Went out and tried another lens, this time a 50mm Pentax M f1.2 I've had for 20 years, I think it did a great job. Put my binocular lens on for some macro and here are a couple of shots I got with and without the binocs lens.

Tiny bee about 1/4 inch long, the flower part it's sitting on is the size of a pencil eraser.



Honey Bee without the binocular lens, trying for a backlit shot.



Click each image to view larger size

[eaglem]

Nicely captured with great focus and colour, well done.

[Paleo Pete]

Thanks eaglem, I always like shooting these guys. Focus is tough especially in windy conditions, and they almost always show off some good colors. Fortunately both of these stayed fairly still for a minute or two.