaring controls and will mostly offer better bokeh. Thus using the same body with different lenses will affect your output to some extent.

It's always better to pair low end body with premium lenses than to pair high end bodies with cheap kit lenses.

Yes off course. U can only get so much from kitlens. There's a reason for premium glasses.

Also, depending on your technique, understanding the character of a lens (MTF,CA, why some lenses perform better when stepped down, etc)

TS please post your pics and kindly let us know why can't your current lens satisfy you.

Not agree, 1st is skill, 2nd i think is $$

yeah i want to see too. lol

yalor..if price is cheaper & everybody can afford a good lens..everyone can make good photos..then pro's susah cari makan

please note, good picture quality photos doesnt equals to good photos with good composition, exposure, moment, etc.

+1
watch this video to understand more

if you ever try a f2.8 lens you'll noticed the quality immediately

1. if you think like that, then clearly you're not grasping photography properly yet.

2. and based on the above, if you can't snap properly with your A300 then i don't see how you can do better with a 60D.

should read this http://www.goldfries.com/photography/just-...grade-buy-next/ which I think applies to you (and many people)

yeah right, probably just a little more creamy bokeh that gets the newbies all wet but in reality it's not like that.

it's a widespread misconception that as long as the lens is f2.8 and constant aperture = it's all good! IT IS NOT.

there are plenty of crappy f2.8 constant aperture lens out there.

look at Canon 28-300L. no f2.8 and no constant aperture. superb lens.

the quality of image captured, are determined by the quality elements used in the lens build (eg, good glasses) - not determined by being wide aperture.

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Added on October 28, 2010, 5:05 pmtake note of this post guys.

yes. lenses does affect image quality, as in the details and colors. less "side effects" like CA and barrel distortions and whatever else.

the only thing is to understand what you need.

there's no reason to go pro-grade lens if you're shooting for fun but if you're doing business, then a decent glass is always helpful.

if $$$$ is not an issue, getting a cheaper glass is fine but make sure you know how to work around it. there is always a limitation.

He's talking about IQ. Not composition or etc

Yes TS. It does affect

lol. look at TS's question. he complains that his a300 n kit lens can't perform up to his high standards. fine. i accept that.

but look at his final sentence, "after i discovered 60D "..

lol wut..if TS say 'after i discovered Zeiss/L/Nikkor lenses'..then i understand...but switching to another brand and body can improve IQ(technically yes), i can't quite comprehend. but its another question altogether.