Canon EF-S 55-250

[langloisonthetrail]

This lens stinks. I use a Canon Rebel T2i. I just spent an hour taking some pictures of some pretty birds. Great shots if I had a better lens. I couldn't get close enough without bad focus. I thought maybe I could crop some but what was semi crisp turned to a blurry mess. I used my tripod and remote with auto focus and IS was off. This is frustrating.

[OsmosisStudios]

Post some examples. While that lens isnt the best there is, it's still going to give you reasonable results.

[inkista]

Stop down. Shooting at f/5.6 at the long end of a consumer-grade telephoto zoom is rarely the best way to get a sharp image. Go to at least f/8. And watch your shutter speed. Remember the 1/focal_length rule. And next time, pay attention to what USM means when you buy a lens.

Sorry. You get what you pay for. It's why I eventually ditched my cheap-as-dirt 75-300 III for an EF 400 f/5.6L USM. But the 400L cost about 7x what the 75-300 did, and it's hecka bigger/heavier and way more conspicuous. And then, I still had to learn how to use it and how to go birding before I got any decent shots.

[Preeb]

It's tales like this which have convinced me to bite the bullet and splurge for the EF 70-200 F4.0 L IS for my T1i. I simply want the colors and sharpness that I know I'll get with the "L" series lens.

[langloisonthetrail]

I deleted the pictures....I was mad. I want better lenses but my budget isn't going to allow me to upgrade just yet. I'm going to have to try and get the most out of what I have at this time. I am splurging on a speedlite 580 EX II. I am leaning towards a new one. Ebay prices aren't far off from the new prices. I'll get there...

[AlQ]

I own and have used the 55-250mm actually to shoot sports and get decent shots (I'll upload some when I can access them).

I did strive for better sport shots though, so I got the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5, then 6 months later got the 70-200mm f/2.8 (everybody owes money

This hobby can become intoxicating with regards to striving for better quality, which leads to better equipment, and I imagine wildlife is tough to photograph because of the unpredictable movement. What I've learned in a short period of time...

bump up the ISO so you can use....
faster shutter speeds, and...
don't shoot completeley wide open, unless you're spot on with the focus (although I do when light is an issue).

BTW....I keep the 55-250 so if I go to a professional game or stadium, where I'm not on the sideline (where they restrict the size of your lens...) I can still shoot

[AlQ]

These are some pictures I took with the 55-250mm, on a Canon XSi:

#1 ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/2500th
#2 , 3,...ISO 400, f/5.6, 1600th
#4 ISO 400, f/7, 1/800th

sunny day, plenty of light, using a monopod with IS on. All images are cropped.

[AlQ]

Ok, not sure why they're only thumbnails but if you go to
Message

click on the "Sports" album, pictures #19-35 were all shot with the Canon 55-250mm lens on a Canon XSi. The last six were shot at ISO 200, 1/500th-1/640th, again on a sunny day with a monopod.

[OsmosisStudios]

From the size I can see, the images look fine. You might be running into focus issues (ie focus lock and focus speed). Without a 100% crop or example, though, I can't tell you much more than that.

[AlQ]

I cannot get these pictures to view full-size in my post, so I'm afraid you have to go to my site to view the full size picture.

sorry for the inconvenience.