Help EF-S 55-250mm Focus issue

Hello All,

Im pretty new to the photography world and need a little help. My wife got me a Refurb 55-250mm lens for Christmas. I have used it to take some photos but it seems to sometimes have problems focusing on items. Im trying to figure out if this is a problem with the refurbished lens or just my composition causing issues. I was trying to take a picture of a little bird on my fence ~ 60 feet away with a field behind the bird. When i would half press the shutter button the auto focus would focus for a sec then move right past the bird. Nothing was in focus. Im just trying to figure this out so if there is something wrong with the lens i can return it. Also when i depress the shutter button half way there is a sound comming from the lens.

Thanks a lot in advance for your help and input.

The sound during the shutter button half press is the IS motor spinning.

What focus point are you using? I would suggest center point only, and set it to single shot AF if the bird is stationary.

A little bird at ~60 feet away on a fence would be pretty tiny, even at 250mm. Even on center AF, it may not have a distinct contrast area for the AF strip to pick up on. Your best bet is to try for the top of the fence the bird is on.

Ben is right on the noise. The 55-250 makes a scratchy hum when the IS spins up and is perfectly normal.

blssdwlf wrote in post #9308163
A little bird at ~60 feet away on a fence would be pretty tiny, even at 250mm. Even on center AF, it may not have a distinct contrast area for the AF strip to pick up on. Your best bet is to try for the top of the fence the bird is on.

Ben is right on the noise. The 55-250 makes a scratchy hum when the IS spins up and is perfectly normal.

Ok thank you for the info. That is actually what i did. When the camera wouldnt focus with the center focal point using single shot AF i pointed it to the fence boards and they came in clear.

Thanks again.