Just arrived today! I cannot wait to try it out! Now you may be wondering why the heck I would buy an inexpensive ‘kit’ lens when I have the BOLD and beautiful 70-200mm 2.8 IS ?
Do you know how heavy that thing is? No, really!?
I went out the other day with the kids and a friend, and thought I just want a camera in a small bag to take some snapshots if the occasion arose. I did not want to lug ALL the gear for a couple of snaps….so I brought my Canon 20D and my newly acquired 18-55mm IS ‘kit’ lens, and my old Canon EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. But the 70-210 gave me a bunch of err99 messages – hmph. At home I tried it on my 50D and I got err01 – about 1/2 the time….. Oh, well it was a good lens in its day – but I needed a replacement. My first thought was a Canon EF 75-300mm. I knew these were not the best, but I already owned the best, and wanted something cheap and light. Things have changed over the last few years – my research taught me that the Canon 55-250mm IS is now the best of the bottom of the barrel :) Suits me fine – so I saved a few $$ by finding a refurbished one at Adorama!
I now have both kit lenses – the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, and the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS.
Pair those with my Canon 20D and I have a lightweight and flexible snapshot kit that will go anywhere is a small shoulder bag!
