Canon 55-250IS plus teleconverter.

Has anyone tried using a teleconverter (1.4X) with the 55-250IS lens, either Canon or other?

killwilly wrote in post #11501952
Has anyone tried using a teleconverter (1.4X) with the 55-250IS lens, either Canon or other?

Not compatiable witn Canon TC's, not sure others....checkout the TC FAQ here

The 55-250 is an EF-S lens.

All teleconverters I know of are for EF lenses only and wouldn't work with an EF-S lens.

+ you would loose autofocus, and you can't even mount it on a 1D serie. TCs were designed for primes, not zoom, even less for entry level zoom, where the quality would be too degraded. The only acceptable zoom to put it would be the 70-200 f/2.8s. If you want more reach just buy a 70-300 or a Sigma 120-400 or a Canon 100-400.

TopGun31 wrote in post #11501993
+ you would loose autofocus, and you can't even mount it on a 1D serie. TCs were designed for primes, not zoom, even less for entry level zoom, where the quality would be too degraded. The only acceptable zoom to put it would be the 70-200 f/2.8s. If you want more reach just buy a 70-300 or a Sigma 120-400 or a Canon 100-400.

Not only that but you will lose at least one stop of light which would further kill the AF ability. The fastest aperture on the 55-250 is f/4.0, so even if it could mount the TC it would become f/5.6. I do have the 70-200 f/2.8 w/1.4 TC and that becomes an f/4.0 lens when mounted. It works wonderfuly, but one has to be careful about really, really dark venues.

Thanks guys for your replies. I have had a look at the Canon site and they confirm that the 55-250 is not compatible with a teleconverter. however, they do say that the 70-200 f2.8 with 1.4X converter would be an ideal match for my 450D, will carry on saving.

Yes, there are no TCs, Canon or other brand that work on the 18-55 and 55-250 lenses. I wonder why no 3rd prty has made one. You'd think there would be some interest.

gasrocks wrote in post #11502181
Yes, there are no TCs, Canon or other brand that work on the 18-55 and 55-250 lenses. I wonder why no 3rd prty has made one. You'd think there would be some interest.

Likeley because AF reliability would be very difficult if not downright chancy at those smaller apertures.

I can tell you from personal experience that a 70-200 f/2.8 works very nicely w/ both a 1.4x TC and a 2x TC.

TopGun31 wrote in post #11501993
+ you would loose autofocus, and you can't even mount it on a 1D serie. TCs were designed for primes, not zoom, even less for entry level zoom, where the quality would be too degraded. The only acceptable zoom to put it would be the 70-200 f/2.8s. If you want more reach just buy a 70-300 or a Sigma 120-400 or a Canon 100-400.

Not really true , both my Sigmas , 100-300mm f/4 and 50-150mm 2.8 handle a tc , very good .

killwilly wrote in post #11501952
Has anyone tried using a teleconverter (1.4X) with the 55-250IS lens, either Canon or other?

I actually tried mounting Kenko 1.4x TC on 55-250mm this weekend and couldn't figure out a way to do that (didn't want to use force as I wasn't sure if they were compatible).

CountryBoy wrote in post #11502749
Not really true , both my Sigmas , 100-300mm f/4 and 50-150mm 2.8 handle a tc , very good .

my 50-500 handles a 2x ok, just have to manual focus it...

whats life without a little challenge, I ask?

Technically you could use the TCONs made for the g-series cameras, but I don't know if it would be worth the effort.

Flores wrote in post #11502872
my 50-500 handles a 2x ok, just have to manual focus it...

whats life without a little challenge, I ask?

Does it allow you to retain the other automation, or do you have to manually meter?

Flores wrote in post #11502872
my 50-500 handles a 2x ok, just have to manual focus it...

whats life without a little challenge, I ask?

Same with my 100-300mm , manual focus with 2x.