Refurb Canon 55-250 IS for 199

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Triumph

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
14
81
Is this a new Canon lens? I don't remember seeing this two years ago when I bought an el-cheapo Tamrom 70-300 zoom, which broke when I stupidly dropped it. Image quality was pretty bad anyway, maybe I should pick this up. I remember everything close to the Tamron's range being 500+ smackers.
 
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angry hampster

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2007
4,232
0
0
www.lexaphoto.com
Originally posted by: Triumph
Is this a new Canon lens? I don't remember seeing this two years ago when I bought an el-cheapo Tamrom 70-300 zoom, which broke when I stupidly dropped it. Image quality was pretty bad anyway, maybe I should pick this up. I remember everything close to the Tamron's range being 500+ smackers.
Click to expand...

It's about a year or 1.5 years old. Definitely a great lens for the money if you can stand the slow aperture.
 
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996GT2

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2005
5,212
0
76
A couple of good older Canon lenses are worth considering if you're looking at the 55-250 IS.

-The 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM can be found on eBay for under $200, and sometimes for just $120 or so! This is a lens that Canon discontinued in the late 1990s (most likely to prevent competition with their newer 70-200mm f/4L). It features true ring-type USM which focuses faster than the 55-250, full time manual override, and a decently fast aperture.

-The 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM is virtually identical optically to the 70-210, but trades the faster aperture for 90mm more reach.

Both of these are full-frame compatible and have better build quality than the 55-250 IS; also, both have distance scales built right in, metal lens mounts, and non-rotating front elements. If you look around on eBay, you can snatch one up for about $50 less than the price of a refurbished 55-250 IS.
 
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996GT2

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2005
5,212
0
76
Originally posted by: Sawyer
And they would produce iq as good or better than the 55-250?
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I haven't seen resolution numbers for the 70-210, but it is the better lens optically of the two lenses I mentioned.

Photozone has reviewed the 100-300mm, and it is on par with the 55-250 up to to about 200mm or so, after which it is slightly softer.

The 70-210 USM, though, has often been called the "poor man's L." It is one of the best consumer-grade lenses made by Canon. I have one, and I love it. The AF speed is light-years ahead of any other budget tele zoom, and the lens is capable of some great shots. The only small gripe I have is that this lens tends to have a bit of purple fringing at 210mm, but that's easily correctable in software.

Review at POTN
 
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996GT2

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2005
5,212
0
76
Originally posted by: Triumph
Almost all of the 70-210mm's on ebay right now are the f/4 version. :(
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The f/4 version is actually also pretty decent from what I hear, although the AF is slow as molasses and the styling is way retro.
 
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extra

Golden Member
Dec 18, 1999
1,947
7
81
Good deal on getting the 55-250mm IS. Glad that you got it over the other two imho unless you must have FF compatibility.

The image quality of the 55-250mm is *amazing* especially for the price. Honestly very unlikely you could tell the difference between shots made by it and made by a 70-200mm f4L. IQ wise it's that good. And it's small and light. People forget that yes, the "build quality" isn't as good as an L lens, BUT since it's for crop sensors only, it's TINY compared to an L, or even compared to the 70-300mm IS! It's tiny and light.

The only downside of the "nifty 250" is that it focuses slowly.

And the IS works amazingly well. If you do eventually spend a lot more money and want a FF compatible lens that is similar but even better + focuses way faster, then get the 70-200mm f4 IS. The F2.8 is obviously nice but WAYYYYYY bigger and heavier.
 
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SAWYER

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
16,742
42
91
I won't mind the build, my other lens are the 50 1.8 and the 18-55 IS. I think I have a good trio for the money, 200 for the 55-250, 55 for my 50 1.8 and 100 for my 18-55 IS
 
joutlaw

joutlaw

Golden Member
Feb 18, 2008
1,108
2
81
I have a Rebel XSi with the 18-55mm kit lens and the 55-250mm IS lens. They compliment each other very well and work well for my non-professional needs.

I also have the f/1.8 50mm plastic fantastic. I used the 55-250 on a trip to Gatlinburg and got a lot of good shots out of it. I'm still learning how to use XSi and SLRs though.
 
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iGas

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2009
6,240
1
0

I own the 100-300 USM and its a bit soft at the long end unless you stop it down to f:8. And, there isn't many situation that you can shoot at f:8 with a 300mm handheld.

IMHO, 300mm & above is more of a territory for fast sharp prime lenses, and 200mm or less zoom are adequate most of the time.

 
ElFenix

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,395
8,558
126
Originally posted by: extra

The image quality of the 55-250mm is *amazing* especially for the price. Honestly very unlikely you could tell the difference between shots made by it and made by a 70-200mm f4L. IQ wise it's that good. And it's small and light. People forget that yes, the "build quality" isn't as good as an L lens, BUT since it's for crop sensors only, it's TINY compared to an L, or even compared to the 70-300mm IS! It's tiny and light.
.
Click to expand...

it's just as wide as the (non-US) 90-300 and only .2" shorter when zoomed all the way out (to be expected). being for a crop sensor has nothing to do with it, being slow has everything to do with it.
 
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