Canon EF 100-300mm f/5.6 Push / Pull Zoom Lens Review

(If you can't see  the video, please click here.)

Gumtree - a great place for bargains if you persevere checking it every day. I picked up this Canon EF 100-300mm f/5.6 Zoom lens for £40, and it has turned out to be a bit of a bargain.

My everyday zoom is the most excellent Canon EF-S 55-250 IS, which is ultra sharp and has that ever so useful IS for hand holding at lower shutter speeds. It is however, an EF-S lens, which means that it is incompatible with most 2x Teleconverters like the Jessops one I picked up from the car-boot sale last year for a fiver.

The old push-pull 100-300 is an EF lens, so it is compatible with my Jessops teleconverter, so with it I can push out to 600mm, or if you take into account the crop factor on my 350d, an amazing 900mm.

There are of course, compromises, and with the EF 100-300 f/5.6 they lay mainly around its' slow f/5.6 maximum (although constant) aperture, which keeps shutter speed down in lower light situations, which can lead to blurred photographs.

The answer could be to put your camera on a tripod, which is fine for static subjects but no good for moving ones, or if you've got a newer camera, wack that ISO up to get the shutter speed fast enough to eliminate camera shake and subject blur. The most practical solution might be to recognise how to get the best out of the lens, stop it down to f/8, and then use a tripod for fixed subjects, or only shoot moving ones on Sunny days!

Using an extender poses more problems with light. A 2x Extender cuts out two stops of light, which means it turns the lens into the equivalent of f/11, or f/16 if we've stopped it down to increase sharpness. To put it another way, if the shutter speed was at 1/500th without the extender, it'll be 1/125th with the extender, enough of a reduction to introduce an awful lot of camera shake and subject blur. The final problem with using an extender on this lens is that you loose auto-focus, so it's back to squinting through that view-finder and twisting the barrel in the old-fashioned way.

Don't let this put you off though, because as you can see from the samples below, which are all hand-held, you can get good results, and I'm sure with practice I'll get even better images.

Thanks, Rob.

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A Trio Of Macro Solutions But No Dedicated Macro Lens...

Macro photography is a part of the art I really enjoy. When I used the Fuji S5700 I loved nothing better than sticking it in Super Macro Mode and then going sneaking up on unsuspecting insects, but now in the wide-world of SLR's things are a little more complicated and a lot more confusing.

Aside from running out and dropping over 400 notes on a dedicated Canon Macro Lens there are a few other options, so I thought I'd explore a few today with some example photographs. I tend to do most of my macro photography in our back garden because I'm quite lazy and can't be bothered to lug extra lenses around when out and about on a photo walk, so the simplest (and lightest) option will probably be the one for me....

50mm f/1.8 With Jessops 2x Extender:

An unusual option this, but I thought I'd give it a go when I picked up the Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 Mk. 1 from the car boot sale a few weeks ago. I'd had the extender for several months (another car boot bargain) and as I snapped the fifty on to see what it looked like as a 100mm, I realised that it would also magnify anything at the lenses minimum focussing distance, so it might work as a macro accessory.

Lets see a quick shot:

Not too shabby. Nice magnification and quality is OK. This could be a good macro solution, but it would mean I'd have to have the fifty and the extender in with my regular kit, and there's not much room in my Lowepro Photorunner...

Canon EF-S 55-250 (At The Long End)

This is the macro option that most appeals to me, and should have been blindingly obvious, but i haven't realised how close the Canon EF-S 55-250 can focus when it's at the long end, and the answer is pretty close indeed:

As you can see, the 55-250 when zoomed all the way, but then focussed on something close (1.1m) offers a magnification similair to the 50mm with the extender, but in a package that I already carry and is image stabalised for sharp shots at slower shutter speeds...nice.

M42 135mm f/2.8 Helios Manual Focus Lens With Extension Tubes and EF-M42 Adapter:

This is the fiddliest option, consisting of an old lens, extension tubes and lens mount adapter. It's also the trickiest to operate, with manual focus, no ETTL flash, and a dark viewfinder when stopped down for a larger Depth of Field.

It does however offer excellent magnification:

 

The above garden spider is about the size of your finger-nail, all from a piece of glass and adapters that cost less than £20 for the car boot and eBay. A great option, but it does need a lot more effort than the other two lenses. Which would you go for?

Conclusion:

For maximum magnification and some very special images, the M42 lens with extension tubes is a real winner. The 50 with the extender is ok, but as it doesn't offer any more "reach" than the 55-250 there isn't much point in going with that choice.

For now I'll be exploring the capabilities of the 55-250, with the M42 combi for the real close up stuff. I've had a quick go with some close-up filters, but again I felt that the 55-250 was better. One thing I really need to try are proper Canon extension tubes (that retain auto-focus and auto-exposure) but reduce the minimum focussing distance of any EF lens... Watch this space!

Thanks, Rob.

The Metal Master: Canon 50mm F/1.8 Mk.1 EF Lens Review

(If you can't see the video please click here.)

The Nifty Fifty. The Fast Fifty. Whatever you call it, a 50mm prime lens is the cheapest new addition you can add to your SLR lens collection. Available for under £100, fifty mm f1.8's give you a flattering focal length, creamy smooth background blur, and the ability to shoot in very low light without flash. Great stuff.

As you well know, early on a Sunday morning Suzanne and I spend a couple of hours walking around our local car-boot sales, and a couple of weeks ago I picked up a Canon 50mm f/1.8. I've owned two of the nifty fiftys before, and had to sell them both, so I could hardly believe my luck when I saw a stall with an old Canon film camera in a tatty bag, and tucked in the corner of the bag was a lens.

When the seller said they wanted £4 for the lot I had a fiver in their hand before they knew it, and when I realised that the lens had the metal mount and distance scale of the Mk.1 I was over the moon. Canon changed the earlier design of the lens to the current "plastic fantastic" design, loosing that metal EF mount and the scale, the glass is probably as good but the build quality isn't. The Mk.1 50's go for a premium on eBay, normally over a hundred notes, so that made this find even better.

The proof is in the pudding as they say, so until I got the lens home and fixed it onto my 350d I didn't know it would work. Thankfully it did, and a prime piece of glass was added to my small collection. Sweet! I had been planning to ask for the Mk. II 50mm for Christmas, so this means that I can ask for something else...!

Whether you get your hands on the MK.1 or Mk.2 versions of the lens, you'll have a specialist piece of kit. The f/1.8 maximum aperture means that the lens can nicely blur the background in any portrait, and shoot in poor lighting conditions where normally you'd have to use a flash. On a crop-sensor body like my 350d the 50mm acts more like a 75mm, so wide sweeping landscapes are a no-no, but flattering portraits and a more intimate view of the world around you are.

It's worth remembering that at f/1.8 if you're close to your subject your depth of field (how much of the scene is in focus) will be very small, so you're better off opening up to f/3.5, 5.6 or f/8. You might then well ask what's the point of using this glass over your kit zoom, but the fact that this is a prime lens, so it will be sharper at any particular focal length, with a bit more contrast too. (Check out this article for a discussion about depth of field.)

 I've been playing with this lens for a few weeks now, and I'm suitably impressed. I wouldn't buy a Mk.1 for the inflated prices they go for second hand, I think you're better off buying a new Mk. 2 with a years guarantee, but if you track down a cheap Metal Mount, go for it, just remember that it will have quite a bit of wear and tear, so try and check it before you buy. (Unlike me!)

The fifty won't be replacing my kit lenses, the 18-55 and 55-250, it's not wide enough for the type of architecture shots I like, but the Canon 50mm will find it's way onto the front of my camera when I want to take beautiful portraits, simple macros, still lifes or naturally lit indoor photographs.

Thanks, Rob.

Canon EFS 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II Telephoto Zoom Lens Review

(If you can't see the video, please click here.)

Watch a slideshow of photos taken with this lens.

I'm probably well behind many of you out there when it comes to lenses, and Canon shooters may well have already used this lens, but it's my first Telephoto Zoom with Image Stabilisation, and I've got to say that I have been very impressed so far.

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II is the big C's budget longer zoom, designed as a perfect accompaniment to the 18-55mm, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. Designed and built to a price, I picked up the two lenses together for about £160 from a photographer who was upgrading to L glass. The two lenses now have pride of place in my camera bag, replacing the 28-80 and my old M42 Hanimex 200mm. 

I haven't had the 55-250 that long, but I already love it's weight, size and image quality. Some of the photographs I've taken with the lens are below, and please feel free to click through the images to Flickr where you can look at the larger originals too.

Don't underestimate the importance of weight when considering your camera gear. This lens weighs just under 400gms, so it is a pleasure to carry it all day in a small camera bag. It feels just right on my 350d / Rebel XT, and it's action is smooth and quick.

I mainly use the Lowepro Photorunner camera bag, and my Digital SLR, the 18-55, the 55-250 and my spare batts and memory cards fit just right, without weighing me down too much.

Apart from the obvious feature of being able to get closer to your subject without moving your feet, the other main benefit of a Telephoto Zoom is the change in compression that the lens creates.

What this means in practice is that things look closer together when you use a zoom, perspective looks like it has been compressed, portraits are more flattering, and you can select portions from the vista in front of you to create different and interesting landscapes.

If you've read any of my other lens reviews, you'll know that I don't get into the technical side of lens reviews, and all the photos you can see here have been post processed. I'm sure there are better, sharper lenses out there, but they will be much more expensive than the Canon EF-S 55-250mm, and this piece of glass is more than good enough for my photography at the moment.

Remember that the true magic of this lens is the Image Stabalization. Quite simply IS helps you take sharper shots when hand-holding, moving the elements around inside the lens to match your shakey hands at lower shutter speeds. Extremely helpful!

Thanks, Rob.

Canon EFS 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 IS II Zoom Lens Review

(If you can't see the video, please click here.)

Way back in the mists of time I bought a Canon EOS 50e from our local car-boot sale. This camera caught my eye because it sported a 28-80mm EF mount lens - just what I needed if I was going to stretch my meagre gear budget to a dSLR body.

What I didn't appreciate at the time was the crop factor that is involved in Digital SLR's. What this means is that the sensor on most Digital SLR's is smaller than a piece of 35mm film, which makes subjects appear closer than they would on a film camera.

The result of this is that the angle of view that you get out of lenses is different depending on if you're using a 35mm film SLR or a digital SLR. With a dSLR you're closer to the action, which is great for telephoto work, like sports or wildlife, but means that for wide-angle architecture or landscape photographs you're too close, so you have to back up or fit a different lens.

So that old film SLR lens I got, the 28-80mm, wasn't that great for lots of the photography I do, landscape and architecture. What I needed was a wide-angle, and the regular Canon EFS 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 IS seemed to fit the bill.

At 18mm this lens is the 35mm equivalent of a 28mm, which is nice and wide, and it includes Canons IS or Image Stabilisation system, which means that you can use your camera hand-held when otherwise you'd need to use a tripod.

This is the standard kit-lens that comes with most of Canons entry to mid-level SLRs. I purchased this example from a buyer on eBay who was selling it with the 55-250 IS. They had bought a Canon 60d six months ago with the 55-250, but now were upgrading to L glass, so I got the pair of lenses for about £160, which was a bargain.

The 18-55mm isn't the fastest (in terms of light) glass out there, it's f/3.5 to 5.6 is pedestrian at best, but it more than makes up for this with the IS system. I have been very impressed with the sharpness I've achieved with this lens, and that's only after a couple of months. I'm sure that with a little more practice I'll get even better results.

 The 18-55 IS feels a little plasticky, but that does mean it is incredibly light. When I've got it on the front on my 350d, the camera seems like I could carry it around for days. The zoom is quick and smooth, and if you put the focus switch to manual the focus ring is easy to use as well.

It's worth noting that the front element does spin while focussing, so when using a Circular Polariser Filter, you'll have to adjust it after locking onto your subject.

Since starting to use the 18-55mm it has probably become my favourite lens. Always on my camera, I love the angle of view that this glass gives. The IS means that you can stop the lens down without fear of getting camera shake blur, so you can use a smaller aperture (like f/5.6, f/8, etc)  to improve the overall sharpness of the photographs.

If you bought your Canon dSLR with a kit lens, it probably came with this glass, so you'll know how good it is, but for those of you who need a wide angle lens and are on a budget, you can't go wrong with the Canon EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS II.

Cheers, Rob.