EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

I am relatively new to DSLR photography and have an EOS 400d with the standard 18-55 EFS lens and a Tamron 70-300mm zoom. I find the Tamron lens quite heavy and need to use a monopod to reduce the risk of camera shake. I have been looking at the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS as either a replacement for the Tamron or as an additional lens.

I would expect the Canon lens to be slightly better quality than the Tamron and understand it has Image Stabilisation as a feature. One thing that is confusing me, and I hope that someone can explain this in simple terms (!), is that the blurb on the lens says it has a focal length equivalent of 88-400mm in 35mm format...

Does this mean that it will effectively zoom in closer than my Tamron?

Any answers gratefully appreciated.

RegG wrote in post #10599397
I am relatively new to DSLR photography and have an EOS 400d with the standard 18-55 EFS lens and a Tamron 70-300mm zoom. I find the Tamron lens quite heavy and need to use a monopod to reduce the risk of camera shake. I have been looking at the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS as either a replacement for the Tamron or as an additional lens.

I would expect the Canon lens to be slightly better quality than the Tamron and understand it has Image Stabilisation as a feature. One thing that is confusing me, and I hope that someone can explain this in simple terms (!), is that the blurb on the lens says it has a focal length equivalent of 88-400mm in 35mm format...

Does this mean that it will effectively zoom in closer than my Tamron?

Any answers gratefully appreciated.

No. It means that if you were using a full frame (35 mm camera) you would need to get 88-400 lens to obtain the same field of view that 55-250 gives on crop camera. This is useful to the photographers used to film cameras, it basically gives them a reference point. 250mm is less than 300mm so it would zoom less on same camera. However 50mm is a very little difference on long end, and 55mm on the wide end makes it much more useful for tighter spaces, like inside a house. I have this lens and I highly recommend it, for the money it gives the best IQ and features. Also because it's so light and compact, it makes a perfect travel lens.

Amamba wrote in post #10599490
No. It means that if you were using a full frame (35 mm camera) you would need to get 88-400 lens to obtain the same field of view that 55-250 gives on crop camera. This is useful to the photographers used to film cameras, it basically gives them a reference point. 250mm is less than 300mm so it would zoom less on same camera. However 50mm is a very little difference on long end, and 55mm on the wide end makes it much more useful for tighter spaces, like inside a house. I have this lens and I highly recommend it, for the money it gives the best IQ and features.

Thanks for the quick and clear reply - that has helped me understand a lot!