The short answer is: Sometimes. However, I've heard a lot of people (especially ex-photographers) say "You need to invest in good (expensive) lenses..." yet I would say "If a lens is good it's good...no matter what you paid for it." The reason I think there are good, yet affordable, lenses out there is not only because there are companies who don't know how to price items for what they are worth, but ALSO because there are vintage lenses out there, that used to be good...and in some cases, still are!