bonzo wrote:
What are your thoughts on the Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4-5.6 IS STM LENS for my canon Rebel T6. I think this might be a good entry level lens to take on a trip.
It depends upon WHAT you want to shoot.... not where you will be shooting it.
For travel, you want a reasonably compact, lightweight, portable kit of camera, lens(es) and accessories.
If you will be doing scenic shots, you're likely to want a wider lens.... the Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM is one of the smallest and lightest "ultrawide" zooms, as well as a very affordable choice. It also was the very first of it's type to have image stabilization.
An alternative might be the EF-S 15-85mm IS USM "standard zoom", much more expensive, but also higher quality build, excellent image quality.. able to go wider than most lenses in this category, but also covers less, wide normal and moderate telephoto focal lengths.
Or maybe you want to be able to shoot in lower light conditions and need a "faster" lens such as the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM. Another relatively expensive option, like most lenses of this type it has a narrower range of focal lengths.
But if you want to be able to shoot sports or wildlife that's a bit farther away, the EF-S 55-250mm IS STM would be a good, relatively compact and lightweight choice. It's also one of the least expensive of the Canon telephoto zooms there is an approx. $50 cheaper non-STM versions that's slower and noisier focusing, though still has good image quality... And there is an even cheaper EF
75-300mm III that's best to avoid, Canon's cheapest - and worst - telephoto zoom.
An alternative is the EF
70-300mm IS USM II (or the earlier version, which is still widely found). A bit more expensive, it's got higher performance autofocus, yet is still reasonably compact and not too heavy for travel.
Some premium choice in tele-zooms are the EF 70-200mm "L" series lenses. Canon makes four... two f/4 and two f/2.8... in each case one with and one without image stabilization. These are built like tanks, larger and heavier... and of course more expensive. There's also an EF 70-300mm "L" IS USM that's premium qualiity, though starting to get larger and heavier. Just recently Canon discontinued the EF 70-300mm "DO" IS USM, which uses "diffractive optics" to be especially compact, but doesn't save much weight and makes for a pretty high price. Offering the most reach that's reasonably portable... although bigger and heavier than any of the above... is the EF 100-400mm L IS USM "II", which also has one of the heftiest price tags.