UK Residents - Test Drive A Canon Camera

We know that choosing a camera to buy can be quite daunting with lots of cameras to choose from. Let us help you discover the best camera for your next adventure, occasion or event by taking a Canon camera for a FREE Test Drive at your nearest store.

Just by answering a few simple questions our Canon Expert will help you discover the best camera to suit your needs and then show you how to use it to get your best photo! Book now.

Canon Rebel T6i Camera Coming in 2015

* * *  Canon EOS Rebel T6i coming soon. Read latest post  * * *

Canon launched the EOS-70D camera in August 2013 with its groundbreaking Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology and received raved reviews. They followed up with the long awaited EOS-7D Mk II on September 15 with even more advanced technologies.

The next EOS Rebel camera, the T6i, due to be announced the first half of 2015, will be powered by the DIGIC 6 processor and may feature an electronic viewfinder. It will share the same sensor as the EOS-70D camera. This is nothing unusual for Canon to introduce new technologies on their PowerShot and Rebel cameras first. In fact, that is the way Canon showcases their latest advancement. Cases in point are their latest DIGIC processors, STM lenses, touch screen LCD monitors, Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology, all introduced on the lower end products first. The new EOS Rebel T6i will be Canon's most exciting and high tech camera for the lower end consumer market in a long time.

Canon vs. Nikon Debate - Not Again

                                 * * *  Canon EOS-7D Mk II camera announced  * * *


To be honest, I have never heard of this presenter in the video before but once again the debate of Canon vs. Nikon brings people like him in front of cameras to pontificate and explain. I suspect we all know the reason why so many people like this discussion and rivalry to continue forever.

My own view is simple. There are many good equipment out there. Canon and Nikon are both fine companies, like General Motors and Ford. It is just a matter of choice and preference. No camera line from any company is consistently better than its rivals but particular models may.

I have been a wildlife photographer using Canon equipment for 25 years. Canon provides me with the broadest line of equipment to choose from and gives me very good customer service. I have little time for stats, charts, graphs and side by side comparisons. My field encounters and experience dictate my equipment needs and so far they are met so I stick with Canon. It is a very practical and logical decision for me. You can see my works on MichaelDanielHo.com and read my Canon equipment recommendation.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Review

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Lens

Canon announced the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens last August. It is designed for APS-C cameras and offers a very decent performance for its modest price. Recently, Photozone did a review on this glass and the excerpt below is from their site :

If you are looking for the best tele lenses around, you don't really need to look further than Canon. And ever since the original Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS, this also applied to the budget class. After a rather cosmetic mk II refresh, Canon has released a more substantial update last year - the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM. Now upon first glance this may appear to be almost the same thing but it actually isn't. The optical design has been changed from 12 to now 15 elements and there's the new STM drive - thus Canon's AF stepping motor.

The field-of-view of this APS-C lens remains equivalent to 88-400mm on full format cameras which is certainly sufficient for the vast majority of amateurs out there. Ambitious users may not like the slow max. aperture but you can't have it all in this price and weight class. 

There was a time where such "kit grade" lenses used to be pretty crappy in terms of build quality but during recent years the mechanical quality improved quite a bit in this class. Sure, the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM is still not build like a tank but the plastic quality is fairly decent and the tolerances are tight. The beauty of the plastic mount may be a bit debatable but it's not a heavy lens anyway. The focus and zoom control rings operate reasonably smooth. Typical for such lenses it extends when zooming towards the long end of the zoom range (see the product images below). Neither the front element nor the focus ring rotate during focus operations which is an improvement over the first version. Size- and weight-wise the (APS-C) lens is about 30% smaller/lighter compared to the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM IS (full format) which may be an argument for some. 

As mentioned, the lens benefits from Canon's latest AF technology - a stepping motor (STM). STM tries to combine the best of both worlds - that is providing speed both in phase- and contrast-detection AF. Conventional USM lenses don't really perform well in contrast-detect mode (aka life-view mode) whereas STM overcomes this limitation at least when used with the latest generation of APS-C DSLRs. Other than delivering a snappy performance, AF operations are also essentially noiseless. On the downside - at least for the more conservative fellows among us - STM also means manual focusing "by wire" thus you actually trigger the AF motor by turning the focus ring. This feels somewhat detached, yes, but actually it works just fine.

Other than the STM, we shouldn't forget the Image Stabilization, of course. It is good enough for a "gain" equivalent to up to 4 f-stops but as usual we'd like to advise not to stress this to the max.