Canon EF-S 55 250mm F 4 5 6 IS STM Review | 54 Data compared

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens represents a significant upgrade over its predecessors, offering impressive sharpness across the zoom range and a highly effective 4-stop image stabilization system. Key advantages include quiet, fast autofocus via the stepping motor (STM) and a redesigned optical structure that excels at the telephoto end. Conversely, the budget-conscious design features a plastic mount, lacks weather sealing, and includes a variable maximum aperture of f/4-5.6, which limits low-light performance. Furthermore, the lens exhibits mild softness when wide open, some distortion at 250mm, and does not come with a lens hood.

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM is a budget-friendly telephoto lens designed for APS-C format cameras, providing a full-frame equivalent focal range of 88-400mm. This model introduces a more substantial update over its predecessor, featuring a revised optical construction of 15 elements in 12 groups (including one Ultra-Low Dispersion element) and a 7-rounded blade aperture. While its slow maximum aperture (f/4-5.6) might not appeal to ambitious professionals, the lens offers decent plastic build quality with tight tolerances. It is exceptionally lightweight at 375 grams and about 30% smaller than full-frame alternatives like the EF 70-300mm, making it highly portable for amateurs. A major highlight of this lens is the inclusion of Canon’s Stepping Motor (STM) technology, which delivers a snappy, essentially noiseless autofocus performance in both standard phase-detection and live-view contrast-detection modes. Additionally, it features an effective Image Stabilization (IS) system that compensates for up to 4 f-stops of camera shake, alongside a non-rotating front element and a close minimum focusing distance of 0.85 meters. On the downside, the lens utilizes a plastic mount, and the STM design requires...

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM is a budget-friendly, lightweight telephoto zoom lens that offers a versatile focal range for APS-C sensors, but fails to deliver significant optical upgrades over its non-STM predecessor. It achieved a relatively low overall DxOMark score of 11 when tested on the Canon EOS 7D, with its main strengths lying in its compact construction, affordable $299 price point, 3.5 stops of image stabilisation, and solid control over distortion, vignetting, and chromatic aberration. Additionally, the STM stepping motor provides valuable benefits for video shooting, and the lens hits its sharpness sweet spot at f/8 across all focal lengths. However, the lens suffers from notable drawbacks, particularly its poor performance in sharpness and light transmission. Its "slow," variable maximum aperture of f/4-5.6 severely limits its effectiveness for action and sports photography, requiring excellent lighting conditions to achieve fast enough shutter speeds to freeze motion. There is also a major drop-off in sharpness when stopping the aperture down between f/11 and f/32. Ultimately, for photographers primarily focused on stills rather than video, the older, cheaper non-STM version...

In his review on DustinAbbott.net, the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM is praised as an exceptional budget telephoto lens offering outstanding optical performance with sharp center resolution, minimal aberrations, and excellent image stabilization. The lens features a compact design, fast and silent STM autofocus, and a short minimum focus distance, making it a versatile choice for both stills and video. However, the build quality is lackluster, featuring a plastic mount and no weather sealing. Additionally, it is prone to veiling flare and displays lower corner sharpness at the maximum 250mm telephoto end.

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM is a compact and lightweight telephoto zoom lens designed for Canon APS-C format DSLRs, offering a highly useful full-frame equivalent focal range of 88-400mm. Compared to its predecessor, this updated edition features a more complex optical design with three additional lens elements, including a Ultra-low Dispersion (UD) element to reduce chromatic aberrations and boost contrast. It delivers respectable center-sharpness across most of the zoom range, relatively low distortion, and a fast, virtually silent stepping motor-driven autofocus system. Real-world usability is further enhanced by traditional DSLR-style physical switches for AF/M modes and its integrated 3.5-stop image stabilizer, making it an excellent lightweight travel companion or a natural partner to an 18-55mm kit lens. The lens presents a distinct set of advantages and drawbacks depending on consumer priorities. On the positive side, its major pros include its highly portable, lightweight build, a generous effective telephoto reach, and the highly reliable 3.5-stop image stabilization system. Conversely, the cons center around its budget-friendly construction constraints, most notably a weight-saving plastic mounting plate instead of a more durable...

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM is a budget-friendly telephoto lens for APS-C cameras, offering impressive image sharpness wide open, fast, silent autofocus, and effective stabilization. Its key pros include a static front element for filters, a useful 88–400mm equivalent range, and excellent control over aberrations and distortion. Conversely, cons include a largely plastic construction with a plastic mount, notable vignetting at wider apertures, and an electronic focus behavior that requires adjustments when zooming.

The Imaging Resource review details the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM, evaluating it as an impressively sharp and highly versatile telephoto addition for crop-sensor camera bags. Released at the end of 2013 as the third iteration of this popular focal length, the lens stands out for its major functional upgrades. Chief among these pros is the introduction of a Stepping Motor (STM) autofocus system, which delivers near-silent, rapid fly-by-wire focusing that is excellent for video capture. Furthermore, the inclusion of internal focusing enables full-time manual focus override without moving attached 58mm filters. Optically, the lens is lauded for being remarkably sharp even when used wide open beneath the 200mm focal range, while maintaining exceptionally low chromatic aberration, distortion, and corner shading for a $300 kit lens. Conversely, the review highlights several specific cons regarding optical limits, variable apertures, and retail packaging. Because it is a variable-aperture lens, light intake diminishes quickly from f/4 down to f/5.6 as you zoom in. Optically, image quality degrades above the 200mm mark, introducing prominent corner softness at f/5.6 that cannot be resolved by...

The Canon 55-250mm IS STM is described by Ken Rockwell as an inexpensive, lightweight, and optically superior telephoto zoom designed for APS-C cameras. It features fast, silent stepping-motor autofocus, instant manual focus override, an effective four-stop image stabilizer, and a non-rotating 58mm front element. Conversely, the lens compromises on build quality with an all-plastic construction, including the lens mount, and lacks weather sealing. Performance limitations include a slow, variable f/4-5.6 aperture, strict compatibility with APS-C cameras, and a "focus-by-wire" system.