Tamron 70-300mm F/4-5.6 VC or Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 STM?

Hello everyone,

I am new at photography, I am looking for a Zoom lens. I have Canon EOS 500D (Rebel T1i). I read some reviews, I came to result Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD and Canon EF-S 55-250mm f-4-5.6 STM are good choices for my budget. Which is the better for you, and why? Can you explain differences pros and cons a little for me?

Thanks.

Hi, I do not have the tamron 70-300. However, I do have the canon 55-250. For the price of the lens, it does give you a great bang for the $...provided that you have good lights. I took the shots below with T2i.

I would go with the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f-4-5.6 STM also..In decent light they are Very sharp.

I have the canon and am well-satisfied. It's 1/2 the weight of the Tamron.

Thank you very much to all of you! I will go with Canon so

One more thing, I am also considering Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC (Not PZD), with comparing Canon 55-250 STM you still prefer Canon?

Wife and i have both of the listed lens,,she uses the Canon on her canon Sl1 80% of the time its a great bang for the buck,,and she has got some nice pics with it..it light & very sharp..
I use the Tamron on my 50D and its heavy but is very sharp,even at 300mm,,we use both with out a tripod?? You really can't go wrong with either lens
My take??i had a Canon 7D and Canon 100-400L and that combo was just tooooooooooooomuch for us old people,,never did like the AF on the 7D??but the white whale did AF good with the 50D,,
Ron

Thanks for your reply, so you have image stabilized Tamron 28-300 "VC" version, but not PZD version right? I have found online used (good condition) Tamron 28-300 VC version for 250 USD, what do you think about this price?

I am confused on prices of VC version and PZD version. VC is discountinued but PZD is newer and better version.

Edit: May be I misunderstood, do you have Tamron 70-300 or 28-300

chaturanga wrote in post #17642428
One more thing, I am also considering Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC (Not PZD), with comparing Canon 55-250 STM you still prefer Canon?

The Tamron 28-300mm is really designed as a all-in-one super zoom for a full frame body. It will be a compromise in both image quality and focal range (at the wide end) over a 18-55mm STM + 55-250mm STM combo. If you really want a single lens "super zoom", look at one of the lenses designed for a crop body -- Canon, Sigma and Tamron all make 18-2XXmm super zooms with image stabilization.

Thanks Scott,

How can I understand which lens is designed especially for full frame body which is for crop? And what is the disadvantage of using a lens designed for full frame, on a crop body? (I have Rebel T1i, I assume it's a crop body )

chaturanga wrote in post #17642617
Thanks Scott,

How can I understand which lens is designed especially for full frame body which is for crop? And what is the disadvantage of using a lens designed for full frame, on a crop body? (I have Rebel T1i, I assume it's a crop body )

Each manufacturer uses a different method to differentiate crop-only versus full frame compatible lenses. Canon labels their crop-only lenses as EF-S, while their full frame compatible lenses (which also do work on crop bodies) as EF.

The main disadvantage to using a "full frame" lens on a crop body is with the general purpose "walkaround" zooms -- they usually do not provide an optimal focal length on a crop body. For example, the Tamron 28-300mm lens discussed earlier would not be very wide on a crop body -- a zoom lens starting somewhere between 15mm and 18mm would be more useful for most shooters.

Another example would be the Canon EF 17-40L and EF 16-35L zoom lenses, which were really designed as ultra wide angle lenses for full frame. While they do work on a crop body, there are better, more cost effective alternatives for crop bodies -- Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS, Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 OS, Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 VC, etc. They provide more range, image stabilization, and a faster maximum aperture for the same or less cost.

I have the Tamron 70-300 vc. Its sharp, very sharp in fact. I also have their 17-50 non vc, which is also a great lens. I like their products.