Summary: Excellent lens
Comment: I bought this with a new XSi camera and it is a real asset to have the added capabilities of this lens and the one that came with the camera.
The image stabilization is amazing.
Features:
Focal Length & Maximum Aperture - 55-250mm f/4-5.6
Lens Construction - 12 elements in 10 groups, including one UD-glass element
Diagonal Angle of View - 27° 50'- 6° 15' (with APS-C image sensors)
Focus Adjustment - DC motor, gear-driven (front focusing design)
Closest Focusing Distance - 3.6 ft./1.1m (maximum close-up magnification 0.31x)
Accessories:
Tiffen 58mm 11 Filter (Green)
Tiffen 58mm 47 Filter (Blue)
Tiffen 58mm 80A Filter
Tiffen 58mm 812 Warming Filter
Tiffen 58mm 81A Filter
Related Items:
Spotlight customer reviews:
Summary: Excellent lens
Comment: I bought this with a new XSi camera and it is a real asset to have the added capabilities of this lens and the one that came with the camera.
The image stabilization is amazing.
Summary: A must have
Comment: The Canon Digital Rebel Canon EOS Silver Digital Rebel XTi 10.1 MP SLR Digital Camera with Canon 18-55mm EF-S Lens + 1GB Pro Accessory Kit I bought a couple of years ago came with a basic 18-55 mm lens that works OK but doesn't begin to do justice to the capabilities of this great camera. So if you get the camera, don't walk, run to your computer and order the EFS 55-250 mm lens. The lens has come down in price a lot since I bought the camera. The image stabilization technology is phenomenal. I've taken some spectacular twilight and indoor shots with the camera in no-flash mode without a tripod. The lens adds a lot of weight to the camera--about 7 oz. as compared to the standard lens (with telephoto camera weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz.) but it's well worth it. Highly recommended.
Summary: Awesome lens
Comment: This lens has not let me down one bit. There are better lenses in terms of zoom obviously, but the fact that it is image stabilized makes it great. I have taken some great pics at sporting events without knowing much more than the basics.
Summary: Very nice complement to my SXi 18-55 kit lens
Comment: I love this lens, it has added some much needed flexibility to my 18-55mm kit lens that came with my camera. I IS on this camera is great I'm not use to hearing it work when I push the button, but it does work. For the price I paid the lens construction is very good, the lens is pretty heavy. Pictures are sharp and for the most part color accurate.
Summary: Who needs f2.8?
Comment: Great lens. Nice, small, light, and very sharp.
With IS and fantastic ISO 800/1600 performance from Canon dSLR cameras, I personally see no need to spend $1000 on a f2.8 lens. If I were a pro selling images or routinely making huge enlargements, sure. But for the price, the lens is excellent.
Many will complain that the lens housing is plastic. Get over it. Plastic is a fine material ;-)
Editorial reviews:
The compact and affordable EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS offers powerful telephoto performance. Its 4-stop Image Stabilizer with automatic panning detection effectively suppresses blur in low light.The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS is a telephoto zoom lens combining powerful performance with high image quality. With a focal length equivalent of 88-400mm in 35mm format, it is ideal for photographers seeking an affordable, versatile lens for general-purpose telephoto photography.To combat the effects of camera shake, the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS incorporates Canon's latest 4-stop compensation Image Stabilizer technology. This allows the use of shutter speeds up to 4 times slower with no perceptible increase in image blur. Automatic panning detection automatically turns off the Image Stabilizer in either the horizontal or vertical direction when following moving subjects.The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS employs a Canon UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) lens element to suppress the effects of secondary chromatic aberrations - for crisp, sharp, high-contrast images without fringing throughout the zoom range.
