Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4-5.6 F/4-5.6 IS

[Eagle355]

What is your opinion- critiques for this lens?

Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4-5.6 F/4-5.6 IS ?

I currently own the standard 18-55mm lens kit for my canon 500d. I wanted to get a fairly priced lens with more zoom, is this one a good lens to buy?
It worths the money?

[inkista]

Yes. If you're looking for a good companion to the kit lens, the 55-250 IS was designed to be just that: a good, low-cost telephoto. However, it does have some drawbacks. It will not mount on a full-frame camera like the 5D or a film Canon SLR. Optically, it's not as strong as the 70-300 IS USM, or the 70-200 f/4L USM (both of which cost more than twice as much as the 55-250). It does not have USM, which means it will not focus silently (if you wanted to be in stealth mode), or as quickly as the other two lenses. So, if you plan to use this for some form of action photogrpahy, like sports, you may want to borrow/rent one to see if the autofocus performance is something you can live with.

I would certainly say that the 55-250 IS is a better alternative than the EF 75-300 III, simply because of the EF-S design, improved optics, and IS.

[natek313]

I owned the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens prior to replacing it with the EF 70-200mm f/4L USM IS lens. It is a great consumer lens at a great price. I got some photos with it that I am really pleased with.

However, inkista makes some good points. If you can live with the drawbacks of it or don't need anything more than what it already offers, then I think you will be quite pleased with the lens' performance.

[RichardTaylor]

It is small., light and good value for money.
However mine does not see a lot of use as I have other choices.