Question about lens and editing...

Hello. I'm a newbie to this forum and have a few questions I was hoping someone might be able to answer for me. I am fairly new to the DSLR world. I've had my Rebel XS 1000D camera for almost a year, so I'm (still) getting used to the settings using exposure and aperture etc. I also own the nifty fifty, the 55-250mm lens, external flash and a tripod. I have no issues with the nifty fifty and little with the telephoto lens. I use the kit lens for most of my photography. One of my frustrations is that the kit lens tends to be soft. I have read on a few sites that Canon makes the cheaper lenses this way because they figure you're going to do post editing (sharpening), etc.? I know that sometimes it's operator error on my part as I am still getting used to things and am not using the right aperture and exposure settings.

I have used CS5 for editing, but is it expected that you are going to have to do post editing to all photos or if you have a more expensive lens do you just get sharper pictures without editing? I'm playing with the idea of getting a better lens to replace the kit lens, but not sure YET that I need or want to spend another $500 +. I definitely cannot afford to spend money on an L lens and can't justify spending that kind of money for just being a hobbyist.

The other question is (and I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times) but which lens to get if I did decide to upgrade? I would describe what I am looking for is a "walk around" lens. I take pictures outdoors and indoors (no sports or anything like that, unless you count my year and half old nephew, lol) and some portraits.

All in all I have taken some good shots with the 1000D but some of it is just luck. LOL! (I'm still learning.) I do enjoy having more control over what's in focus and what's not, unlike a point and shoot camera. I'm just wondering if I'm expecting too much.

Oh, one last question...can anyone recommend a remote for use with the 1000D camera? Or is there one?

Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

imkitty39 wrote in post #12606194
One of my frustrations is that the kit lens tends to be soft. I have read on a few sites that Canon makes the cheaper lenses this way because they figure you're going to do post editing (sharpening), etc.? I know that sometimes it's operator error on my part as I am still getting used to things and am not using the right aperture and exposure settings.

I've never heard that one before. Kit lenses are soft because they're cheap and its relatively expensive to make a sharp zoom lens. Stopping down 1-2 stops from wide open will usually give the best sharpness. Be careful using too small of an aperture as diffraction will soften your image. If you're shooting JPG, then the camera should be applying some sharpening. RAW files all need some sharpening.

imkitty39 wrote in post #12606194
One of my frustrations is that the kit lens tends to be soft. I have read on a few sites that Canon makes the cheaper lenses this way because they figure you're going to do post editing (sharpening), etc.?

I've never heard that one either, as Mike D says they are soft because they're cheap, you get what you pay for in this game. If you want top quality, sharp lenses you have to pay the price.

I don't follow the logic, either. The cheap kit lenses are more likely to be used by less serious photographers, who use a DSLR as a high end point and shoot. These users set the camera up to do the processing onboard and shoot in jpeg, then print directly from the image straight out of the camera.

The people most likely to be shooting RAW and doing significant post processing, are also those most likely to be buying the better quality glass.

Thank you for your replies! Perhaps what I read was an opinion of someone reviewing the lens etc. I don't remember exactly where I read that, but I swear I'm not making that up. LOL! I agree with you that the more serious photographers are the ones who are going to buy the more expensive lenses. I'm more of a casual photographer, but at the same time, the kit lens isn't giving me the results I'd like. I'm not against editing photos (since I've done it before), but I'm just wondering if something in a mid-range price would make me happier. And if so, which lens?

Thank you for your advice.

You might want to post some pix. The kit lens has limits, but you need to make sure you are hitting the lens' limits and not yours. You will be very disappointed if you buy an expensive lens and your images aren't any better.

dbvirago, I totally agree with you! That's why I said in my original post that I'm sure that I'm not always doing things correctly. I didn't have my nifty fifty at this time or I would have used it, so these were taken with the kit lens. Do they seem soft or are my expectations too high? LOL! I welcome any comments.

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From the EXIF data, it looks like you're at or near the maximum aperture in both shots. Most lenses aren't at their best wide open. Also, the shutter speeds were a bit slow for a baby. Bouncing the external flash and stopping down a bit should help.

Ok, thank you! I kinda figured it was something that I did/didn't do. I have a lot to learn. That being said, if I should want to upgrade at some point, what would you recommend? Thanks.

A better lens will reduce your post process tasks if you have been shooting near the lens's and the camera body limits. For an example would be in bird photography or you need to crop the shot a lot. A better lens with better IQ tends to retain more details and sharpness from an excessive cropping. Most lenses would get sharper from f5.6 to f8.

mike_d wrote in post #12607125
From the EXIF data, it looks like you're at or near the maximum aperture in both shots. Most lenses aren't at their best wide open. Also, the shutter speeds were a bit slow for a baby. Bouncing the external flash and stopping down a bit should help.

I agree. I use the kit lens when I need something wider than 28mm, & it does OK.
Every lens has a sweet spot, that is the aperture at which the lens is the sharpest. Usually about 2-3X stopped down from max aperture. I would find out what apertures give you the sharpest images for each of your lenses.

imkitty39 wrote in post #12606194
...I have used CS5 for editing, but is it expected that you are going to have to do post editing to all photos or if you have a more expensive lens do you just get sharper pictures without editing? I'm playing with the idea of getting a better lens to replace the kit lens, but not sure YET that I need or want to spend another $500 +. I definitely cannot afford to spend money on an L lens and can't justify spending that kind of money for just being a hobbyist...

All digital images need some sort of post production work.
Very liitle of what you see on POTN or anywhere else is straight out of the camera.
Your best bet is to keep learning and understanding the gear you have now.
Improving your technique is going to provide you with far better images than throwing money at gear you don't know how to use.
It will be far cheaper as well.
Better gear won't necessarily give you better images.

Edit: Tried to post this earlier, but have had a power failure for the last 4 plus hours.

imkitty39 wrote in post #12606194
Oh, one last question...can anyone recommend a remote for use with the 1000D camera? Or is there one?

RS-60E3

IMHO, good lighting reduces more editing time than better lenses.

Thank you all for your replies...this really helps!!! I am in total agreeance that I need to learn more about what I am doing with the camera and lenses. I just needed to know what to expect of the lenses and post editing etc. Actually this is kind of relief, because I have taken some pictures and have done some editing either to sharpen or color etc. and got compliments and felt like I was cheating. LOL!

Thank you for all your replies, truly. You guys have been very helpful and this website is a great resource!