Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS ?

04/20/2010 11:21:39 AM · #1

Canon EF-S 55-250 IS
Looking for opinions and experiences with this lens. It looks like there are a good amount of owners of it here and

bnilesh is starting to own the gear page for it. Looking for something with a decent reach and reasonably sharp at the long end. I'd like something that offers a noticeable improvement over these samples shot at 300mm with a non stabilized lens:

(I do realize $250 US does not get me L glass, but L glass is not in the budget either.) My expected usage is stuff like airshows and occasionally some wildlife.

Message edited by author 2010-04-20 11:22:25.

04/20/2010 01:25:56 PM · #2

I only own the EF-S 55-250 IS lens and the kit lens and I'm rarely unhappy with the shots I get from either of them. I have worked with other glass, which is why I have others listed on here, for photos I may upload, and I really liked the 70-300, but money is tight and I think my work is decent enough with what I have. Here's my flickr so you can see what I've managed to capture. :)

//www.flickr.com/photos/cdncntrygrl/

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

04/20/2010 01:48:46 PM · #3

Thanks. Going to have a look.

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

04/20/2010 01:50:18 PM · #4

250mm is a bit short for airshows and wildlife unless you can get fairly close to your subject.

04/20/2010 02:05:01 PM · #5

Originally posted by cpanaioti:

250mm is a bit short for airshows and wildlife unless you can get fairly close to your subject.

True, but if the shots are sharp, I think on my 15Mp body, it will still outperform what I got with a non-stabilized 300mm lens on an 8Mp body:

I tend to prefer the strong perspectives that a short focal length offers and the long zoom will probably remain my lesser used lens, for those situations that can only be shot with a longer reach.

Message edited by author 2010-04-20 14:08:39.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM

04/20/2010 02:10:13 PM · #6

Looked at your shots Ducky and found the one of the eagle and the dog in the field were both appearing nice and sharp at 250mm. I could not view full size due to your privacy setting on Flickr.

giantmike

Canon EOS R6

04/20/2010 02:17:51 PM · #7

I also have it, and found that I don't use it a ton. I have definitely gotten some nice shots, especially of my dog running through the snow. With that much light, it's very crisp. But I have also tried to shoot the moon with it, and was only moderately successful. I had to do a lot of post processing to get it to look relatively sharp. Overall, I would give it a B.

04/20/2010 02:26:45 PM · #8

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Looked at your shots Ducky and found the one of the eagle and the dog in the field were both appearing nice and sharp at 250mm. I could not view full size due to your privacy setting on Flickr.

I didn't even know how to use my camera yet then either, not really lol... still learning of course.... I added you as a contact, let me know if you still can't view full size.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

04/20/2010 02:35:30 PM · #9

Originally posted by giantmike:

But I have also tried to shoot the moon with it, and was only moderately successful. I had to do a lot of post processing to get it to look relatively sharp. Overall, I would give it a B.

I have taken some shots of the moon myself with it and I was pleasantly surprised considering my lack of experience and my editing skills are also pretty limited ;) I'll live with it for now :D... if I can track down one I took awhile back I'll post it here later.

kleski

Canon EOS-7D

04/20/2010 02:40:43 PM · #10

It's a good all around lens IMO. My wife and I were looking for a new lens in NYC and the B&H rep sold it to us. He used it on our camera and took a pic of me in the store which I use for my profile pic.

04/20/2010 03:15:31 PM · #11

Originally posted by JustDucky:

I added you as a contact, let me know if you still can't view full size.

I can view the full size once you added me as a contact. It looks like it will make a nice upgrade from what I now have and won't break the bank.

For some reason I was just thinking about a woman I ran into at Fry's a couple of years ago. She said she was a professional photographer who only shot film. She gave me her advice that I should NEVER take the lens off my camera because dust can get into it. Umm, yea. I neglected to ask why she even bothers to use an SLR. Just thanked her for the good advice.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM

04/20/2010 05:10:52 PM · #12

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

She gave me her advice that I should NEVER take the lens off my camera because dust can get into it. Umm, yea. I neglected to ask why she even bothers to use an SLR. Just thanked her for the good advice.

I could totally see suggesting not taking it off if it's windy unless you can get to some shelter, but NEVER??? Ummm, that's WHY I coveted an SLR for so many years.... people have strange ideas lol.

giantmike

Canon EOS R6

04/20/2010 05:31:58 PM · #13

Here are some images related to my earlier post. As you can see, the one of my dog running through the snow is really nice. The moon is ok, just needed some work (which I am no expert, I just moved sliders randomly until it looked how I wanted :-) ).

I don't currently have access to the photo settings for the moon shot. I just know that it was at the full 250mm.

KristinaG

Canon EOS-7D