Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 is II Telephoto Zoom Lens

I bought this lens at same time as the Canon T2i to pick up where the 18-55 kit lens leaves off, and have taken some very good photos with it. However, I learned taking photos at the Patriots vs Rams pre-season game that I will never get "pro" quality photos at night, not even at professional football games where the lighting is very good to ensure tv viewers get good visibility. Even with ISO at 1600 I was able to manage a shutter speed of only 400 at f5.6, not enough to get crisp shots of moving players. Shots taken when there was a slow down or pause in the action were very good, even at the above mentioned settings, but when the players were moving rapidly, the shots were a little soft. Post processing made them very satisfactory for personal enjoyment, but not for more more ambitious use. Earlier I might have given the lens a 4, maybe even a 3, because of my game experience, but since the game I have learned a lot about lenses and I now know that the relatively low-light photos I got were the best I could expect from this f4.0-5.6 lens. If I were going to shoot a lot of night sports, I would be saving for a 2.8 zoom lens, but they are very, very expensive for a good one. An f2.8 lens is a much faster lens than a 4-5.6 In day time settings, I have consistently gotten clear, sharp shots but have not yet tried shooting kiteboarders, something I enjoy doing. However, my expectation is that I will get good shots because I'll be shooting during the day and able to shoot at 800 at a minimum, more likely 1000. I have been practicing taking sports photos by photographing the batters in action for several local teams. Two of these games were in the late afternoon and I was shooting at 5 pm or later in October, meaning that light was becoming low. For these shots I put the camera in Tv mode and set the shutter speed at 1000. ISO was on auto and the camera was allowed to select the best ISO up to a maximum of 1600. At this time of day, even in the autumn light, I got very crisp shots. Many required some processing to improve exposure, but the results were very satisfactory because the subjects were sharp. People to whom I have shown the photos said they were "great". In summary, for what I do most of the time, this lens is excellent. And I really appreciate the image stabilizer. I can't imagine buying a lens without it since 98% of the shooting I do is hand held.

This is a very good lens given its price. Like with any lens selection there are compromises, and a more expensive lens is not necessarily better in all respects. These are the main considerations for me: * The lens comes with an excellent IS. One could probably save a hundred bucks buying a non-IS lens in this focal range which may even be a bit better optically. However, long range shots without IS are difficult, especially in low light. The IS on this lens works very well, better compared to my Canon 28-135 IS and even compared to the 100-400L. The IS really makes a lot of hand held shots possible that one could not do with a non-IS lens. * The lens is fairly cheaply built and has a plastic mount. However, the trade-off is that it is also fairly small and light (the small size is also due to the fact that it is a EF-S lens). My other tele-zoom is a 100-400L lens which is built like tank, but it is also huge and weighs 3 pounds. In many cases one does not want to carry that much weight around, and that is where this lens comes in really handy. * Image quality: No, it cannot quite match the 100-400L, but it comes surprisingly close. Of course, the 100-400L costs 5 times as much. Lack of good color saturation is the most notable deficiency. On the other hand images are very sharp. For outdoors one should get a hood, there is quite a bit of glare in shots with frontal sunlight. * Zoom range: the 55-250mm range makes the lens quite versatile. 250mm is long enough for most outdoor sports, many nature shots, people from afar, etc. At the other end 55mm is still good for close action, for example at a soccer field. That is almost a factor 2 shorter compared to 100-(300/400) lenses. It also provides a nice overlap with walk-around lenses, like the Canon 28-135 IS. * Aperture: F4-5.6 is nothing to brag about, however, a faster lens would also have to be much bigger, heavier, and costlier. And as long as you objects don't move too much the IS makes the lens effectively faster. If Canon's 4 stop improvement holds it would be equivalent to a non-ISF1-1.4, although F1.4-2 is probably more realistic. A F1.4-2 with that focal range would have to be big, heavy, and expensive, if it even existed. In summary, this is an excellent second lens to complement a short zoom or a walk-around lens. Very versatile and a lot of bang for the buck. In my case, even though I own a 100-400L I still keep this lens because it is often more practical because of the shorter focal length and the smaller size.

Llegó más rápido de lo esperado. Muy buena opción para fotografía deportiva. Hasta el momento me ha gustado mucho.

Habe dieses Telezoom von meinem Umstieg auf Vollformat in Kombination mit dem EF-S 18-55 IS an meiner 500D verwendet. Sehr gute Abbildungsleistungen - könnte etwas lichtstärker sein, aber für diesen Preis völlig Ok. Leicht und gut verarbeitet - Plastikgehäuse tut jedoch der Bildqualität keinen Abbruch. Abbildungsqualität sehr gut über den gesamten Brennweitenbereich sehr ordentlich - Vergleich mit L-Objektiven ist natürlich nicht angebracht. Diese kosten ja auch das 8 bis 10-fache und weisen das 3 bis 4-fache Gewicht auf. Für den ambitionierten Hobbyfotografen jedoch durchaus ausreichend. Streulichtblende für Außenaufnahmen unbedingt gleich mit dazu bestellen (leider nicht enthalten - ist bei Canon nur bei L-Objektiven Standard). Sehr gut für Urlaub und Reise. passt mit dem Kitobjektiv und Cam incl. Speicherkarten und Reserveakku in eine mittlere Fototasche. Von mir eine absolute Empfehlung!

ネットで、望遠を調べていて このＣａｎｏｎのダブルズームセットの望遠レンズにたどり着きました。 以前はシグマのレンズとかも使いましたが、コレは軽くていいです。 白箱でも中身は一緒。値段はお得。 購入してから、お月様を撮影してみました。 けっこうキレイに撮れましたよ。

superb lens . very good result . amazone selling this product with half of the actual market rate. I am happy with this product.

Dopo un anno di test posso dire di aver fatto un ottimo acquisto! L'obiettivo è solo per fotocamere che NON sono full-frame e non da un senso di compattezza e solidità a causa del materiale molto plasticoso. L'obiettivo è leggero e tutto sommato anche molto compatto vista la sua "notevole" escuriosne (55-250mm). E' stabilizzato e ha un autofocus molto veloce ma quello che più colpisce è il notevole rapporto qualità/prezzo. Non è un obiettivo per professionisti ma consente tutti gli altri di avere un qualcosa con cui lavorare e fare molta pratica. E' sensazionale per il prezzo a cui lo vendono, ha una buonissima nitidezza e qualche volta sfocheggia leggermente ma solo in condizioni di luce scarsa. Nella sua fascia di collocazione ha un unico contendente: il tamron 70-300 4-5.6, quest'ultimo però costa di più ed è di poco superiore. Non è paragonabile ai 70-200 di casa canon e va visto solo come un back-up di questi ultimi. Da usare con paraluce. Consigliato a tutti i non professionisti.