ROOKIE looking for a zoom lens ~HELP

[Rachelm209]

I recently purchased the Canon T2i & I love it! However am now looking to add a telephoto zoom lens. I'm not looking to spend alot right now since I am new to the world of DSLR. I'm simply looking for an affordable good 1st zoom lens which is a step up from the kit lens.

Can I please get advice and input on the following:

Canon Telephoto Zoom Lens 55-250 f/4 5.6 IS (??) (more along the lines of what I want to spend right now)

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (a little pricey for me..but considering this one too)

Thank you!

[donoreo]

The Canon 55-250 is a great lens. You will not be disappointed.

[mondmagu]

Hi Rachel, I have done a lot of research on the Canon 55-250 mm lens recently.The jury's verdict is that this lens is fantastic value in relation to image quality and value.Photoplus also reviewed this lens and indicated that it punched above it's weight.I too contemplated the 70-300 mm lens but it was too rich for my budget.So I ordered the 55-250 mm from Amazon yesterday and hope to have it on Thursday.Cost was 144 stg.(about 188 euros),which is about 100 euros cheaper than Ireland.Can't wait to get my hands on it.
Try and look at some shots from people who use this lens.Some are amazing.

Des

[adam_christie]

Hi Rachel;

I'm going through exactly the same process at the moment - and I've decided on the EF-S 55-250 IS lens for exactly the reasons that mondmagu has highlighted above. According to lots of reviews, the 55-250 is excellent value for money, and produces images that puts the 70-300mm lens to shame. The only drawback is that's it's an EF-S lens, so you can't use it on a full frame camera (which I'm upgrading to when the 5D MKIII finally makes an appearance) however if you're forever happy with the T2i then it's a no brainer!

[chris-p]

I'd like to throw another lens into the mix. The Tamron 70-300mm VC is £350 so it's more expensive than the 55-250mm but it's cheaper than the Canon 70-300mm. It's also much better than either.

I've seen back to back tests of the Canon 70-300mm and the Nikon 70-300mm VR and the Nikon wins hands down on image quality. However, the Nikon was compared to the Tamron in AP magazine a few months ago and it won that so it's leagues in front of the rather old (by comparison) Canon 70-300mm.

The 55-250mm isn't bad optically and it's fair to say it can outperform a few others. It's build quality leaves something to be desired though.
The Canon 70-300mm is not worth the consideration really. It's got a micro USM motor (rather than the preferable ring USM), it extends and rotates on focusing and it's optically a relatively old design.

More than anything this comes down to budget, but it's a no brainer for me. Less than £300 and it's the 55-250mm. Less than £350 and it's the Tamron by a mile.

[Drew Smith]

I cannot recommend this lens highly enough - well actually I can.

How about this for a recommendation: I bought a 70-200mm 2.8 L Lens but still couldn't part with my 55-250mm. It's light, small-ish and takes sharp pictures pretty much throughout the focal length (at least my copy does).

Here are some pics taken with this lens, click on the images to zoom in: