Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom AF Lens

[Jericho]

As a bellweather, I'd appreciate the views of members on the above lens as a replacement for the stock 18-55 on my EOS 450D.

What I'm looking for in an enhanced lens is greater capability in zoom but need to know is there a trade-off in quality of the shot and IS when zooming at the max range and will the peripheral areas in a zoomed shot with this lens be always fuzzy?
In short, would it be as good as my 18-55 in normal shooting but excel at its' raison d'etre and therefore be a permanent fixture to the body?

Not having much knowledge of digital photography, I only picked this lens at random from the Canon website and found price variance between Canon/Jessops and Amazon of£330 to £185!

I'll apologise in advance if these questions seem like asking the bleedin obvious.

Thanks.

[djguk47]

Re: Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom AF Lens

Jericho,
There will be at least one or two "gurus" come past here who will say get good glass (L lens) and you will not go wrong and these guys are 1000% correct. A great lens can be forever but a camera body will be changed so with the L lens you are investing for the future.

However, here are my thoughts.... if there a budget constraints, which we all have, and you want to go with a non L lens then why not keep the 18-55 you currently have as this gives you good "walk around" coverage and look at the 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM which will give you more length when you want it.
The gap you will have will be between 55 and 70.

I have the 17-85 IS USM and the 70-300 IS USM (as well as some others) and find this gives me good coverage. I took some shots at the Hawk Conservancy the other week with the 70-300 and am very pleased with the results. OK an L lens would have given me a slightly better result but I am more than happy with what I managed with the non L lens.
Just my thoughts

David

[briansquibb]

Re: Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom AF Lens

You can get a 70-200 f4L (non IS) for about £400. It is a very good lens and not too heavy

[Nathaniel]

Re: Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom AF Lens

Hello! Jericho

I am one of the budget consious photographers and have still to buy an L series lens- generally because of the weight. However I use the 18-55mm IS lens and the 55mm-250mm lens quite often and I am quite satisfied with the results. Look at my Jodrell Bank shots- the second lot, all taken with the 18mm-55mm IS lens. It is very good. I also attach here one shot taken with the 55mm-250mm IS at Stonehenge in poor light and you can judge for yourself. The L series lenses are very good and will last your lifetime but I don't take that the non L lenses will not last your lifetime as well. It depends on what you want. If the weather hold good I will run down to Slimbridge in Wiltshire and take some of the bird shots with 3 or 4 of my non IS lenses before I start my foreign travels.

I also have a 450d and the more I use it the more I like it as the controls are all so easy to get at. They are like the 500d and even the 550d which I have tried out at Jessops. The shots taken below were taken with the 450d.