this is a consumer grade lens with nothing special about its plastic construction - it doesn't have the "feel" of a luxury lens, nor does it have the price tag.
it's an S-type, so it means its limited to use on camera bodies that accept the s range of lenses (which to my understanding excludes full frame cameras). only use this lens on suitable camera bodies, ones which have the white-dot on the lens mount.
the lens itself isn't a super-performer so the pixel peepers should not purchase this lens and then feel let down - your lens will be one that costs many times the price of this item.
for us ordinary mortals with small bank accounts, this is a lens that may fill the gap and produce the results you want in some circumstances. i would not recommend this lens as a handheld lens at night due to its limited aperture even though it has image stabilisation. it needs to be stopped down to get into the best performance zone. for low light shots the use of a tripod is recommended.
from the reviews i have read i came to not expect miracles from this lens, and i have not been disappointed in the results from it.
for a crisp image you will need to use the lens in its
"sweet spot" - close down the aperture a couple of stops and
make sure you dont use the lens at its full telephoto setting as that is where the distortions become most obvious, so wide open apertures fully zoomed in are to be avoided if you want best performance of the lens.
if you are aware of the limitations of this lens, then you'll be able to avoid the pitfalls of using it in its lower-performance ranges by working around the lower quality zones.
it's certainly not unusable out of the sweet spot range but its where the limitations of a cheapwe lens are most seen on any lens of any manufacturer.
beware of the front extending element on the lens.
as you zoom in and out the front of the lens extends and shortens, which is not a problem in itself, but i have found it very easy to break a lens if the lens in its extended range and it gets bumped on the extended part of the mechanism. some say that dust is sucked into the lens when extending/shortening it, but i havent seen this effect personally.
reviewers write about the "feel" of a lens when zooming or focusing. this is a plastic barrelled lens and feels like its a cheaper construction. having said that, i don't concern myself about the feel of a lens as long as its not jerky or the operation of it difficult. neither of these things apply to this lens, its as smooth as i would expect a lens to be of this price range - it operates perfectly well.
in conclusion i would say i am happy with this lens when taking into consideration its limitations and shooting with it in its sweet spot. ive avoided using the lens at its full 250mm zoom setting, but would use it at full zoom if i had to. colour rendition and contrast is ok.
for the price, and knowing its limitations its a good price:performance ratio lens.
if you want less distortion, larger apertures and smoother feel/stronger construction then you must be prepared to pay a lot more money. used with knowledge you should get a lot of fun out of this lens.
| Package Dimensions L x W x H | 16.2 x 10.1 x 9.8 centimetres |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 0.5 Kilograms |
| Product Dimensions L x W x H | 17 x 11 x 11 centimetres |
| Item Weight | 390 Grams |
| Brand | Canon |
| Camera Lens | zoom lens |
| Colour | Black |
| Has image stabilisation | Yes |
| Lens Fixed Focal Length | 250 Millimetres |
| Max Focal Length | 250 Millimetres |
| Min Focal Length | 55 Millimetres |
| Model year | 2010 |
| Plug profile | Canonbayonet |
| Part number | 2044B003AA |
| Lens Design | Zoom |
| Maximum Aperture Range | F4-5.6 |
| Focus type | Auto/Manual |
| Photo Filter Thread Size | 58 Millimetres |
| Guaranteed software updates until | unknown |
