LensTip.com

Cons: Plastic mount. It could be faster.

Pros: A very sharp lens, which performs well above its price point. The image stabilization works great. You can\'t go wrong with this lens for the money.

Summary: I can\'t complain about the build quality and the aperture when the price is taken into consideration.

Cons: None.

Pros: 1) Lightweight. 2) Very sharp across the frame. 3) No zoom creep. 4) Decent contrast and colour. 5) Value. 6) Fast and accurate focussing. 7) Non rotating front element. 8) Well weighted and geared manual focus.

Summary: You can pay three times the price and still not equal the performance of this excellent lens. Whether you want to do that my dear readers is of course entirely up to you.

Cons: Plastic mount (possibly). Those that change lenses frequently may prefer a metal mount. This isn't a problem for me as I use two 450D bodies with permanently mounted lenses, one with the 55-250 STM the other with a 18-55 IS. The increased risk of sensor dust due to lens swapping far outweighs the inconvenience of carrying two reasonably lightweight bodies IMO..

Pros: 1) Very light. 2) No zoom creep. 3) Fast accurate auto focussing. 4) Superb sharpness with good colour and contrast. 5) Value compared to alternative makes. 6) IS works extremely well. 7) Sharp also at 250mm. 8) Very low CA. 9) Well weighted and geared manual focussing ring.

Summary: My main requirement was for high image quality combined with portablity and to this end was initially tempted by a Sigma 18-250mm superzoom. But this would have meant a doubling in cost and compromises in image quality. Sigmas newer 18-300mm may have been a stronger contender but from the reviews I've read even this lens cannot match the IQ of the canon budget 18-55mm kit lens and 55-250mm combination. Plus - using two bodies provides some insurance against failure - especially in a remote - expensive to get to location. The trade off is the inconvenience of switching cameras and of course carrying them. I've have found though the 18-55 ideal for most of my shooting with only the occasional need for a longer focal length, so the inconvenience mentioned above is not a deal breaker. Canons lightweight and responsive 55-250mm STM is superb I have no regrets whatsoever.

Cons: The only thing i can think of is how it starts at 55mm. Not a problem at all unless you need to shoot close up.

Pros: Then again, it is great it starts at 55mm for a lense that reaches 250mm. It is great it has IS, unlike the 75-300mm

Summary: Very good long distance lense for the price. I would recommend

Cons: None really. It's a crop sensor lens, but I will not upgrade to full frame soon. Anyway, those lenses keep good price, so it will be possible to sell it in few years if needed. Build quality is the same as 18-55 STM, no complaints.

Pros: - Much faster AF compared to kit lens 18-55 STM - Dead sharp accross the frame at low f-stops - Rigid build of zoom and focus ring - Excellent image stabilization

Summary: After year of using SL1 and 18-55 STM, I needed telephoto to shoot tennis match. I bought 55-250 STM and it exceeded my expectations. It works very good with SL1 body. It's much faster AF compared to kit lens, photos are sharper, IS is excellent at 250mm. I shot the match at overcast day and it produced great images of frozen action. AF follows the subject easily (panning) and if MF is needed, the focus ring feels very good and easy to operate. Somehow I feel that this lens gives more light (altough the minimum f-stop is 4-5.6, similar to 18-55) as my photos look more vivid. I think that improved sharpness adds a lot to the value, since for sport action, cropping is often neccessary. In that case sharpness allows me to crop 50% and still have great images. Definitely worth every cent!