Could only have gotten this in the morning I think, because they were sleeping so didn't fly away:



Chalk Hill Blue Pair by Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel, on Flickr

[sergysergy]

You are having a lot of fun with those little guys lately. Very beautiful

[chmance]

Could only have gotten this in the morning I think, because they were sleeping so didn't fly away:



Chalk Hill Blue Pair by Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel, on Flickr

So many elements converging to make this into such a beautiful photo. I like the soothing warm colours.

[Nass]

You are having a lot of fun with those little guys lately. Very beautiful

Thank you! Yes I am

This was the same shot but different aperture and different mm setting on the lens I think. I like it too and wasn't sure which I preferred:



Fyi both have same sharpness but this looks sharper cause it's resized down.

[sergysergy]

I think the second one is a bit sharper

[photolady95]

I think the second is a bit sharper too but also the butterflies are lighter and stand out more from the background. Good shots Nass. TFS

[BrianR]

Looks like your alignment to them changed between shots putting the upper bits of their wings closer to the plane of focus in the 2nd one? For what it's worth, I prefer the second shot since the wing-tips are more in focus and the background is more interesting (but not at all distracting).

Either way, both are great. I assume this is with your new Tamron 70-200mm? Would you mind sharing your impressions of this lens from the close-up standpoint? In particular, how are you finding the sharpness at or near f/2.8 at close focus distances?

[Nass]

Brian could be, though they do look the same sharpness when I see them 1:1 in their original state...

But, onto that Tamron. Not as easy to use as the extreme macro constructions I normally use, because it's a big old beast of a lens. I use it with an extension tube to get closer, which works just fine although AF on my current K-5 is a waste of time (I deglassed a 2x TC to have AF). I'll revisit this with the K-3II I'm due to have as soon as stock arrives back in the UK but I'm not holding my breath, manual focusing by moving stance is just much faster. About sharpness, I'm still finding my way, it's been a little soft at the open end at 200 but there is detail there and I'm sure I can get more out of it with better technique. ie maybe it's not the lens - it could be my focus, or could be my shutter speed - all I've done with it yet is handheld & manual at or near 1/500-1/1000. This does require ISO 800 though and I want to find a combo of shutter speed, aperture & ISO that gives a bit better quality. My next steps to investigate are a macro tripod with ballhead, and a monopod with ballhead, and using a fill in flash. Once I've had a few trials with those and longer shutter speeds then I'd be in a better place to judge.

[PKMike]

I looked at the first one and thought it excellent. Then I looked at the second and thought it even better! (Mostly because of focus and detail of the wings)

[BrianR]

Brian could be, though they do look the same sharpness when I see them 1:1 in their original state...

That's interesting, it's especially the wing tips of the butterfly on the left that look quite different focus wise, it's face looks just as sharp in both though.

But, onto that Tamron. Not as easy to use as the extreme macro constructions I normally use, because it's a big old beast of a lens. I use it with an extension tube to get closer, which works just fine although AF on my current K-5 is a waste of time (I deglassed a 2x TC to have AF). I'll revisit this with the K-3II I'm due to have as soon as stock arrives back in the UK but I'm not holding my breath, manual focusing by moving stance is just much faster. About sharpness, I'm still finding my way, it's been a little soft at the open end at 200 but there is detail there and I'm sure I can get more out of it with better technique. ie maybe it's not the lens - it could be my focus, or could be my shutter speed - all I've done with it yet is handheld & manual at or near 1/500-1/1000. This does require ISO 800 though and I want to find a combo of shutter speed, aperture & ISO that gives a bit better quality. My next steps to investigate are a macro tripod with ballhead, and a monopod with ballhead, and using a fill in flash. Once I've had a few trials with those and longer shutter speeds then I'd be in a better place to judge.

Thanks! I've no doubt that you'll be maximizing the potential of this lens in no time, you're already doing an outstanding job. I've been looking to add a quality telephoto and have been hopping back and forth between the DA*300mm and the Tamron. The price and higher magnification of the Tamron are a big draw. I'll be watching what you do with your Tamron