How do different lenses affect a camcorder's image quality?

How do different lenses affect a camcorder's image quality?

Tim Smith (Camcorder Training Specialist) gives expert video advice on: How do I decide which camcorder to buy?; What factors should I consider when comparing one camcorder to another?; What camcorder features are unnecessary? and more...

What you want to look for in a lens is the best picture quality you can get out of it. So, you look for companies that have been known to produce lenses or if you can you'll look at the picture quality out of the lens itself. The sharper it is the better. One of the things I would try in a store is macro. Get in as close as you can. That's where you're going to see so much of the detail of this lens and how much it can produce. If the camera has a macro function, try to look at something like fine print even on a sales tag, that will tell you how much detail you're going to get. Then, pick it up and zoom around a little bit. All the way in, all the way back. Does it stay sharp through the entire zoom range? Does it get soft anywhere? That's really how you can tell the quality of a lens when you're shopping. How will it perform in the field? You want to try the camcorder out as much as you can before you buy it.