I think the DOF is just about right and I quite like the framing too. Not so sure about the green background though - it clashes a bit too much with the pink for my taste. I'd have been tempted to get down low and shoot upwards; pink flowers often look their best against blue backdrops (such as the sky).

Makes me wish spring would hurry up and come round again - I miss having pretty things to shoot in the garden...

Well I think the sparrow looks better than the first Sigma shots but not quite as nice as the robin shot with the Tamron. Having said that, I prefer the last shot of the robin with the 135-400 to all of them.

I don't know how much of this is down to subject / background / framing / etc and how much is down to the lens though tbh.

Tough call!

I think the focus, composition and exposure are all good, however, the colours look a little over-saturated for my taste. It's difficult to tell (when you're not the person who took the photo) how the scene appeared in real life so maybe I'm wrong, but it looks a little too bright to be natural for me.

This is only a minor criticism by the way and the sort of thing that can be endlessly adjusted post-capture, so don't let it put you off!

Overall a very good start.

Well spotted!

I've stuck it on my watch list - it'll be interesting to see what it fetches.

It's not on there yet - he's been a busy boy!

When it does go on it'll be a 99p start and no reserve - but the auction will run to the bitter end (I've taught him well! ).

I'll let everyone know on this thread when it's listed, but I wouldn't be suprised if it isn't this side of Christmas now tbh.

Tell you what I'd like; a built in 1 degree spot meter and a K-mount white dome to instantly convert your camera into an incident meter. Surely that wouldn't be too difficult to achieve?

Hello Simon, welcome to the forum

Hello Pentaxnut, welcome to the forum

Then buy a Pentax and join in instead

Am I the only one who's reminded of Day Of The Triffids by Darkmunk's picture? Very spooky!