Canon EF-S 55-250mm F/4.0-5.6 II IS Lens

I have owned this lens for around a year now and didn't want to do a review after only a couple of hours with it,here goes.
I found the build quality to be a little better than the kit lens (canon 18-55mm). I have found the focal length very useful, usefully wide too but not quite long enough for me when I used it for the Folkstone air show for instance,however I did manage plenty of good shots.

The image stabilisation is a useful 3-4 stops and I have found this lens to be very sharp. For the money an excellent starter/ budget telephoto lens and you would in my opinion have to spend around 3 times the money to better it,which just shows you how good it is.

This lens doesn't have full time manual focusing or an usm (ultra sonic motor) but the focusing is acceptably fast. unfortunately the front of the lens rotates when you focus so using a circular polariser can be a pain.

overall if you need extra reach and are on a budget then I would highly recommend this lens. My girlfriend started photography around six months ago and I recommended this one, we went out to the zoo but I brought my canon 100mm macro lens (around£450)and she brought her canon 55-250mm. When we got back to review our photos I was amazed that she thoroughly blew my photos away!!.

Here is a link to a photo taken with this lens that was at maximum zoom,see if you think it is sharp enough?;)

http://jacko999.deviantart.com​/art/Lush-280322234

I am so fond of this lens I wouldn't sell it. EVER!

This lens is amazing. It looks similar to the 18-55mm kit lens that usually comes with the EOS cameras, but longer. It is plastic, down to the mount, but for a lens so light, it really isn't a big problem. It zooms pretty far, which is great for wildlife and sports photography, as well as shooting portraits from far away (because people get really edgy about in-your-face shots). A great thing about this lens is Canon's IS (Image Stabilization). It makes the pictures you take sharp and less blurry. For the price, it's great. The only thing I dislike about the lens is the slow focus. It gets slower the farther you're zoomed in. And it's obviously not as powerful as the higher-end USM lenses, but it's great for both professionals and casual photographers. Overall, a must-have in your camera bag.

Pretty much this is a zoom lens that enhances any enthusiast photographer's capabilities of shooting moments at a far distance. It's quite useful, especially if you're a wildlife photographer, and don't want to scare the target (bird, reptile, etc.) I've been using it quite a bit, and it's definitely a must choice that takes you to a superior level if you want to take the next step coming from the 18-55 lens. Sometimes it's pretty difficult to focus on different objects, but you just need to play with aperture a little bit to avoid blurry images. My previous lens was a 18-55 without stabilizer, this one does stabilize your shootings. Images are crisp, and very clear once you get to know the basics of it.

Great lens. Stabilizer works very well and takes crystal clear pictures. Love it....
Love the auto focus and very light weight. Use on a Canon T2I with professional results. Love the versatility because it picks up where the standard lens leaves off.

This is a brand NEW. I am a person who takes pictures every day.limited use of the lens sofar i like the "image stabilizer" feature because many of my photos are taken from a distance. this feature of the lens allows me to get greater clarity with the distant photos.it's was a lot less than paying for a 70mm-300mm.