Thanks, folks.
Handheld, manual focus, natural light and a willingness to bend the body into positions it doesn't want to be in at my age!
Definitely time to try. I'm not sure how IQ compares with no TC then crop, but using the TC make the little thingy bigger in the viewfinder which helps with focusing. If you have an F 1.7 AF adapter, don't bother to try it on the Irix, it won't fit, the Irix mount isn't compatible with pre-digital K mounts . However... you can put the 1.4 TC on the lens and the F 1.7 AF adapter on the camera then join them up. It's a moot point whether the limited AF you gain is worth having, but it can be fun trying out these sort of things!

Steve

Nice set of pics. Keep wandering, keep pressing the shutter button, keep posting!

An interesting set of comments, too. At first glance I too thought the posts in 1 and 3 were too dark. Then I clicked on the images and the posts seemed to be a bit lighter, possibly because more detail is being shown. So now I'm not sure about whether they are too dark! And in image 3, I'd crop just below the posts to remove the foreground rocks completely. The posts then seem to lead the eye towards the distant island. Sometimes less is more .

Steve

It's been a while since time, priorities, opportunity, light and weather combined to let me bother bees, bugs, beetles and beasties in the garden. But yesterday I managed to grab a few minutes to go hunting. There weren't as many little thingies as expected, but it was fun trying to find them in the mess that is called a garden. Here are some of the results. All with a K3iii + Irix 150mm macro + 1.4TC.

Thoughts, comments etc. welcome as usual.

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Steve

That Red Room is certainly stunning. Nicely done photo, too. Tricky lighting and people all over the place when I've been.

Steve

Nice set.

Men tinkering with old locos look much the same the world over!

Steve

Beautiful minimalism. Fab-u-lous!

Steve

Fab-u-lous !!

Steve

So what's changed? I bought mine from another EU country before Brexit and paid 20% VAT on the lens and postage. There are only 2 things that are certain in life, one is death the other, of course, is ... taxes .

Steve

And essential kit for people with house plants, too. Unwind one loop, hold the remaining loop, use the unwound bit to poke nasty bugs out of the crevices they try to hide in.

Steve

The 150mm macro certainly is. Not an issue for me, I never use AF for macro.
Still a lot cheaper than what I paid for it in 2019 !

Steve