55 250mm lens for canon: Canon 55-250mm IS II Review

Canon 55-250mm IS II Review

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Canon 55-250mm IS
EF-S II (2011-)
© 2014 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

Canon EF-s 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II (58mm filters, 13.8 oz./391g, 3.6’/1.1m close focus, about $249, works on Canon APS-C cameras only). I got mine at at Adorama, and you also can get it at Amazon.

My biggest source of support for this free website is when you use those or any of these links when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. It helps me keep adding to this free website when you get your things through these links — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you buy elsewhere. Thanks for your support! Ken.

December 2014   Canon Reviews   Canon Lenses   All Reviews

NEWER: Canon 55-250mm IS STM.

Introduction         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

This Canon 55-250mm IS II is one of Canon’s most popular lenses because it’s super sharp, focuses very close, has a perfect telephoto zoom range, has Image Stabilization for sharp hand-held photos in dim light, and is small, light and inexpensive.

You can pay more to get a lens that works better while being rained-on or blasted in a sandstorm while being beaten around by a news photographer, or that works on expensive full-frame cameras, but even if you pay more for something like a 70-200mm f/4 L IS, you’ll have a bigger lens to carry around, it won’t be any sharper, and it won’t have as broad a zoom range! There are many reasons this 55-250 is among Canon’s best selling lenses.

This 55-250 requires you to move a switch on the lens to get from auto to manual focusing; you can’t just grab the focus ring.

The reasons you might want to pay more than twice as much for another lens with a more limited zoom range are if you shoot a 35mm or full-frame camera on which this lens won’t work, if you need instant manual focus override (you have to move a switch to get to manual focus), or if the plastic lens mount isn’t tough enough for you. Otherwise, this lens is sharp, light inexpensive and works great.

This new 55-250mm IS II lens has the same optics as the previous 55-250mm IS lens, with slightly different cosmetics.

Compatibility

As an EF-s lens, it will only work on Canon’s APS-C cameras.

It will not work on 35mm cameras, it will not work on old 1.3x cameras, and it certainly won’t work on full-frame digital.

Versions

The original version is recognized by its silver-colored focal length scale.

This newest version is marked “II” and is all black, with a silver trim ring, as shown in this review.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS II. bigger.

Specifications         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

Name

Canon calls this the Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II.

   EF: Electronic Focus. All modern Canon lenses focus with a motor in the lens.

   -S: Only works on newer, small (APS-C) DSLRs.

   IS: Image Stabilization, which means no tripod needed except at night. See Why IS Matters. Canon claims 4 stops.

   II: Second version.

Optics

12 elements in 10 groups.

A UD glass element to reduce chromatic aberrations (color fringes and halos).

Lead-free glass.

Pumper zoom; the front extends a lot as zoomed to longer focal lengths.

Front-group focus; the front rotates and extends slightly as focused more closely.

Diaphragm

Front, Canon 55-250 IS II (EF diaphragm not visible).

7 rounded blades.

Stops down to f/22-32.

Optical Image Stabilizer

Rated for up to four equivalent stops of shake correction.

Close Focus

3.6′ (1.1m) at all focal lengths.

Maximum Reproduction Ratio

1:3.2 (0.31x).

Focal Length

55-250mm.

On the APS-C cameras for which it is designed, it gives angles of view similar to what an 88-400mm lens would give on a 35mm or full-frame camera. See also Crop Factor.

Angle of View

27.7º – 6.25º  diagonal.

Maximum Aperture

f/4 – 5.6.

Lens Mount

Plastic.

Size

2.6″ (70mm) diameter x 4.3″ (108mm) when set to 55mm.

Gets longer at longer focal length settings.

Weight

13.785 oz. (390.85g) actual measured.

Rated 13.75 oz. (390g).

Included Accessories

Just caps.

Optional Accessories

ET-60 hood.

LP1019 pouch.     

Introduced

July 2011.

Price, USA

2014 December: $249.

2013 October: $299.

Box, Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS II.

Performance         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

Overall    Autofocus    Bokeh   Breathing   Color

Coma   Distortion   Ergonomics   Falloff    Filters

Lateral Color Fringes   Macro   Mechanics   Sharpness

Stabilization

Overall     performance      top

The Canon 55-250mm IS II is optically superb and handles very well for a mostly plastic lens. The biggest negative is that the focus ring and filter thread rotate during autofocus.

It’s a kit lens sold with many less expensive Canons, and it’s excellent. There is no reason to pay more for a telephoto lens for a Canon APS-C camera.

If you can’t get brilliant, sharp and colorful photos with this lens, you’re doing something wrong.

Autofocus     performance      top

Autofocus is fast and quiet, making only a soft motorized sound as it focuses.

Video AF is limited by the camera, while regular AF is fast and quiet.

Auto/Manual Switching

You have to move a switch on the lens, by your thumb.

AF Speed

AF is fast, as Canons always are.

This 55-250 can focus from infinity down to 3.6 feet (1.1 meters) in less than a second.

AF Accuracy and Consistency

I saw no autofocus error on my Canon SL1.

Manual Focus

You have to move a switch, and then it feels plasticy — because it is. It works fine, but it’s more work and doesn’t feel as nice as lenses that cost five times as much.

Bokeh     performance      top

Bokeh, the quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to the degree of defocus, is usually pretty good.

For the softest backgrounds, zoom to 250mm, get as close as possible and shoot at f/5.6.

Focus Breathing     performance      top

Focus breathing (the image changing size as focused) is mostly of interest to cinematographers who don’t want the image changing size (“breathing”) as the lens is focused among different subjects.

The image from the Canon 55-250mm IS gets bigger as focused more closely.

Color Rendition     performance      top

The color balance of this 55-250 seems the same as my other Canon EF lenses.

Coma     performance      top

Coma, or saggital coma flare, is when points of light in the corners turn into batwing-shaped blobs. This is often a problem with fast normal or wide lenses.

I see none in this lens; it’s super sharp in the corners wide-open.

Distortion     performance      top

The Canon 55-250 II has no visible distortion.

For more critical use, use these values in Photoshop’s Lens Distortion tool to remove the distortion. These aren’t facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data.

© 2013 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

Ergonomics     performance      top

Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS II.

Ergonomics are swell for zooming, but balky for focus.

As covered above, the focus ruing and front of the lens rotate as autofocused.

The AF – MF switch falls right under your thumb, and you need it to swap between auto and manual focus.

Falloff (darkened corners)     performance      top

All new Canons since late 2013 have both a lens profile and ability to correct this in-camera, so it’s not likely to be an issue.

For users of older cameras, here is the falloff as seen with no corrections, a.k.a. correction for peripheral illumination DISABLED.

Even with no in-camera corrections, falloff isn’t visible except wide-open at the long end. If it bothers you with an uncorrected camera, stop down to f/8, and it goes away.

I’ve greatly exaggerated what little there is by shooting a flat gray target and presenting it against a gray background:

Filters, Use with     performance      top

The plastic 58mm filter threads are big enough that even thick or stacked filters won’t cause any vignetting.

Go ahead, use any big, fat thick filter, and you’ll still be able to add a second one, too!

It’s easy to cross-thread the plastic threads, be careful.

Canon could have used a much smaller thread, but used 58mm for compatibility with other lenses so you don’t need to duplicate your filters in different sizes. Therefore, even with several stacked filters you won’t get any vignetting.

Lateral Color Fringes     performance      top

Today’s Canon cameras correct for any that might be here.

On an 18MP Canon SL1 with its correction enabled, there are no visible lateral color fringes.

With the correction turned off, there are minor green-magenta lateral fringes at 55mm, none at 100mm, and minor magenta-green lateral fringes at 200mm and 250mm.

Macro     performance      top

The 55-250 gets so close that I doubt you’ll ever need a dedicated macro lens.

At close-focus distance at 250mm at f/8.

It’s super-sharp; here’s a crop from a 18MP image at 100%:

Crop from above image at 100%, shot at f/8 on a Canon SL1. If this is 6″ (15cm) wide on your screen, the full image would print at 35 x 52″ (1 x 1.5 meters)!

The sparkles aren’t noise; they are the texture of the watch crystal, face and bezel!

Mechanics     performance      top

Rear, Canon 55-250. enlarge.

The Canon 55-250 IS is all plastic, except for electrical connections and the glass.

Filter Threads

Plastic.

Hood Mount

Plastic.

Identity Ring

Painted on front plastic ring.

Focus Ring

Ribbed plastic.

Barrel

Plastic.

Moisture seal at mount

No.

Mount

Plastic.

Markings

Paint.

Serial Number

Laser engraved into the bottom of the black plastic lens barrel near the mount.

Date Code

None found.

Noises When Shaken

Very mild rattling.

Made in

Taiwan.

Sharpness     performance      top

Image sharpness depends more on you than your lens, and lens sharpness doesn’t mean much to good photographers. It’s the least skilled hobbyists who waste the most time blaming fuzzy pictures on their lenses, while real shooters know that few photos ever use all the sharpness of which their lenses are capable due to subject motion and the fact that real subjects are rarely perfectly flat.

This said, this Canon 55-250 is just about perfect. The only way to get anything other than a sharp picture is to have it out of perfect focus, shoot at f/11 or smaller where diffraction softens the image, shoot at higher ISOs where camera noise reduction softens images, or let the camera or subject move.

Hey, sorry to spare you endless boring charts, but with a lens this good, there’s nothing to show other than sharp pictures under all conditions — unless you do something stupid.

The biggest detriment to sharpness will be a lack of proper vision and technique, never this lens. I bought mine directly from Adorama. I can’t vouch for anything if you buy from a local store or chain where you never really know who’s opened and played with your lens before you buy it. I never buy retail; too many risks, so why pay more?

There is no difference in sharpness at any focal length as you stop down to f/11 in any part of the image; it’s super sharp all over at every setting on the 18 MP camera on which I tested it.

Canon’s specified MTF curves:

Sharp-eyed nerds may notice that these are simply reversed from the MTF of the older 55-250mm IS; I suspect the 55mm curve is really the 250mm curve and vice-versa. They have the same optics.

Image Stabilization     performance      top

Canon claims four stops improvement. I didn’t test that specifically, but I do know I had no problem getting sharp shots at 1/30 at the long end of the zoom range.

Recommendations         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

This inexpensive Canon 55-250mm IS II offers exceptional optics in an inexpensive package, perfect for school and family sports shooting.

For the price, this Canon 55-250mm IS EF-s is my top lens suggestion for everyone on a budget who needs a tele lens for Canon digital. The older Canon 75-300mm telephotos without IS cost a little less, but since I know how critical IS is to sharp photos in real-world photography, I’d spend the little extra for this 55-250mm.

Even if IS is a mystery to you, the fact that this lens focuses so closely is another reason I can suggest it so strongly. Canon makes no junk, and hey, if you break the plastic mount and if Canon won’t fix it under warranty (try first), you can buy another and still be out far less money than I paid for my one 70-200mm f/4 IS L.

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Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM – Lenses – Camera & Photo lenses

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM – Lenses – Camera & Photo lenses – Canon Ireland

Get closer to the action

A compact telephoto lens that takes you closer to the action. An Image Stabilizer prevents blur owing to unintentional camera movement. STM technology delivers smooth quiet focusing when shooting movies.

See full specification 

Benefits

• Get close to distant subjects, like wildlife and sport

• Smooth, quiet STM focusing when shooting movies

• Image Stabilizer reduces blur from camera shake

• Lightweight, compact design you can take everywhere

• Easy-to-use design that delivers superb image quality

Detailed Features

• Compact, powerful telephoto zoom

  Taking you closer to the action, the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM is the perfect companion for your EOS’s 18-55mm standard zoom lens, and ideal for wildlife, sports and travel photography. It combines powerful telephoto performance with great image quality and instinctive handling.

• Optical Image Stabilizer

  To help maintain sharpness, the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5. 6 IS STM incorporates Canon’s Image Stabilizer technology. This allows shutter speeds up to 3.5 stops slower than normal to be used while protecting against the effects of camera shake – great in low light or when shooting at long zoom settings. Panning detection automatically turns off stabilisation in either the horizontal or vertical direction, helping convey a sense of speed when photographing moving subjects.

• STM technology

  The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM features stepping motor (STM) technology for smooth, quiet continuous focusing when capturing video with your EOS and fast, accurate AF when shooting photos. STM focusing is so quiet that it’s not picked up by the camera’s microphone, leaving your video soundtracks free of unwanted distractions.

• Delivering superb image quality

  The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM uses a UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) glass element and Super Spectra lens coatings to deliver crisp, sharp, high-contrast images throughout the zoom range. A seven-bladed aperture diaphragm increases the quality of out-of-focus areas, so your subject stands out against a soft, blurred background.

• Designed for great photography

  A manual focus ring allows precise focus adjustments to be made quickly and easily at any time, while a closest focusing distance of 0.85m enables photography of small subjects. A non-rotating front element makes using filters straightforward.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM

Ratings & Reviews

Telephoto Lenses

Equipped with increased focal lengths, letting you get closer to your subject without having to interfere with the scene.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM – Lenses – Camera & Photo lenses

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5. 6 IS STM – Lenses – Camera & Photo lenses – Canon Ireland

Feel like you’re in the center Events

A compact telephoto lens that puts you right in the middle of the action. The Image Stabilizer prevents image blur caused by accidental camera movements. STM technology ensures smooth and silent focusing when shooting video.

See full specification list 

Benefits

• Get close to distant subjects in wildlife and sports photography

• Smooth and silent focusing a STM when shooting movies

• Image stabilizer reduces image blur when shooting camera shake

• Lightweight and compact design allows you to use the camera in any environment

• Easy to use for excellent image quality

Detailed description

• Compact, powerful telephoto zoom lens travel, wildlife photography and sporting events. It combines powerful telephoto performance with excellent image quality and easy, intuitive operation.

  

• Optical Image Stabilizer

  The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens uses Canon’s image stabilization technology for sharper shooting. This allows you to shoot at shutter speeds up to 3.5 stops slower than standard shutter speeds while protecting the image from accidental camera shake—important when shooting in low light or close-ups. When panning is detected, the vertical or horizontal stabilization is automatically turned off, respectively, helping to convey a sense of speed when shooting subjects in motion.

• STM technology

  The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens features stepping motor technology (STM) for smooth, quiet, tracking focusing when shooting movies with EOS cameras and fast, accurate autofocus for stills. STM focusing is so quiet that even the camera microphone does not pick up its noise, allowing you to shoot video with sound without extraneous noise interference.

• Superb image quality

  The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5. 6 IS STM features an Ultra-Low Dispersion (UD) lens with a special Super Spectra coating for crisp, sharp, high-contrast images regardless of focal length. The 7-blade diaphragm enhances out-of-focus areas of the image, making a sharp subject stand out against a soft, blurred background.

• Designed for great photos

  The manual focus ring allows precise and fast focusing in all conditions, while the 0.85 m minimum focal length allows you to capture small subjects. The fixed front component allows convenient use of the filters.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM

Ratings & Reviews

Telephoto lenses

With their extended focal length, they help you capture close-ups of your subject without having to get close to it.

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Telephoto Canon EF-S 55-250 mm f/4-5.6 IS II

After a trip to the Crane Homeland, I wanted to try my hand at bird photography. It is unlikely that they can be photographed with a standard lens – after all, birds (and most animals in general) are shy creatures. And I decided to buy a telephoto lens. I didn’t buy L-ku – I don’t see the need for it yet. Canon has two budget options: Canon EF-S 55-250 mm f/4-5.6 IS II and Canon EF 70-300 mm f/4-5. 6 IS USM. To begin with, I decided to stop at the first. So far I can not say for sure whether this is what I wanted. True, a significant plus of this lens is its weight and low price, you can safely take it as a second lens on trips and use it if necessary.

(from foto.ru)

Also, the manufacturer promises that the stabilizer provides 4 exposure levels, which allows you to shoot clear shots handheld.

When you pick up this lens, you immediately notice its small size. When zooming, a large “trunk” extends. Together with the hood, the view is very impressive. Almost at the same time, a significant minus was also discovered, perhaps specifically for my copy (Taiwanese assembly) – after auto focusing and shooting, the trunk is not completely removed, you have to switch to manual mode and move it forward, or close the lid and press the shutter halfway.

The lens turned out to be quite fast, focusing quite quickly, despite the lack of USM. True, with sufficient lighting. If it’s too dark for him, he starts to “crawl”. It also seemed to me that the stabilizer does not work out as well as stated. Maybe it’s in my hands.

Now for the shots taken with the Canon EF-S 55-250 mm f/4-5.6 IS II. Below the photo is the EXIF ​​data. Shot on a Canon EOS 350D in JPEG format, Aperture Priority, post-processed in Adobe Photoshop CS Windows.

Dried flowers

Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: f/11
Focal length: 250mm
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: 0 eV

Three trees in Murakino

Shutter speed: 1/640 sec
Aperture scale: f/11
Focal length: 135mm
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: 0 eV

Trees covered in snow

Shutter speed: 1/640 sec
Aperture: f/9
Focal length: 146mm
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: 0 eV

A in the next photo A crow is visible in the tree 🙂

House in Golenishchevo

Shutter speed: 1/500 sec
Aperture: f/8
Focal length: 250 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: 0 eV

Dog

Shutter speed: 1/200 sec 90 070 Aperture: f /7. 1
Focal length: 100 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: 0 eV

Dog

Shutter speed: 1/400 sec
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal length: 250 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: 0 eV

Dried flowers 900 04 Shutter speed: 1/640 sec
Aperture: f/9
Focal length: 250 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: 0 eV

Dried flowers

Shutter speed: 1/800 sec
Aperture: f/10
Focal length: 250 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation : 0 eV

And the sunset was just like that – with a halo, maybe not as obvious as it turned out in the photo.

Sunset in Slavino

Shutter speed: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal length: 131mm
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: 0 eV

And here is a photo of the Moon in the evening sky. The image is slightly cropped.

Young moon

Shutter speed: 1/250 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal length: 250mm
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: -0.67 eV

When I photographed sparrows, I forgot to switch ISO in a hurry… 9000 5 Sparrows

Extract : 1/800 sec
Aperture: f/5. 6
Focal length: 250mm
ISO: 800
Exposure compensation: 0 eV

Sparrows

Shutter speed: 1/800 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal length: 250mm
ISO : 800
Exposure compensation : 0 eV

Sparrows

Shutter speed: 1/640 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal length: 250 mm
ISO: 800
Exposure compensation: 0 eV

🙂 Spot metering. At first I tried to shoot at ISO 400, but the frames turned out to be blurry. So I had to increase the ISO and also introduce exposure compensation.

Moon

Shutter speed: 1/400 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal length: 250mm
ISO: 800
Exposure compensation: -0.67 eV

Moon

Shutter speed: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/ 5.6
Focal length : 250mm
ISO: 800
Exposure Compensation: -0.67 eV

In general, as I noted at the beginning of the post, the Canon EF-S 55-250 mm f/4-5.6 IS II left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, its small weight and dimensions captivate.