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Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS
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Review Date: Jan 7, 2011
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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cheap, very usable focal range, compact for a zoom, image stabilization, nearly weightless, respective image quality, macro
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Cons:
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plastic back, dust sucker
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My lens was bought at Walmart... it's that common of a lens.
I work at a horseback trail riding stable, and was using a 50mm prime to photograph the riders. There is a bunch of legwork to frame the riders with the background no mater what lens I use, but there is a need to zoom in on some great moments so using a prime is constrictive.
I had a chance to use a 75-300mm and found that the zoom was great to have, but it was too long even at 75mm to get the mountains behind the riders, so I had to use 2 cameras if I wanted to get everything until the 55-250 came to light.
As stated in my pros: cheap, very usable focal range, compact for a zoom, image stabilization, nearly weightless, respective image quality, macro...it is perfect for the amount or moving and shaking I am doing for getting the shot. On a Rebel with grip this lens is so accommodating to my purpose.
The IQ really has impressed me (and my customers) for what this lens is. The image stabilization obviously helps. It is pretty sharp and PP helps to make the images really pop.
I work in well lit conditions so the slow nature of this lens is not much of a problem, but I still rarely shoot with at anything lower than 200 ISO. Lens flair is not too bad, but it does flair.
Dust has gotten into this lens after 1 years use...in a dusty environment. Send it off to Canon to get cleaned? Probably.
If there was a better version of this lens, built like the 70-300 f4-5.6 IS priced accordingly, I would buy it to replace the plastic one I already love.
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Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4.5 DC MACRO
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Review Date: Feb 4, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Great replacement for Canon’s kit lens. Decent finish, build, size. Macro is OK. Price.
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Cons:
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Dust, Focus speed, [email protected]
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I was, and probably always will be, on a budget for my gear when I bought this lens from Wolf Camera. It is hands down a great replacement for the Canon kit lens.
I have used this lens for 3 years now as my walk around on a canon XTi (and now XSi). It is wide enough most of the time for landscapes and flexible enough for family snapshots (if you have enough light). It is reasonably sized and light enough for me to hold my camera all day while out shooting. It has held up really well from my abuse with nature photography while my old XTi looks like it went through a war-zone.
It has served me well but I do have my gripes about it.
The lens extends almost 2 inches longer when you zoom to 70mm from the resting 17mm. I guess due to this trumpeting of the lens it actually sucks in dust. I keep my cameras pretty clean and dust still made its way in.
The lens has loosened up to the point that if I tilt the camera down the lens will role out to 70mm on its own.
At 70mm you are dealing with a minimum aperture of 4.5 and with less than ideal lighting you will be struggling a bit with the slow shutter speed.
The focus speed is not stellar and I have missed the shot while the lens is still hunting.
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