Maybe I *AM* making too much of a fuss...

     So the saga with my nifty 250 continues.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, its my new Canon EF-S 55 - 250 IS telephoto zoom lens I bought last week.  After a chat with a friend from work, I decided to test the lens to see if it suffered from back focus, as my friend had been unfortunate enough in the past to buy Canon lenses on separate occasions that all suffered from this problem.  So I did the famous back focus battery test (refer to my previous post to see what I'm talking about) and discovered that, yes, my new nifty 250 suffered the same fate, but only from focal lengths of 55 mm to 80 or 90 mm.

     After the tests, I had concluded that I would need to send the lens to Canon to be properly calibrated.  But I was still in disbelief and still upset that my lens was affected.  So I read through forum entry after forum entry to see how prevalent this problem is.  Is the nifty 250 a bad lens after all?  Were there many more like me, or am I the only unlucky one?  Is there a way to fix it myself? Is it covered under warranty?  What is the experience like dealing with the local service center?  I had many questions running through my head.

     I was glad I decided to get more information from the forums as I soon found some good advice.  And I was even more glad that I decided to follow the advice, which was, '...the tests might show you some focusing inaccuracies, but you should go out and take a couple of shots of everyday things from distances and positions that you would normally take shots from, and in good lighting conditions.  Then see if you're satisfied with the image quality...'.  And so I did.  In fact, I didn't just take a whole bunch of shots.  I decided to be a bit more systematic, and do a comparison.  Since I had the kit lens, which is the EF-S 18 - 55 IS, I could also shoot at 55 mm focal length using this lens.  Which means that I can then compare it against the same focal length photo taken with the nifty 250.  So that was what I did.  Below are photos of this exercise.

Picture 1 taken with 55-250 IS at 55 mm focal length. F/4.  Focus point is the nose.

Picture 2.  Taken with 18-55 kit lens at 55 mm focal length. F/5.6.  Focus point is the nose.

     The above are just two of the many pictures I took.  I used different F stops as well as different focus points.  The only constant was the focal length of 55 mm as that was the common parameter between the two lenses that would allow me to make a meaningful comparison.

     So the outcome?  Well, in my eyes, it looks like the 55 - 250 actually produced better results than the kit lens.  My point of comparison is the cat's nose and tongue area.  That is where the camera's AF is pointed.  The features of the cat around that point is clearer / crisper for the 55 - 250 as compared to the kit lens. Whilst the image produced by the kit lens seems softer.

     If you recall from my previous post, my indoor battery tests yielded better results for the kit lens.  So how is it now that the results are the other way round?  Is my nifty 250 suffering from back focus?  Hmmmm... I have no clue.  I am, after all, fairly new to this hobby.  One thing's for sure, I am glad that I took the advice of the good folks in the forum.  And I certainly won't send my lens for calibration.  Most importantly, I now have that 'feel good' feeling when I hold the camera armed with the nifty 250, knowing that the lens will produce good results.

     Now, I'm ready to go shoot some photos...