Do you need good lens to take good pictures?


wtm78

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Feb 7, 2009
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Do you need good lens to take good pictures? Is f-3.5 enough?
 

depends on what you mean by 'good' pictures. you can take good pictures with a camera phone and you can take bad pictures with a full frame and fast prime.
 

shot with kit lenses (various brands); are they good?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/isayx3/3420783902/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamir/3033371575/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peteyphotography/3910490728/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilovestrawberries/3569837460/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/werksmedia/2387068757/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamir/3547921518/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vermininc/2295355945/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snorri94/4112900682/

do you consider kit lens good lens?

what is "good lens"? something that is sharp? something that resolves detail well? something that has high MTF? something that has good build? something that looks good on you?

what is "good picture"? a picture that is sharp, good IQ, loads of detail, but has no meaning, no beauty captured?

all i can tell you is, kit lens is most basic lens available when you buy a camera, it is designed to be cheap.

deng xiao ping said (directly translated), doesn't matter if the cat is white or black - the cat that catches the rat is a good cat.

what is good for you? what do you seek to achieve in photography? nice sharp pictures? then you need those expensive lenses, you need to sit around on the computer moaning about how unsharp the kit lens in comparison to x and y and z lens. you need to surf around comparing lens charts nonstop, you need to go to shop and test lens and swap nonstop.

if you wish to capture things that you see in your mind, show it to the world.. yes, different lenses will give you different results, equipment is not unimportant - but the equipment is hardly ever the limiting factor.

do you need good lens to take good pictures? no. do you need to make sure you use bad lens to take good pictures? no!

use what you will. all that matters are the pictures.
 

although a good lens helps to give a sharp pic, I dont think it is the only factor. More importantly is how you compose the pic and how you capture the mood of the scene. And that can only be done thru lots of practice.
 

I agree with everyone else that a good picture is very subjective. Do you mean to ask that if a good lens is need for clear and sharp pictures then I would say "Yes". A good lens will contribute to clearer shots and a lower f/stop number would be good for indoor shots and freezing action (sports, arts performance, etc.), good lens also will be great for landscapes and portraits.

But if you mean if a good lens is required for the more artistic side then it may not always be case. Take for example the lomo-istic and even some street styles then the flaws of the lens (and even camera in the case of lomo) may be useful and desired.

I suppose it depends on what you are looking to capture and the desired effects you want.
 

Even toy plastic camera takes good picture...if you can set the mood right, its a good photo. You don't need sharp picture all the time and you need distortions at times. :)
 

Generally you can take good pics with any healthy lens in any desired aperture as long as you understand exposure, composition, etc. well
 

Textbook answer is yes, you do and no, you don't, depending on which book you read, and which chapter you are on. Chapter 1 normally says you don't but by end of book... you realize what you're missing :bsmilie:
 

shot with kit lenses (various brands); are they good?

do you consider kit lens good lens?

do you need good lens to take good pictures? no. do you need to make sure you use bad lens to take good pictures? no!

use what you will. all that matters are the pictures.

NM,

maybe his Q a bit vague.
for e sake of discussion let simplfy the Q but excluding composition and artistic value and let focus on the technical quality attribute by the lens alone.

I think i good sensor and good lens(not the most expensive OC) are essential for the top notch photo.

as you already know not all lens flaw can be fixed.
 

I think i good sensor and good lens(not the most expensive OC) are essential for the top notch photo.

No, they are beneficial to a sharp photo. NOT a good photo.

It is a common misconception that good camera = good pictures. What makes a great image, a top notch photo, lies behind the camera.
 

what's your understanding of good pictures?

if 'good' means sharp / clear photos, yes good lens does help.
but if you mean by quality photos with different effect and feel, no as it depends on the photographer, what is he/she trying to present and capture.
 

Last edited:
hi

Interesting discussion... i would like to seek your opinion on lens also


For sake of this discussion , lets focus on image quality, and not on build (weather sealing, plastic mount or metal mount...)


Distortions
Vignetting
MTF (resolution)
Chromatic Aberrations (CAs)
Bokeh

Note: These 5 factors are what photozone.de uses to evaluate a lens.

Q1: Are there other factors outside these 5 that define image quality? If they are, what are these?

Q2: For resolution, the site defines what numbers are consider good, very good etc.. but nothing is define for Distortions, Vignetting, CA... Is there is kind of standard for these as well?


Franking speaking, the Canon kit lens 18-55 IS perform quite well, and i heard the nikon kit lens does well too. So I would consider these lens are good lens in my humble opinion, what do u guys think? Again, lens build is not being considered here, just image quality.


tks to all :)

have a nice day!
 

Actually all lenses are good. Even Kit lens. It always depends on what you are trying to achieve in your shoot. I took alot of "nice" pictures with my 14-42:f3.5-5.6 kit lens and i always find them to be sharp and crisp as well. (If not there is always unsharp mask and high pass) :bsmilie:
 

I think what t/s is asking is whether f3.5 is sufficient enough to be called a good lens? :dunno:
 

Do you need good lens to take good pictures? Is f-3.5 enough?

On the whole, the question is WAY TOO VAGUE to help get any meaningful answers.

Everything will be a shot in the dark.
 

Do you need good lens to take good pictures?

yes and no, but I must say sometimes you do need a good lens for good photos, and also depends on numbers of factors as mentioned earlier by CS members.

Is f-3.5 enough?

Do you encountered any problem with the F3.5 lens? For outdoor day time use or with a good flash it is more or less good enough.

If you found no matter how hard you tried and at most of the time you still can't produce clear and properly exposed photos, maybe you can give a faster lens a try. Scenarios like if you want to capture the person's face from your seat during indoor sports event or concerts etc, F3.5 kit lens is sure incapable.
 

Then why camera companies build good lens if it is the photographers that matter?
 

Certain capabilities or effects can only be achieved by certain lenses, may of which are considered to be expensive, high-quality, or "good" lenses. Of course, this is one of the many things needed to get a good picture.