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By 

Avid Reviewer “A Music Fan” (San Jose, CA) –

  

  

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm is a perfect choice if you shoot mostly wide angle shots and don’t want to blow a ton of money on a telephoto zoom lens that you only use occasionally. This lens offers you reasonably sharp photos at a very, very good price. Here’s a more in-depth evaluation of this lens.

– Sharpness
The sharpness is on par with that of the 18-55mm kit lens. Although the lens is not quite pro-grade, it can, in the right conditions, impress even an avid pixel-peeper. For a budget lens, it’s really about as sharp as they come. This lens will probably satisfy all but the most fastidious of prosumers.

Hey, don’t take my word for it; seek out professional review sites that show you a 100% crop of pictures taken with this lens and then decide for yourself.

– Chromatic Aberration (CA)
In bright sunlight, where chromatic aberration is most pronounced, the chromatic aberration on this lens is barely noticeable and probably imperceptible to the untrained eye. In more even lighting, this lens shows no signs of CA.

– Auto-Focus (AF)
The auto-focus is fast enough for still subjects, but for very fast-moving subjects, it’s a hit-or-miss. I gave this lens a good workout shooting cheetahs running close to their top speeds at the Animal Ark, Reno, NV (OT: cheetahs can run at speeds in excess of 70 mph). Most of my shots came out blurry (and that’s not due to motion blur, mind you) because the auto-focus wasn’t fast enough.

Like the kit lens, the auto-focus has trouble in lowlight conditions. It also has trouble with surfaces that lack texture. The motor whirs back and forth trying to lock on to a focus. It can be a little annoying at times!

– Image Stabilization (IS)
The image stabilization is amazing, even at 250mm. Interestingly, you can hear a click when the image stabilization mechanism kicks in. For handheld shots, especially at the 250mm end, the IS is immensely helpful for steadying your shots. I’m very impressed. (** Bear in mind, too, the rule of thumb: the shutter speed should be at least as fast as the reciprocal of the focal length. **)

– Internal Focus (IF)
The lack of IF would not ordinarily be a problem unless you’re using circular polarized filters. The turning of the barrel throws the filter out of adjustment, so you would have to readjust the filter after the subject is brought into focus.

– Build
In terms of build quality, the lens is built a lot like the kit lens. There are complaints that it looks plasticky – maybe so – but it doesn’t look cheap to be sure. It’s lightweight but it feels well-built and sturdy. The zoom ring feels tight, but not overly so, so there is no zoom creep.

– Alternative
Just FYI, the Canon EF 70-300mm is reputed to be sharper than this lens. You might want to give this lens some consideration if the focal range is right and if you can afford to splurge a little.

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I suspect the Canon EF-S 55-250mm is the best mid-telephoto zoom lens you can get at this price. For the budget conscious, and for people who need telephoto zoom only once in a while, this lens is a very, very good choice.

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