Canon EF-S 55 - 250mm IS lens

[GME]

Hello - I looked (including using the search tool) for any threads on this lens without success so apologies if I've missed it!

Anybody purchased one of these yet?

With the IS and at a price of around £200 I was wondering whether it may prove to be a decent buy.

The one professional review I've seen for it said it was sharp throughout the range and did not drop off like some of the cheaper 70-300mm equivalents, where the last 100mm particulalry tends to perform the worse.

With the IS and supposed 4 stops gain then maybe some faster shutter speeds in the current poor light conditions may outweigh the 50mm range loss. Any thoughts?

I am considering getting one pretty soon so any positives or negatives would be gratefully appreciated. I intend on using it mostly for garden bird shots (whrere I can get fairly close) and some sport (football!) too. Therefore, I think the shorter length will be less of an issue for me.

Cheers in advance

[RichBrew]

Originally Posted by GME

With the IS and supposed 4 stops gain then maybe some faster shutter speeds in the current poor light conditions may outweigh the 50mm range loss. Any thoughts?

Cheers in advance

GME:

IS will not give you faster shutter speeds: it will allow you to shoot at lower speeds before camera shake becomes an issue. The only way you will get faster shutter speeds is to increase the ISO, or open up the lens in any given lighting situation. If the latter is not possible then the ISO increase is your only option. IS in a lens does not stop subject movement. Only the shutter can do that.

RichBrew

[eeyore]

be aware that lenses mnade for the efs mount will only fit on cameras with a 1.6 crop sensor (i.e. the 400/350/300D series and the 10/20/30/40D series ) so dont buy a efs lens if you might upgrade to a 5D or a 1 series in the foreseable future , or if you want to use it with a film body

[Mumby]

Well, I had never even heard of this lens, apparently it is new!

I agree with both the above comments, my father and I spent ages arguing over whether or not IS allows you to shoot at faster or slower shutter speeds in poor light!

I would be tempted to wait a few weeks and see what other consumers make of it before I spent the cash, but on the other hand it does seem like a lot of lens for the money.... just make sure you post some shots when you get it!

Regards,

Paul

[GME]

Cheers guys.

Yeah you're right on the shutter speeds and IS I think - it doesn't take much to confuse me in this matter, ha My thinking was probably confused in that with the 4 f-stop gain supposedly given with the IS that it would hopefully be faster than the f4-5.6 max (in a fashion) and therefore help to achieve quicker aperture/ shutter speed combinations - as you say RichBrew to open the lens up (in a theoretical sense). Though someone with more knowledge and understanding may be able to help explain why this would or would not be possible to me! It may help in keeping ISO down a little? Though I'm not adverse to using high ISO levels if it helps with faster shutter speeds in poor light to get a noisier but sharper image. Especially with the small birds in the garden!

I am hanging on for a bit as suggested, hence why I posted on here to see if anyone had any experience of it. I tried it in the shop and it's light (plastic mount) and compact but seems pretty sturdy and well-built. It certainly won't tire the arms if walking for a while with it on your camera. The zoom ring and focus ring seemed to be smooth. I don't think it's USM so not sure exactly how fast AF will be but it was quick enough when I had a mess around in and around the shop and pretty quiet too.

I don't think I'll be upgrading to the 5D yet (more likely step up to 40D or equivalent somewhere down the line) so don't think it will be a major problem buying an EF-S lens for me. Plus it's only £200 quid new at the mo so not too dear, but I appreciate what you are saying.

I will most definitely post any pics if and when I do get it but in the meantime if anyone else has bought and used one I eagerly await your comments (and results)!

[GerryNick2]

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS was launched in August 2007 with availability in October, this was delayed for whatever reason but they started to get to retailers during November. Consequently there are not a lot of reviews about yet.

The reviews I have read generally think it will be a hot seller. The only criticisms concern poor AF accuracy especially at the wide end and vignetting at large apertures. AF however seems to perform ok on the new 40D this is no doubt due to the enhanced AF on the 40D.

Used on a camera with a 1.6 crop factor i.e 400D it provides a 88-400mm equivalent which can be quite useful.

Its obviously not L class glass and the small minimum aperture (F4) may prove to be a bit restrictive but at £187 - £219 you would be hard pushed to find anything better.

Gerry

[GME]

Thankyou Gerry. It does seem to be a good quality for the price from what I've seen so far (which is not very much). I know most lenses within my budget will come with some compromise. For me I want something that will get me a little closer to the subject but with as good an IQ as is possible for my budget.

On the point of the IS I had a think overnight and now realise that it will indeed allow me to ahcieve SLOWER shutter speeds whilst minimising camera shake issues. (Told you it didn't take much to confuse me) The matter of subject movement will still, as always, be the problem to tackle. I love photography for problem-solving. I'm learning (or trying to) all the time.

[eeyore]

in terms of tacking subject movement your four choices are basically

a)only to shoot in bright light (not largely a realistic proposition for nature photographers)

b) make the most of the light you do have by using lenses with large max app (ie f2.8 tho these are expensive) or by turning up your ISO - though there is a trade off with image noise (with relatively static subjects such as flowers moving in the wind you can also use a reflector to add more light)

c) add more light by using a flash gun possibly with extender - not always an option with shy subject

and

d) panning with the subject with slower shutter speeds to keep the subject sharp while motion blurring the background - only an option with a subject mowing in a predicatable direction - such as a flying bird or running mammal.

[Jon]

For bird photograpy I think you will find this a bit short. In the garden I photograph from about 3m distance and I use a 100-400 lens - almost always at 400 or near. Only for larger birds such as Jay Magpie and Woodpecker do I go to 100- 250mm.
If, of course, are going to be about 2m distance I think you would be OK.

Jon

[GME]

Thanks for the info.

I know it will be a little short for most bird shots but am after a new lens (or rather one of my own - I've been borrowing a 75 - 300mm but have to give it back soon) I am after the best I can warrant spending at the moment (about £200 as I'm also buying a new tripod!) Would love a longer lens or indeed a faster one but hey they come with a price tag! From what I've seen so far this lens seems like pretty good value for money, though I'm considering the Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro as an alternative. I nearly bought this lens a while back but got to borrow a friends 75-300 Canon. This was ok but the Sigma seems to get better reviews. Cheers again

[mh68]

Hi GME, I recently bought a Sigma 70-300 DG macro,the non-APO version, and while its not top quality, for the money its not a bad lens. It is a bit noisy,but the focus is pretty quick. It does hunt a bit at times in poor light but its not too bad overall. The recent Roe deer, Blue Tit and House Sparrow shots on my gallery pages are taken with this lens, as are the wildlife shots on my Flickr pages (link in my signature).Theyre not brilliant shots, but i`m happy with the lens for the price. From what I`ve seen the APO version is a bit sharper, so would prove better still as a starter zoom.
The macro facility isnt too bad for the likes of butterflies/dragonflies/flowers, but obviously not as effective for smaller subjects as a proper macro lens.Anyway, hope this may prove useful to you.

Mark H

[GME]

Originally Posted by mh68

Hi GME, I recently bought a Sigma 70-300 DG macro,the non-APO version, and while its not top quality, for the money its not a bad lens. It is a bit noisy,but the focus is pretty quick. It does hunt a bit at times in poor light but its not too bad overall. The recent Roe deer, Blue Tit and House Sparrow shots on my gallery pages are taken with this lens, as are the wildlife shots on my Flickr pages (link in my signature).Theyre not brilliant shots, but i`m happy with the lens for the price. From what I`ve seen the APO version is a bit sharper, so would prove better still as a starter zoom.
The macro facility isnt too bad for the likes of butterflies/dragonflies/flowers, but obviously not as effective for smaller subjects as a proper macro lens.Anyway, hope this may prove useful to you.

Mark H

Wow, thanks Mark. Your shots are great. No problem on sharpness there! If the APO version is a bit sharper still I'll be very impressed Had you cropped/ sharpened much on your Sparrow/ Blue Tit shots - they are really nice, I'd be happy with the lens for the price too! Good to hear the focus is quite quick too as I was expecting this to be a bit of an issue with the Sigma.

[mh68]

Thanks GME I`m pretty pleased with the lens so far.I`m sure it`ll give sharper results once we eventually get some sunshine
The focus tends to hunt most when trying to shoot birds etc amongst branches,as i`d expected, but its acceptable for a cheap lens.If you pm me with an email address I can send you a full size shot if you like, its always easier to judge sharpness with a full size image. The bird shots are cropped a bit, the 300mm focal length is a bit lacking for small birds unless you can get very close ( the Blue Tit etc were taken from about 8-10ft away).The shots are sharpened a bit, but only to compensate for the softening caused by downsizing the images.

Mark H

[GME]

Thanks Mark - I'll PM you shortly