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

I recently had our twin daughter's Pre-K graduation and dance recital before going on vacation for a week. I flip-flopped on whether I should purchase the 55-250 or go with the Canon 75-300 USM. After testing out both lenses at the J&R, I went with the 55-250.

Overall, I'm extremely satisfied. I can take photos of images I've missed in the past. Images are sharp. Colors pop. The auto-focus and image stabilization work well. Using the EOS software included with the Canon xSi, I can fine-tine the photos to my liking.

I've read comments that that build is plastic and flimsy. I have not found this to be the case. It's just as sturdy as the 18-55 kit lens included with the Xsi.

Could you get slightly sharper images from the 75-300. You may be able to, but is it worth double the price and extra weight. If you are simply looking to get great photos of family members, special events, vacations with image stabilization and auto-focus, the Canon 55-250 lens cannot be beat for the price.

All I can say is wow. This lens just came in today so lots left to discover but wow. I have had my xt for three years now and had given up hope of taking the pics I really wanted. I took this lens outside and got some flower pictures, then went inside and took some more pics. I have the kit lens 18-55mm and also the 75-300usm, and the 50mm lens thats so popular, I have never been able to get pics like the ones I snapped today! This lens puts off a new camera body for a long while, in short it is nothing less than great. This is what I bought the Rebel XT to do. The color, contrast, clarity is suddenly all there. I bet alot of you bought a dslr to take great pics, or much better than a point and shoot, well this lens puts you there. I notice that the newer consumer dslr bodies come with an IS lens and this is no coinsidence as its the lens that is making your pictures so much better. I highly recommend it as it is the best purchase I've made in a long time even in auto mode!

A clear case of getting what you pay for. If you want a professional quality lens, Canon make them: go ahead and spend $2000. This lens costs a lot less and some compromises have to be made. It gets very long at 250mm and it feels a bit flimsy. There's nothing wrong with the images though. They are sharp and contrasty and the IS works pretty well.

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.

This lens really takes wonderful photos for such a great price. I've taken the lens with me everywhere and get excellent shots in every lighting environment and at any time of the day. I have the Canon Digital Rebel XTi and the lens and camera make a wonderful team for this entry level photographer!