A while ago, I was having a stroll with the kids in the countryside. As I was expecting to shoot only a few snapshots of the kids for the family album, the Pentax DA 18-250 was attached to my K-x.When I saw these damselflies, I zoomed all the way to 250mm and began shooting. I was quite surprised when I checked the results. They are not so bad for a customer grade lens, which is supposed to be almost unusable at its maximum focal length! Be sure to check the full resolution:Cheers,Abbazz -- The 6x9 Photography Online Resource:http://artbig.com/

good series

If that is a terrible lens then a really good one must be out of this world. Good job.

bjakewrote:good seriesThank you, bjake.Cheers!Abbazz -- The 6x9 Photography Online Resource:http://artbig.com/

Good job. On a couple of them, the wing is exceptionally sharp.Joe

Falthapwrote:If that is a terrible lens then a really good one must be out of this world. Good job.Thanks for the compliment, Falthap.Cheers!Abbazz -- The 6x9 Photography Online Resource:http://artbig.com/

Joseph Tainterwrote:Good job. On a couple of them, the wing is exceptionally sharp.Thank you, Joe. I was quite amazed to see so much sharpness coming out of this lens (these pictures had no additional sharpening, except the default 25% in Photoshop's raw converter. In fact, I was quite reluctant to use the lens at 250mm because of all the reviews I've read about this lens being completely soft above 150mm...When shooting close up at 250mm, the DA 18-250 delivers crisp images with somewhat less sharp edges. Sharpness at infinity is not bad either -- although a bit weaker than at short range.Cheers,Abbazz -- The 6x9 Photography Online Resource:http://artbig.com/

Great series. I use a lot my DA*300/4 for damselflies and butterflies. The acromatic close-up lens for the Tokina 80-400 (0,4 diopters) is very useful with the 300 for this purpose, to get a little closer (from 1,4m to 0,9m). It has a 72mm thread, but it is no problem with the 300 to use a step down ring.The first 4 shots might be Calopteryx splendens, 2 males, and 2 females. The blue-black ones some species of Coenagrion…Cheers - Klaus

Nicolswrote:Great series. I use a lot my DA*300/4 for damselflies and butterflies. The acromatic close-up lens for the Tokina 80-400 (0,4 diopters) is very useful with the 300 for this purpose, to get a little closer (from 1,4m to 0,9m). It has a 72mm thread, but it is no problem with the 300 to use a step down ring.Thank you, Klaus! I also normally use my F* 300/4.5, or one of my Tamron catadioptrics (350/5.6 or 500/8) for damselflies and dragonflies. But it's good to know that the modest DA 18-250 is up to the job (in good light).The first 4 shots might be Calopteryx splendens, 2 males, and 2 females. The blue-black ones some species of Coenagrion…Thanks for the identification.Cheers!Abbazz -- The 6x9 Photography Online Resource:http://artbig.com/

Nah, they're not so bad...they're FABULOUS! I love 'em. I've seen some of those guys and had a heck of a time trying to capture them. My hat's off to you!Thanks for posting. -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/52664228@N04/

capturef22wrote:Nah, they're not so bad...they're FABULOUS! I love 'em. I've seen some of those guys and had a heck of a time trying to capture them. My hat's off to youThank you!Cheers!Abbazz -- The 6x9 Photography Online Resource:http://artbig.com/

Incredible shots, Abbazz -- especially the one of three sets mating side-by-side. I bet that was a HARD shot to get! Jeff -- A word is worth 1/1000th of a picture... Maybe that's why I use so many words!

JeffAHayeswrote:Incredible shots, Abbazz -- especially the one of three sets mating side-by-side. I bet that was a HARD shot to get!Thanks, Jeff. There were quite a lot of damselflies mating on that hot summer afternoon, so it was not too difficult to get a few shots featuring two or even three couples. The problem was rather with the lighting, which was quite harsh, with the damselflies laying in bright sunlight against a very dark background. I switched to raw mode and had to do a bit of curves / highlight recovery to get something acceptable.Cheers!Abbazz -- The 6x9 Photography Online Resource:http://artbig.com/

Very fine shots - well done, I enjoyed them.The 18-250 always had a reputation for being one of the best superzooms. In addition you have wisely stopped down to f/11 where it is probably at its best optically, and your subject is only in the centre of the frame: edge / border quality is not relevant as it is so out of focus. If you had taken a landscape or architectural shot with detail out to the edge of the frame, at 250mm and widest aperture, you would start to see the limitations of the lens... but these beautiful pics show the lens off to the best of its ability.Best wishes -- Mike http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/mikeward

mike703wrote:Very fine shots - well done, I enjoyed them.The 18-250 always had a reputation for being one of the best superzooms. In addition you have wisely stopped down to f/11 where it is probably at its best optically, and your subject is only in the centre of the frame: edge / border quality is not relevant as it is so out of focus. If you had taken a landscape or architectural shot with detail out to the edge of the frame, at 250mm and widest aperture, you would start to see the limitations of the lens... but these beautiful pics show the lens off to the best of its ability.Thank you Mike for your kind comments.The 18-250 delivers quite acceptable image quality over the whole range if you know its limitations. Of course the results are the best between 24 and 75mm, while the extremes do indeed exhibit some optical defects. Distortion at 18mm is huge and chromatic aberrations are rather visible at 250mm. Sharpness also suffers when the lens is used wide open at its widest or longest setting.But when you are aware of these limitations, you can get perfectly good pictures with this lens. When shooting the DA 18-250 at the wide end or at the tele end, just close down the aperture a few stops to improve sharpness. Aberrations and distortion can also be easily corrected in post or even in camera with the latest DSLRs from Pentax.The DA 18-250 is always in my travel kit. Usually, I add a few primes (DA 15/4 Ltd, DA 35/2.8 Ltd, CV 90/3.5, and sometimes CV 180/4) as well as the DA 10-17, for those critical shots, when you just need a faster lens, a wider angle, or a sharper and cleaner image. But the 18-250's convenience as a "do it all" lens is hard to beat. Especially when I travel with family or friends, when swapping lenses is just not an option.Cheers!Abbazz -- The 6x9 Photography Online Resource:http://artbig.com/