Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom AF Lens for Selected Digital SLR
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom AF Lens for Selected Digital SLR
See it at Amazon.co.uk for £168.65Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share113 of 114 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent value
(5 out of 5) by A. Long on Apr 10, 2008I have spent years suffering with an old Tamron 28-200mm zoom lens and had got used to crappy results.
I was therefore not expecting much from this budget Canon lens.
It therefore came as a very pleasant surprise when I reviewed the first few dozen photographs I took while testing out the lens's capabilities in relatively poor light (right at the end of the day).
The results are truly amazing. The pictures are pin sharp. I managed to capture pictures of birds in flight where the individual hairs on the feathers are clearly distinguishable.
The build quality is leaps ahead of the poor quality 18-55mm lens that came with my 20D.
At this point I can honestly say I'm a very happy bunny indeed....
I was therefore not expecting much from this budget Canon lens.
It therefore came as a very pleasant surprise when I reviewed the first few dozen photographs I took while testing out the lens's capabilities in relatively poor light (right at the end of the day).
The results are truly amazing. The pictures are pin sharp. I managed to capture pictures of birds in flight where the individual hairs on the feathers are clearly distinguishable.
The build quality is leaps ahead of the poor quality 18-55mm lens that came with my 20D.
At this point I can honestly say I'm a very happy bunny indeed....
87 of 89 people found the following review helpful:
Great beginner zoom lens - it's a boon!
(4 out of 5) by Mr. J. DEBACKER on Mar 21, 2008 (UK)It's only very recently that I have progressed from a 4mp compact to a 'proper' camera (Canon EOS 300D) so using manual settings etc is still a steep learning curve for me. It has to be said that with the IS (Image Stabiliser) feature on this lens, taking a clean picture at long zoom is like cutting warm butter!
To begin with my kit lens is the plastic 18-55mm lens which does the job nicely for a complete novice but it doesn't take long before you want more (push it more!). I invested in a second hand Sigma 28-200mm lens which had trouble speaking to my camera body. Not sure why, but most times I tried to use it I got greeted with "Err 99". Rubbish in the field (although in fairness I hear that sigmas have to be rechipped commonly with canon bodies and I'm told it's not a bad lens), and quite aggravating due to the number of shots I'd miss out on.
So I figured time to get a general purpose zoom that would take up somewhere where the kit lens leaves off.
Image then my surprise, when I find that Canon had brought out an IS (image Stabilised) lens that carries on right where the kit lens leaves off!
It's advertised as being RRP £240 but I got mine on a well known auction site for £140 inclusive of postage, although paid a little bit of import duty when I received it.
Well, on receival I was impressed that for a plastic mount/general construction it seems fairly sturdy (albeit lightweight).
As far as the zoom range goes, this one goes to 11! Going from 55-250mm is a boon, and includes a lot of popular ranges. Sure, the lens system doesn't quite have the Nasa like clarity of the L-series glass, but I've got 5 kids to feed and that sort of gear sadly is out of my range for now.
This lens is an excellent intro to DSLR telephoto I think.
Granted I'm a novice, but compared to other products I've seen for this kind of money, it gives a superb spec that will give you a fairly decent result.
To summarise, if you are just venturing into the realm of DSLRs then hey presto! This could be 'just the lens you're looking for' as they say.
I'd say it's a pretty good bargain and to use an old fashioned addage, "I'd buy THAT for a dollar!".
To begin with my kit lens is the plastic 18-55mm lens which does the job nicely for a complete novice but it doesn't take long before you want more (push it more!). I invested in a second hand Sigma 28-200mm lens which had trouble speaking to my camera body. Not sure why, but most times I tried to use it I got greeted with "Err 99". Rubbish in the field (although in fairness I hear that sigmas have to be rechipped commonly with canon bodies and I'm told it's not a bad lens), and quite aggravating due to the number of shots I'd miss out on.
So I figured time to get a general purpose zoom that would take up somewhere where the kit lens leaves off.
Image then my surprise, when I find that Canon had brought out an IS (image Stabilised) lens that carries on right where the kit lens leaves off!
It's advertised as being RRP £240 but I got mine on a well known auction site for £140 inclusive of postage, although paid a little bit of import duty when I received it.
Well, on receival I was impressed that for a plastic mount/general construction it seems fairly sturdy (albeit lightweight).
As far as the zoom range goes, this one goes to 11! Going from 55-250mm is a boon, and includes a lot of popular ranges. Sure, the lens system doesn't quite have the Nasa like clarity of the L-series glass, but I've got 5 kids to feed and that sort of gear sadly is out of my range for now.
This lens is an excellent intro to DSLR telephoto I think.
Granted I'm a novice, but compared to other products I've seen for this kind of money, it gives a superb spec that will give you a fairly decent result.
To summarise, if you are just venturing into the realm of DSLRs then hey presto! This could be 'just the lens you're looking for' as they say.
I'd say it's a pretty good bargain and to use an old fashioned addage, "I'd buy THAT for a dollar!".
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic Lens
(5 out of 5) by Picchianti Alessandro on Jul 30, 2008 (palo alto)This is the natural partner for the 18-55 lens that came as kit with the body.
The lens is not actually 100% plastic as most of the people states, it is in part made by plastic, but the part that attacches to the camera body is painted alluminium, it looks and weights like plastic but is metal!
The IS is amazing, and the lens very sharp, even at 250mm... once attached to your body, the only limit is your creativity.
this is the best zoom lens around for a cheap budget if you own as EOS camera.
Best Lens 195 pounds can buy.
The lens is not actually 100% plastic as most of the people states, it is in part made by plastic, but the part that attacches to the camera body is painted alluminium, it looks and weights like plastic but is metal!
The IS is amazing, and the lens very sharp, even at 250mm... once attached to your body, the only limit is your creativity.
this is the best zoom lens around for a cheap budget if you own as EOS camera.
Best Lens 195 pounds can buy.
67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
Nice Compact Size
(4 out of 5) by S. Bashir on Dec 13, 2007 (Reading, Berkshire)Its a shame that Amazon were not quick enough to stock this lens as I needed it, however I will write a few words commenting that having received this lens yesterday I have been playing with it and find the IS=Image Stabilizer functionality truly awesome. There is massive difference in your ability to take a distance shot with the IS switched on and then off.
The build quality of the lens is nothing amazing although it does hold well under daily use. My existing 56mm filters and hood from other lens transition well to this lens so this was another reason I decided to go for it. This lens is supposed to be lighter and more compact than its bigger brother 70-300mm that was a main reason why I chose this one, for its overall size.
The build quality of the lens is nothing amazing although it does hold well under daily use. My existing 56mm filters and hood from other lens transition well to this lens so this was another reason I decided to go for it. This lens is supposed to be lighter and more compact than its bigger brother 70-300mm that was a main reason why I chose this one, for its overall size.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
good lens but i got robbed
(5 out of 5) by A. Stone on Apr 2, 2008 (Kent)this is great value for money well now it is when i brought it this was £225 and now its £178 this is great for taking pictures of birds in your garden if you want them in the air you will need a more powerful zoom i have added some pictures for you to see which im proud of