EF-s 55-250 ƒ4-5.6 IS Lens Thread

[ctwentytwo]

Originally Posted by GiftOfGab

i want that shift knob...how much was it? is that black plastic piece at the base of the knob custom?

Here you go bro, more pics... But you can always click my signature and browse my flickr shots...

This lens is giving me impressive results... again, all handheld, though at fast shutter speeds. The rate of keepers for me is extremely high. For the beginners, this shot was at 250mm (400mm equivalent due to 1.6 crop sensor). If you're thinking about it, the lens is now $279 at B&H.

Why shoot at such long focal lengths? It magnifies the background and pulls it in. Those buildings are roughly 16 miles away. Plus it flattens out the car, giving it a totally different look than when shot wide angle (due to perspective.) Nikon shooters, Nikon has a 55-200 VR for $220.

[ctwentytwo]

Went back for a night time shot. God I love this lens.

[erickim080387]

that is a sexy lens

[Playboy]

I love this guy. I'm very amateur photographer, your dedication in explaining things whether it's beyond my understanding or not, it's all very encouraging.

You rock man.

[ctwentytwo]

Originally Posted by Playboy

I love this guy. I'm very amateur photographer, your dedication in explaining things whether it's beyond my understanding or not, it's all very encouraging.

You rock man.

All right, at least I'm encouraging people. It's really not my intent to whore the car. It's the only subject I have as far as a car goes. Most in the Z club here can't sync with the times I am available.

But you don't realize, I'm still learning! A satisfying moment is when you arrive back home after taking shots, then viewing them on the computer, and you see that what you learned is actually taking place.

Why not encourage others to take good snapshots of their car? Really, these shots can be done by anybody out there. You just need the correct lens and the right settings. These are not shots with perfect lighting, ie flash, and reflectors.

Who doesn't like seeing a nic pic of a Z? Or just nice pics...

Here's another tip. Why choose larger apertures or small apertures? Because of depth of field (DOF), or how much of the scene is in focus. A small aperture was used for the shot below (ƒ16), hence you can see more of the buildings in focus. The one above was shot at ƒ5.6, giving the background more blur, and haloing the lights.

[dj.kickz]

Hey Erwin, the night shots weren't hand held right? that IS is pretty impressive, i've gotta get me an IS lens.

[GiftOfGab]

you always take the cleanest pics...nice work

[GiftOfGab]

I'm thinking of purchasing this lens for the price and quality but I also want a wide lens too though like the Sigma 10-20mm...I never knew I would be spending so much $$$ on a camera!..

so with a wide lens like the Sigma 10-20mm you can stand closer to an object and capture a lot of its surroundings?

I'm still using just my Canon 50mm..I have to stand reealllllllly far to get everything such as the picture below..



But I still enjoy the 50mm cause it was dirt cheap and its great

[ctwentytwo]

When buying a lens, look at the 'angle of view' to see how much you can get into the frame.

The 50 f/1.8 has a 27 degree angle of view. Consider some fisheye lenses are 180 deg angle of view.

Here's an example of angle of view:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_view

Or to explain it better, just bust a compass out, and measure 27 deg on it.

Imagine how much of the background you can get with a fisheye at 180 deg. It's a straight line across.

Here's a better explanation on Canon's site. Notice how the longer focal length you go, the smaller the angle of view gets.

http://www.usa.canon.com/app/html/EF...al_length.html

For the full car shots, imagine how far I was at 250mm!

The shot you took of the 3 full cars sideways and the 3 chicks, yes, I can imagine how far you were. That's why you need a zoom... a normal zoom like the 18-55mm IS. It's the sister lens to the 55-250 and has IS, and has been getting favorable reviews. It's only $175 to boot. At 18mm, that shot would have been alot closer. But you'll notice a few things happen at 18mm instead of 50mm.

Say you took that same picture standing closer at 18mm, squeezing all the cars in the frame. Since the angle of view gets bigger at 18mm, you'll be getting alot more of the background in the shot, and they will be smaller. The SUV in the background will almost be unnoticeable.

Sigma 10-20: 102.4 - 63.8 degrees The angle of view is variable because it's a zoom lens. It's 102.4 at 10mm and goes to 63.8 at 20mm. It will give you alot of distortion, but it can be a good thing.

All these shots taken no more than 1 ft away at 10mm. It's a must for squishy places and events such as car shows.








... and of course, lets you do crazy stuff like this from inside your car:

Canon 18-55 (NON IS): 75° - 27.5°

18mm lets you get within 5ft for this type shot:

Canon 50mm f/1.6: 27 degrees. 50mm is about 15-20ft for a full side shot. The reason to keep it is it's wide aperture... f/1.8 and the narrow Depth of Field that provides (please google Depth of field ).

Canon 28-135: 76 to 18 Degrees

Now look at the background at 28mm:


and... at 135mm. Most noticeably, look at what happens to the pillars. This is what's called compression.

So there are a whole multitude of reasons to choose a certain lens. To sum it up... just get the 18-55 IS for now with the 55-250 IS if you have extra $$$, and when you learn more, you'll know exactly what to get as far as upgrades. The lenses you buy can easily be sold... beleive me, just take care of them. I would have gotten the 18-55 IS ages ago, but it's always out.

[GiftOfGab]

thx a lot for the details and info. I'm starting to get a better understanding now...on friday I purchased the EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS and a few uv filters I'll see what I can do with this for now...anyways where do you buy your lenses/equipment from? I go through Amazon as I find they have the best deals I bought the 55-250 for $269 shipping was $10...I would recommend checking them out

[iStan]

Damn, When I first bought this lens (a week before it came out ) it was $300+plus shipping. Good deal.

250mm F/5.6 1/25Sec ISO400


163mm F/5.6 1/6Sec ISO200

[GiftOfGab]

^^^with these close ups did you use AF or MF?

[iStan]

Purple was manual. I need glasses..

[GiftOfGab]

I need glasses too but I bought a new lens instead...haha

should be in tomorrow can't wait to try it out...I received the Hoya multi-coated UV filters today Hoya very good quality

[Wired 24/7]

Originally Posted by GiftOfGab

I'm thinking of purchasing this lens for the price and quality but I also want a wide lens too though like the Sigma 10-20mm...I never knew I would be spending so much $$$ on a camera!..

so with a wide lens like the Sigma 10-20mm you can stand closer to an object and capture a lot of its surroundings?

I'm still using just my Canon 50mm..I have to stand reealllllllly far to get everything such as the picture below..



But I still enjoy the 50mm cause it was dirt cheap and its great

close up of the chixors pls!

[iStan]

As much as I like this lens, I may be selling mine soon..Need money for my next lens and body

[ctwentytwo]

Originally Posted by GiftOfGab

I need glasses too but I bought a new lens instead...haha

should be in tomorrow can't wait to try it out...I received the Hoya multi-coated UV filters today Hoya very good quality

So lets see some samples!

Originally Posted by iStan

As much as I like this lens, I may be selling mine soon..Need money for my next lens and body

5D + 70-200mm?

In terms of color rendition & sharpness for a zoom, this may be my best lens. This certainly blows the 28-135mm IS that was my workhorse, out of the water.

But... like Istan, I was thinking of selling to fund other lenses as I want to go longer... maybe the Sigma 150-500 OS . But in hindsight, what I have here is a great travel lens as it's light and inexpensive.

I put it through some other situations and it has performed!

Flare control... check.


Sharpness (I wish I could post the full size file)... check.

[iStan]

Originally Posted by ctwentytwo

5D + 70-200mm?

As much as I want to, I can't afford/justify this combo.

Looking to move to 40D + 70-200mm. When I started processing some of the automotive photos I had, I realized that I was more or less staying under the 200mm range.
Tax Return+Rebate+Selling XTi+Selling kits lens on the 40D+Selling 55-250 should net me just under enough to pay for the 40D+70-200.

[marco_mendoza]

Any other recommended books for a starting photographer? I went ahead and checked out the lighting and magic book, any others to get the basics?

[ctwentytwo]