Seb,

I agree with your bottom line here; it is ultimately about the image. If a kit lens or a pro lens or a Holga or a point and shoot gets you there, so be it. They're all about photography. Photo John recently revealed that he sneaks pictures taken with a point and shoot past magazine editors That is a great example of the final image taking precedence over the tools that made it.

But, I feel your comment about lens quality is a bit off here. The discussion is centered around "pro" vs "non-pro" glass, and you cheated a little by comparing kit zooms to prime lenses. Your example of the 50mm lens stands as a great example of the difference a lens can make. It does not however address specifically pro vs kit. The 50mm 1.8 is not a pro lens It is a prime lens. A better experiment to demonstrate your point would be to compare your kit zoom at 50mm to a pro zoom at 50mm, and then ask people if they can tell the difference. That would better illustrate the point at hand (if they can tell the difference, which I wouldn't bet they could!)

Your point about people being able to tell the difference in lens quality, particularly kit zoom vs prime is well taken however. I love the prime lenses for that reason!

Rick