Any comments on this len?


thinkhappy

Member
Feb 26, 2010
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Singapore
Hello,
I'm new to photography, Just recently brought a 500D, not so happy with my current body kit, therefore thinking of getting a new lens with better Zoom. Currently thinking of EF 55-200mm f4.5-5.6 II USM any comments about this lens? :D

Thankyou!:D:D
 

Hello,
I'm new to photography, Just recently brought a 500D, not so happy with my current body kit, therefore thinking of getting a new lens with better Zoom. Currently thinking of EF 55-200mm f4.5-5.6 II USM any comments about this lens? :D

Thankyou!:D:D
Welcome to CS :) You are unhappy with the body & the kit? Or is it the kit lens? What's your reason? What's your kit lens like? 18-55mm?
If you are going to get the 55-200mm, its going to be very tight. You can't use it in smaller spaces, unless you plan to get a wide angle lens, which your kit lens will do fine.
 

dont get 55-200 :) ~
haha thats what i feel luh.
 

Welcome to CS :) You are unhappy with the body & the kit? Or is it the kit lens? What's your reason? What's your kit lens like? 18-55mm?
If you are going to get the 55-200mm, its going to be very tight. You can't use it in smaller spaces, unless you plan to get a wide angle lens, which your kit lens will do fine.

Currently using 18-55mm , :( with unable to zoom much.
 

Currently using 18-55mm , :( with unable to zoom much.
What do you really want to shoot with the 55-200mm lens? The 18-55mm is a good walk about lens. You can keep the kit lens & get the 55-200mm. Then carry 2 lenses when you go for shoot.
If you don't want to carry two lenses, go get the Tamron 18-200 or 18-250 or 18-270 or 28-200 or 28-300
 

Used this lens before..... not a bad Zoom lens for its price. Much better than 75-300mm. If your buget is limited.... I would recommend this lens. If you have a larger buget.... maybe 70-200mm f4 IS L :think:
 

Get the 55-250mm IS. You will appreciate the IS on the longer end. Price is pretty reasonable at $300+.
 

My budgets its really kind off tight after buying that camera and don't really wanna get too expensive lens, but 55mm is really not a good zoom. Hope to get some thing with good zoom and some features like IS.
 

My budgets its really kind off tight after buying that camera and don't really wanna get too expensive lens, but 55mm is really not a good zoom. Hope to get some thing with good zoom and some features like IS.


Next in-line on Canon lenses would be 70-XXXmm, or 75-XXXmm.... lastly 100-400mm....

Non of those above (except 75-300mm) is cheaper than $600-700 SGD.... and some don't even have IS. Either save up more money... or accept the wide end of 55mm. Its up to you.
 

By "55mm is really not a good zoom" do you mean you can't get 'close enough', so your subject is just too small in your final photo?

Your lens needs depend on what you're shooting - if you're shooting the tigers at the zoo for eg, a 55-200mm would be useful, cause you can't get close enough to use your 18-55 effectively.

I know you're new, but it's kind of hard to understand your needs when you use the wrong terminology. Longer focal length lenses (e.g. 55-200mm, 70 - 210 etc) are Telephoto lenses -- to make things simple, they make far objects look nearer.

Don't use the word zoom to refer to focal length -- they mean different things and will confuse photographers. Zoom lenses are lenses that can change effective focal lengths. Zoom ratio is the ratio of max to min focal lengths, so your 18-55mm lens (55/18 = 3.06x) has a similar zoom range to a 70 - 210mm (210/70 = 3x).

If you're still confused, do a little research. There's also a tutorial at the top of the Newbies section.
 

i don't think its wise to sell the kit lens for the 55-250. get the 55-250 in addition to the kit.

i have the 55-250 and i can say it's crazy good lens for its price. very effective IS, CA very well controlled, af is acceptable, quality is not too bad at all.
 

you can't zoom in with the 18-55mm? or you are too lazy to take a few steps to go nearer your subject? are you shooting birds? or any other wildlife? what do you need the 200mm end for? it actually depend on your needs... as you've said, you are new... i suggest you explore the possibilities with your 18-55 first before you go buy buy buy... learn first, then when the time comes that your equipment is already limiting the boundaries that you want to explore, that's the time to upgrade...
 

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Currently using 18-55mm , :( with unable to zoom much.

If you turn your zoom ring to 55mm and you find that your intended subject still looks too small in the frame, then you're saying that your 18-55mm lens does not have enough "reach".

Here we refer to "zoom" as the changing of focal length. Bro Edwin Francis has already explained it quite thoroughly.
An 18-105mm lens (for example) has a 5.8x zoom (105 divided by 18 = 5.8), whereas a 70-200mm lens has a 2.9x zoom.... So, the 18-105 has more zoom, but the 70-200 has more reach ;)
 

yes, you need to understand what zoom is.

zoom is something placed on consumer cameras because they can't be bothered to explain what focal length is.

read this:
http://www.photoaxe.com/understanding-the-lens-focal-length-and-aperture/

you can buy a lens with longer focal length to shoot objects further away etc.............. but there's no reason not to keep your kit lens. i am not sure what you are trying to shoot that requires a 55-200 straight out, but hey, whatever floats anyone's bloat.
 

55-200 is a good complement to your 18-55. If you do not like to change lenses too much, get the 18-200 or 18-270 and get rid of your 18-55.
 

55-200 is a good complement to your 18-55. If you do not like to change lenses too much, get the 18-200 or 18-270 and get rid of your 18-55.
55-250mm is better than 55-200mm imho.

TS, if u like to zoom, consider Canon's 18-200mm IS, 11.1x zoom, or even Tamron's 18-270mm VC, which is a whopping 15x zoom.
 

i got a 55-250 recently second hand. i like it but changing lens is a little bit of a hassle but still fine with me considering my budget.

i got my kit lens 18-55 and $300 for 55-250.

if i sell off my 18-55 at $100 and buy a 2nd hand 18-200 at $800, i top up $700.

or buy a tamron

in the end i chose a 2nd hand 55-250. i spent $300 instead of $700 but i need to change lens.
 

I will recommend you to get the 55-250mm. Comes with IS and a longer reach as well. IQ is pretty good for its price too.
Also, dont sell off ur kit lens, 18-55mm range is a very good walkabout range. Add the 55-250 and you are well covered
 

how about a 18-135mm?

-poison!