Someone told me the lenses that come with the body as a package are not that good normally compared to some decent priced lenses you can get.
Any opinions?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the optics of kit lenses. The two aspects that typically differentiates the kit lenses from the "better" lenses are build quality (including weight) and design parameters (e.g., maximum aperture).
In terms of build quality, the kit lenses are adequate for occasional use (weekends and vacations), but the internal plastic components will not stand up to heavy daily use. You might see, for example, some wobble on the extending barrel of a kit lens under such heavy use over a long period of time. This is largely irrelevant for casual use, and the upside is that the kit lenses are rather light and compact.
In my opinion, you usually buy a "better" lens to obtain either a larger maximum aperture, or a focal length that is not covered by your kit lens. For example, a typical 18-55 mm kit lens will have a variable maximum aperture ranging from f/3.5 at 18 mm decreasing to f/5.6 at 55 mm. You will find that f/5.6 at 55 mm is not satisfactory for lower light indoor use, for example.
If you are familiar with the camera body and the type of photos you intent to capture, you can skip the kit lens(es) and buy an enthusiast class lens. For example, the Sigma 17-50 mm f/2.8 constant maximum aperture zoom, or the equivalent Tamron 17-50 mm f/2.8 VC, will provide a nice upgrade over the kit 18-55 mm lens. These lenses are probably in the R8k range.
You may be interested mostly in prime lenses, in which case you might just as well take the usual kit zoom (18-55 mm) as a backup. The "kit grade" prime lens, which means the 50 mm f/1.8 in Canon's range, is built cheaply, but optically just fine for the money (around R1k, I believe). Unfortunately, this is usually the third lens in a three-lens + body kit, which means you will have to buy a 55-250 mm kit telephoto, which does not make sense in your case.
So it really comes down to what you need. If you need a large aperture zoom, you will pay upwards of R8k per lens. Primes may be a more affordable way to obtain larger apertures, but obviously you have to know which primes you need, which can be tricky if you are new to the APS-C format.
I know there are some other nice lenses in Canon's range (something like a 15-85 mm?) which may be a good enough reason to skip the kit zoom. This will still leave you with a variable maximum aperture, which is not ideal for low light, but 15-85 mm is an extremely convenient focal length range for APS-C.
Summary: If you know you need low light capability, or you already know which focal lengths you need, then skip the kit lens.
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