Reviewed: Canon EF-S 55-250mm F/4-5.6 IS STM

Verdict: This lens is very small in size and it’s light, it has image stabilisation and the price is very reasonable. The maximum zoom is quite short but fine if it suits your needs. The image quality isn’t amazing and it’s built for Canon APS-C only, but if that’s what you’ve got, this is a reasonable lens.

Built solely for Canon APS-C DSLRs, the 55-250mm offers a 35mm equivalent focal length of 88-400mm. While this is a highly versatile telephoto zoom range, other lenses in our round-up can zoom in over twice as tight. Weighing just 375g, it’s the lightest and smallest of all on test, making it ideal for travel. Internally, there are 15 elements in 12 groups, with a UD (Ultra low Dispersion) element designed to combat fringing and Super Spectra coatings to minimise ghosting and flare.

CANON'S 55-250MM FEATURES 3.5-STOP IMAGE STABILISATION

Focusing is fairly fast and quiet with the Stepping Motor technology (STM), and there’s also an Image Stabilisation system that allows shutter speeds up to 3.5 stops slower than normal to be used, without the effects of camera shake. With the lens zoomed to 55mm our test images suffered from some barrel distortion. At f/4 the corners were soft, with some vignetting and coloured fringing, but results improved as we stopped down. At the long end of the zoom, these issues were less noticeable.

Want to know more? Read our round up of the best telephoto zoom lenses.

Specification

Minimum aperture: f/22-32

Elements: 15/12

Filter size: 58mm

Minimum focus distance: 0.85m

DxH: 70x111mm

Weight: 375g

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Kirk Schwarz is a tech-addicted photographer with over a decade's experience; Kirk’s used to putting new gear through extreme field testing. He's previously written for Practical Photography.