The lens that comes with the canon rebel XTI is not really good?Could i just get the body with the 50 mm lens

Question

do I need the standard lens?

Answer 1

The 18-55mm is actually a pretty decent lens for the price. However, if you're a serious photographer you will probably want something a little better. So to answer your question: yes, you can buy just the body in stores. Also, Canon makes a few 50mm lenses. Your first option is the 50mm f/1.8 (~$100) - it's a pretty decent lens but people find the build quality to feel cheap. Your next option is the 50mm f/1.4 (~$350) - this is a highly recommended lens as it takes very sharp photos. The last option is the 50mm f/1.2L (not quite sure of the price but it's expensive) - this is a luxury series lens so it is very good quality, but it's expensive.

Answer 2

Funny, somebody asked this 2 days ago about the 450D...

My answer then and my answer now is that the 50mm is terrible as a walk around lens on a cropped sensor. It´s nice for portraits, but not recommended as your only lens.

Get the 18-55mm zoom. It´s a consumer grade zoom that will do nicely unless/ until you can afford to jump to the $500 mark. In that case get the Canon 17-85mm zoom or the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. (Or if you want bling-a-ding pro results, save up for the +$1000 Canon 17-55mm f/2.8)

The 50mm f/1.8 does indeed have marginally better image quality than the 18-55mm zoom, but the 50mm will only be useful for 5% of your intended shots.