Which mid-sized zoom?

RichardC27

RichardC27

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As I've posted on here earlier today, I'm taking my second hand Sigma 18-125mm lens back to Jessops tomorrow, as it has an AF issue. The question is, what should I replace it with? I'd like a zoom of similar size, preferably with USM and IS, since I shoot mainly motorsport, and both of these things make life easier and give me more options. However, I'm not averse to a bargain, so I'm considering the EF-S 55-250mm lens as a cheap option. This will not be my main lens, and will only be used where I'm too close for my 120-400mm Sigma to be of any use. The current shortlist is:

Sigma 18-125mm DC OS HSM - Cheapest price £215
Canon EF 28-135mm IS USM - Cheapest price £283 (more than I want to spend really).
Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS - Cheapest price £187

I'll be getting £69 back for the lens I'm returning, so bearing this in mind, which one should I go for? Does the cheapness of the Canon 55-250 lens outweigh its slight disadvantages and lack of USM compared to the other two? Or should I just get my existing lens repaired and live without IS and USM? Discuss...
 
Not by personal experience (but it will be my next lens), but from all the praise it gets on here and POTN.

The EF-S 55-250mm IS aka. the Nifty Two-Fifty.
 
Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS for the win.
It's a cracking lens for the price and even when I do upgrade to a 50D, I'll still keep this lens.
I really don't think you'll get a better lens for your budget with as much reach as these.

If you can stretch to a bit more, a EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM would be perhaps better for motorsport (obviously a lot depends on how close you are to the track) but the cheapest price for these on camerpricebuster is £366.98.
I've had a play with a 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS but I found it quite heavy and I wouldn't be happy trying to use it hand held for any length of time.
 
hashcake said:
Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS for the win.
It's a cracking lens for the price and even when I do upgrade to a 50D, I'll still keep this lens.
I really don't think you'll get a better lens for your budget with as much reach as these.

If you can stretch to a bit more, a EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM would be perhaps better for motorsport (obviously a lot depends on how close you are to the track) but the cheapest price for these on camerpricebuster is £366.98.
I've had a play with a 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS but I found it quite heavy and I wouldn't be happy trying to use it hand held for any length of time.
Click to expand...

Cheers for that. I don't really need the 70-300mm lens, as I have a Sigma 120-400mm IS lens. I'm only really interested in the 55-120mm range of the Canon EF-S lens, anything longer than that and I'll use the Sigma.
 
RichardC27 said:
Cheers for that. I don't really need the 70-300mm lens, as I have a Sigma 120-400mm IS lens. I'm only really interested in the 55-120mm range of the Canon EF-S lens, anything longer than that and I'll use the Sigma.
Click to expand...

No problem :)
I looked at buying a Canon EF 28-135mm IS USM a while ago but then the reviews weren't that brilliant.
Then again the Canon 17-85mm IS doesn't get brilliant reviews but I still bought one.
 
I've seen mixed reviews for the 28-135mm too. Have you got any shots from the 55-250 you could post or link to?
 
I own the 55-250mm IS Canon lens and really enjoy it, I'd recommend it to anyone.

If your from anywhere near Widnes, Cheshire. I Don't mind meeting up and letting you take a few shots with mine?
 
Thanks for that hashcake, they look fine to me. I've just read the review on photozone.de and the sample shots in that look great too.

Gazedd, I'm at totally the other end of the County to Widnes. Cheers for the offer, if you're down at Oulton Park in the next week or two I might take you up on that. I'm pretty much sold on the 55-250 now, having seen some sample shots with it. It isn't going to get used that often, so I should go for the cheapest lens really.
 
55-250 IS for the win.

great lens, even for twice its value its great, the IS is stunning, ive shot 1/4sec @ 250mm and had good 100% crops

this is 250mm at half a second, hald held.

2984684701_e3f105c019.jpg
 
I've got no experience of the other lenses, but the 55-250 IS is a cracking lens. Most of my posted shots are taken with it.
 
RichardC27 said:
I've seen mixed reviews for the 28-135mm too.
Click to expand...
Remember the 28-135 is an old IS system that doesn't adapt too well to panning shots.
And in that focal range you will probably be doing a fair few panning shots...
 
Well, as an update, my Sigma 18-125mm non HSM OS lens has gone back to Sigma today to be repaired, so it looks like I'll be hanging on to that for a few more weeks at least. Once I get it back I might sell it and get either the HSM OS version or the nifty two-fifty. What's nudging me towards the Sigma is the fact that it's almost exactly the focal length range I need. I quite like the pseudo-wide angle shots I can get with it at 18mm, and I only need a lens that goes up to 120mm anyway.
 
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