Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Buy Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras Order Today!

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Canon
Over All Rating Reviews :

Great Deal :
$224.33
Date Created :
Jul 16, 2010 00:19:07

This telephoto zoom lens is designed with Canon's Optical Image Stabilizer technology while retaining compactness and lightness, in response to demands of photographers. This high zoom ratio lens is equivalent to a focal length of 88-400mm in the 35mm format (when used on Canon EOS cameras compatible with EF-S lenses), and the image stabilizer effect equivalent to a shutter speed about 4 stops faster than the same size lens without Image Stabilizer. In other words, if the slowest shutter speed you could formerly hold a 250mm lens steadily was 1/250th of a second, with Canon's 4-stop stabilization correction, you could hand-hold at shutter speeds as slow as 1/15th of a second. It also uses a UD-glass lens element to correct chromatic aberration for excellent image quality throughout the zoom range. This new EF-S telephoto lens with great features delivers excellent performance at an affordable price for all photographers.

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In May of 2009 I purchased a Canon T1i, and quickly discovered that the wide angle kit lens didn't cover the focal range I would find most useful. I seldom take pictures of buildings or scenery, or in close quarters. When I read the reviews on this item, and saw how affordable it was, I purchased it.

For the last year this has been my best friend in the field, my walk-around lens. I do a lot of hiking in the woods and prairies of Suburban Chicagoland, and I have taken about 17,000 images with this lens in the last 12 months. I enjoy photographing wildflowers, frogs, insects, birds, and horse competitions. I have posted several images to the customer images area for this product.

I am a petite 55 year old woman with small hands, and the T1i/55-250 combo fits me perfectly. This lens is lightweight enough for me to lug around for hours at a time.

Zooming and focusing are smooth. The lens does not extend out when the camera is hanging from my neckstrap. Autofocus is usually fairly quick and accurate. In low light situations it can do quite a bit of hunting and sometimes refuses to lock into focus at all. In those instances I flip the switch to manual focus. In fact, when I'm photographing birds, I keep one finger on the manual focus switch because the birds are often behind branches or vegetation, making it impossible for the camera to know where I want the focus point.

Photographing wildflowers in dense woods, I will often use the camera's focus assist light, followed by some fill flash, and this has worked out quite well for me. I am considering the purchase of an LCD ringlight for next season, to throw some light on the flowers from a different angle and make it possible for me to selectively focus and avoid using the on board flash unit.

The Image Stabilization does make some noise, and jerk the camera little when it kicks in. I hardly notice that anymore. The IS seems to do its job well. Most of my images are clear and well focused.

I do a lot of insect and frog photography, with subjects that are easily startled into flight. I frequently shoot from just outside the lens' minimum focus distance, at 250mm, and the images are crisp enough to crop way down for more detail. People think I have a macro lens. I recently purchased a set of Kenko Extension Tubes, and they allow me to reduce the minimum distance between my lens and the subject. The autofocus does not function quite as well with the tubes on, but I use this setup mainly for things that do not flee, so I just switch to manual focus for shots like this.

I am not physically strong, and so I prefer not to lug around a tripod. All of my images are hand held. I'm sure that if I used a tripod or monopod, there would be some improvement in sharpness, but I am happy with my handheld shots.

This is also my go-to lens for photographing horse sports, cross country, hunter jumper and dressage events. I can carry it all day without tiring, and the lens keeps up with the moving focus on horses galloping straight at me using the camera's AI Servo mode.

When you nail the focus dead on, you can do quite a bit of cropping to make up for the possible lack in focal length for distant subjects like birds and other flighty wildlife.

Things that I find displeasing about this lens: the front element rotates during focus, which makes it hard to use circular polarizing filters. Also, I have a soft collapsible rubber lens hood on it which I place up against the glass in zoos, airplane windows, etc to avoid reflection,and the rotation and extension during zooming and focusing cause problems. I don't believe this lens is compatible with the Canon 1.4 Teleconverter. My least favorite thing about this lens is that I have to flip the switch to manual focus before I can tweak the focus, and then remember to flip it back. I have lost some shots that way.

Yes, I'm saving up for the Canon 70-200 IS f4, and a 1.4x teleconverter. That lens solves the issues I have mentioned above with the 55-250. Plus it is less likely to suck in dust from horse shows into the body, because it does not extend, and has better weather sealing. And the image quality is supposed to be amazing.

If you are new to DSLR photography, and want to experiment with different lenses to determine which are your favorite focal lengths, don't hesitate to purchase the Canon 55-250 f/4-5.6. The price is right, the quality is very good, it is lightweight, well built, and holds its value for resale. I will probably keep mine as a backup when I upgrade. Look at my customer images for this product and I think you'll agree about the quality.

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