You are really blessed having those wagtails right in front of you !

The reason I asked about stopping down is that although these have aperture rings, they might also have an actuator pin on the mount that a film camera would push when you release the shutter. You can set the ring to any value you like (on a generic M42 auto lens) and the iris won't budge from wide open until that pin is pushed. Therefore green button stop down metering won't work (there's no stop down lever). If the pin operates the iris then my question remains? That is why many M42s have Manual/Auto switches, to engage or disengage the pin. I see no such switch here. For example, Helios 44M lenses have no switch and will only operate wide open unless you open the lens and do surgery on it to permanently enable the pin.

What was the f value of the 1st sample image, above, please? Looking at the DoF I would guess it is f2.4, or, wide open. (The 2nd one is flat on so won't show a DoF effect). What happens when you push the pin with the aperture set to f22 ?

An image of the rear mount plate might help, so we can see exactly what it is?

Blessed ringlets (and meadow browns) never seem to stop flying. You can chase them right across a field! I have noticed too that butterflies in general will startle at the second click of the camera's shutter, often resulting in a blur as they spring into flight. You can quietly move grass stems and get quite close but if you make the slightest noise in doing so, they startle. They must have very sensitive hearing attuned to approaching predators.

Finally, I just noticed, on the last picture, of a skipper, that there is a clutch of eggs beneath the leaf in the lower right corner of the frame.

And thank you all for your kind comments - I enjoyed doing this lot.

You came in with super sunset splash and we'd like to see more of that quality. Welcome aboard.
(I started with an Exakta RTL1000, which is really a dressed up Practika - very good camera until it got nicked)

Several people have lamented the lack of butterflies this year. I'm sure they are quite correct in their own localities. We have no shortage in Middle England however. I've been out over the past few days snapping away at them within an area of about 4 square miles.

In no particular order:

1. OK it's a moth. A five spot burnet feeding on vetch



2. Comma sunning itself



3. Green veined white on a bramble flower



4. Unusually for a meadow brown, this one has opened its wings (you can wait ages for this to happen)



5. Everyone knows the small tortoiseshell (haven't seen a large one yet)



6. Pity it didn't turn round just a tiny amount



7. This red admiral was a bit unco-operative too.



8. Gatekeepers just love to sun themelves



9. Only seen one of these despite it being called a common blue



10. A large skipper



11.Ringlets are hard to photograph as they generally alight in the long grass and are obscured by the stems



12. A small skipper also hiding in the long grass



So, although there are gaps, there certainly isn't a scarcity.

I just pressed that GPS button for fun - it makes a super noise! Dunno what I'd use it for as I normally know exactly where I am.

The simple approach often produces the best results - excellent name you finally came up with: "Kings Cross".

Good Heavens Gareth -- that was a long time gestating!?

You probably haven't a clue what they were talking about "over expose or under expose" and then arguing about it. The basic information about exposure is on page 93 of the manual. It's useful for your right thumb to get used to using the wheel on the back (it controls the exposure). They went on about 'histograms' too. That is on page 33 but it's only useful to know as opposed to necessary so don't worry yourself over that.

Some other jargon in the manual that's likely to mystify you: AV=aperture value, TV=Time value (or shutter speed) SV= sensitivity value and EV= exposure value. There is also a brief glossary on page 362-5

Now go and click at everything in sight. Pentax shutters are good for thousands and thousands of actuations so you won't break it!

Learn it one button at a time and keep the manual in the loo for those quiet moments - it worked for me.
And welcome to a very helpful place!