What is a good lens to replace the Canon 55-250mm (kit lens)

Nancy, if I were you I'd pick up a used 70-200/4 L IS. It'll cost you only a little more than you've budgeted, and it's a stellar lens.

I don't know what you mean when you say that "it's better to go without the IS because at its longest it tends to get dark a little," but I do know that many photographers (myself included) find IS to be an invaluable feature on longer lenses.

It's a difficult matter because the 55-250 is actually a pretty good lens.

The 70-200/4 is definitely better in many ways. It does lack IS. If you shoot in daylight you might not need IS; if you shoot indoors it's more of a problem.

Other lenses to look at are the Canon 70-300/4-5.6 IS (the non-L version), which is a good lens. There's also a Tamron lens with practically identical specs; it's a little cheaper than the Canon and has good reviews.

One review you might want to look at - near the end he discusses the relative merits of several of these lenses:

http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

Why do you need to replace the lens to begin with? What is the problem that you are trying to solve?

+1 to Rob.

What's disappointing in the 55-250?

Build quality, reach, max aperture (light sensitivity), sharpness, color&contrast, size&weight?

Depending on your answer you might need a fast prime, a tough zoom or a bigger budget.

(-;

Matthijs.

Why does everyone want 70-200mm's? But any way I just saw the lens you listed at Amazon.com thru
Adorama for $619.00 + 0.29 cents shipping new. Good luck, these lenses get expensive real quick.
(link)

Are you able to keep the 55-250 for those rare occasions when you need IS, and simply add the 70-200/4 L for the majority of your images where superior resolution, contrast and colour rendering are most important?

Nancy, i have the same two camera's as you and also had the 55-250....after looking at a few alternatives i went with the tamron 70-300vc.....extra reach, sharp lens, excellent IS, 6 year warranty and it works well with a kenko 1.4 extender....if you have a local camera store that carries tamron it's worth a look...

as far as the 55-250, yes its a decent lens for sharpness but the cheap build, the terrible lens creep and it's inability to work with a circular polarizer were the reasons i sold it

Whatever you do, I think you'd be sorry if you didn't get IS. We did fine before there was such a thing, but progress marches on and I wouldn't buy a modern tele lens without the feature.

The IS version can be bought used for barely above your budget. The non-IS goes for right at $500 used. I love these lenses. AF is fast, internal zoom is very nice, and the build is better.