EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM vs EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

Advice please ive just bought the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM but im really not too happy with the image quality can anyone please compare it with the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM please, below is a image i took yesterday at approx 10 yrds sorry dont know what that is in metres, it has been slightly cropped but not much thank you friends

It might help for comparison if you provide something shot at 100 iso as this is quite noisy (not that I have either lens to be able to help!)

I have both of these lenses,not much to choose between them as far as image quality goes,the 70-300 focuses faster witht he USM motor and appart from the slight further reach that's about it. Your photo exibits motion blur on the bird because of the shutter speed,the branch and nuts look sharp to me considering the ISO.

Sorry this is the only other one i can show you, but it was on flkr i downloaded it i must admit the light was better

I've owned both lenses. I wasn't thrilled with the 70-300 (v1) beyond about 200mm. Maybe it needed AFMA, but I was using it on a T2i which didn't have that feature. I sold the lens before I got a body that had AFMA.

I bought a 55-250 STM when I had a 70D and it needed a little AFMA but then I felt it was very sharp at 250.

Since you have a 70D, try tweaking the AFMA settings.

Here are some shots I took at the zoo with the 70D and 55-250:

https://photography-on-the.net …73&mg=410291&i=​i111864032

There are five images in total (sorry, I didn't realize at the time that was against the rules!).

Mike

happyduck wrote in post #18711170
Advice please ive just bought the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM but im really not too happy with the image quality can anyone please compare it with the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM please, below is a image i took yesterday at approx 10 yrds sorry dont know what that is in metres, it has been slightly cropped but not much thank you friends

Hosted photo: posted by happyduck in
./showthread.php?p=187​11170&i=i180241100
forum: Canon Lenses

Personally I can't see anything wrong with the image apart from the bird being blurred due to a very slow shutter speed.

mcoren wrote in post #18711205
I've owned both lenses. I wasn't thrilled with the 70-300 (v1) beyond about 200mm. Maybe it needed AFMA, but I was using it on a T2i which didn't have that feature. I sold the lens before I got a body that had AFMA.

I bought a 55-250 STM when I had a 70D and it needed a little AFMA but then I felt it was very sharp at 250.

Since you have a 70D, try tweaking the AFMA settings.

Here are some shots I took at the zoo with the 70D and 55-250:

https://photography-on-the.net …73&mg=410291&i=​i111864032

There are five images in total (sorry, I didn't realize at the time that was against the rules!).

Mike

Sorry for this but can you please explain AFMA thank you...Happy

john crossley wrote in post #18711211
Personally I can't see anything wrong with the image apart from the bird being blurred due to a very slow shutter speed.

Thank you John

happyduck wrote in post #18711234
Sorry for this but can you please explain AFMA thank you...Happy

AFMA = AutoFocus Micro Adjust. It allows you to "tweak" the focusing to account for manufacturing variation in the distance to the autofocus sensor versus the image sensor.

There are threads about it and lots of info on the web. Basically, you set up the camera on a tripod with a test target some distance away (between 25-50x the focal length of the lens, I prefer the closer end of the range because there's less depth of field). Then you take images and see if they're front-focused or back-focused and adjust the AFMA settings accordingly.

You can buy a pre-made target or make one yourself with a printed page and a ruler.

The AFMA settings are in the custom functions. On the 70D, check out C.Fn II-13. There's a section in the 70D manual starting on page 377.

Mike

Too slow a shutter speed, and the bird has moved. The branch and nuts stuck to it seem perfectly sharp to me, so AF looks OK. It's not going to look great though since you are at only EV4.5 (ISO100), while 1/125 ƒ5.6 ISO 100, a fairly typical daytime exposure is EV12, and Sunny 16 is EV14.7. So -7.5, and -10.2 stops difference respectively, from where your exposure was, so a significantly low level of available light. Such low levels of light are always going to make photography difficult.

Alan

mcoren wrote in post #18711275
AFMA = AutoFocus Micro Adjust. It allows you to "tweak" the focusing to account for manufacturing variation in the distance to the autofocus sensor versus the image sensor.

There are threads about it and lots of info on the web. Basically, you set up the camera on a tripod with a test target some distance away (between 25-50x the focal length of the lens, I prefer the closer end of the range because there's less depth of field). Then you take images and see if they're front-focused or back-focused and adjust the AFMA settings accordingly.

You can buy a pre-made target or make one yourself with a printed page and a ruler.

The AFMA settings are in the custom functions. On the 70D, check out C.Fn II-13. There's a section in the 70D manual starting on page 377.

Mike

Thank you Mike ill read up on it

BigAl007 wrote in post #18711590
Too slow a shutter speed, and the bird has moved. The branch and nuts stuck to it seem perfectly sharp to me, so AF looks OK. It's not going to look great though since you are at only EV4.5 (ISO100), while 1/125 ƒ5.6 ISO 100, a fairly typical daytime exposure is EV12, and Sunny 16 is EV14.7. So -7.5, and -10.2 stops difference respectively, from where your exposure was, so a significantly low level of available light. Such low levels of light are always going to make photography difficult.

Alan

Thanks a lot Alan there was a canopy of trees like a tunnel so yes i guess the light was pretty bad cheers

I went out yesterday it was a lovely sunny morning, what a difference a bit of decent light does cheers...Happy

Sorry for being a nuisance, but ive just been offered a used Canon 70-200mm F4 L IS EF for £500, my first question is will the 200mm end be better than the 255mm for image quality, and secondly, does the £500 sound reasonable one again i appreciate all your advice thank you...Happy

Yes to question one, by far a better lens.
As to the price, I can't help you. Have a look at used prices elsewhere to see how it compares.

For comparison, this photo was taken with the 70-200 2.8L IS lens at f/8 - the f/4L lens is often considered sharper than the f/2.8L.
(This is straight out of camera, uploaded from camera to phone, no editing)

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/28En​yq1