Canon Announces EF-S 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS II

[Loswr]

dont know why canon is making a new version of this lens when others need a replacement more urgent.

This isn't a new version, optically or mechanically. Nothing inside the lens has been updated - all the 'updates' (and those are few) are cosmetic and aimed at reducing the cost of producing the lens. The reason is simple - profit. Like the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens, which was also just 'updated' to a MkII version with the same changes applied here, Canon sells a LOT of these lenses, and so a slight decrease in the unit production cost translates to pure profit for the company.

 

[hutjeflut]

this lens aperently has new coating wich is quite a good ide as the old ones coating in bright light could give a nasty flare (had this a lot with moonshots).

 

[Loswr]

this lens aperently has new coating wich is quite a good ide as the old ones coating in bright light could give a nasty flare (had this a lot with moonshots).

Do you have a source for that information?

If your source is the statement in the press release, "...the inclusion of an Ultra-low Dispersion (UD) lens element and Canon’s Super Spectra Coatings also ensure beautifully crisp, high contrast and glare-free images," you should be aware that the original version of the lens, released in 2007, has a UD element and Super Spectra Coatings (see the press release for the original version and the specs on dpreview). Canon's 'new' coating is the sub-wavelength coating (SWC), and is not used in this lens.

I suppose if you thought the new lens was optically improved compared to the original, than the wordsmiths in Canon's marketing did their job well. The literal semantic interpretation of, "...the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II reflects Canon’s premium design philosophy, with an enhanced exterior design and a number of premium technologies to ensure leading image quality," would mean that only the exterior design was enhanced, although the interpretation Canon probably wants to infer is that the 'premium technologies' are also enhanced relative to the original, that's not the case.

 

[Gothmoth]

This isn't a new version, optically or mechanically. Nothing inside the lens has been updated - all the 'updates' (and those are few) are cosmetic and aimed at reducing the cost of producing the lens. The reason is simple - profit. Like the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens, which was also just 'updated' to a MkII version with the same changes applied here, Canon sells a LOT of these lenses, and so a slight decrease in the unit production cost translates to pure profit for the company.

my posting was a rhetoric question......

and of course it´s a new version. it´s sold as "II".
so most average joe customers will think it´s a better version.