Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Review (ephotozine)

Focal Length & Maximum Aperture	55-250mm 1:4-5.6
Lens Construction	15 elements in 12 groups
Diagonal Angle of View	27°50′ – 6°15′
Focus Adjustment	Rear focus system
Closest Focusing Distance	2.79 ft. / 0.85m
Filter Size	58mm diameter
Dimensions (WxHxD)	2.8 x 4.4 x 2.8″ (71 x 112 x 71mm)
Weight	13.23 oz (375g)

ephotozine reviewed the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM. The lens is made of high quality plastics (the lens mount is also made of plastic, but do not let this fool you). Some excerpts from the review:

• Autofocus is silent, swift and precise (but no manual override)
• […] sharp hand-held images are possible around half the time at an impressive 1/25sec (four stops slower than the usual rule of thumb)
• At maximum aperture and 55mm sharpness is already outstanding in the centre of the frame
• […] zoomed to 135mm, sharpness at maximum aperture remains very high in the centre of the frame and good sharpness towards the edges
• Peak sharpness across the frame at f/8
• Distortion is well controlled

From the conclusion:

As this lens is intended as a budget option, it is quite surprising to see just how well it performs. Sharpness is outstanding in the centre of the frame for much of the zoom range, which is how you might expect much more expensive lenses to perform.

However, as this predecessor of this lens is still available, and as the STM focusing motor isn’t quite a revelation in terms of performance or usability, one may do well to look at snapping up the older version for now, while the price gap is so large.

The lens got a rating of 5 stars with the motivation: “The Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS STM lens delivers outstanding sharpness in the centre delivering better than expected performance at this price“. If you do not need the stepping motor (STM, good for videography) you may prefer the predecessor, the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II which comes at a lower price: $267 vs the $335 of the newer version.

The review comes with charts and sample pics (original size), have a look if you are interested in this lens.

[via ephotozine]