Trying Longer Macro Lens

Bryan kindly lent me his Sigma 180 mm Macro lens so I took it Damselfly photographing at Paxton Pits. I like the distance that you have between subject and lens but find that to handhold the long lens requires a fairly fast shutterspeed and so depth of field is fairly limited on the resulting aperture. The two images above were taken with the 180 macro and are Blue-tailed Damselfly and immature male Common Damselfly

The paired Common Damselflies and the Female Azure were taken with the 50mm plus life-size converter, a combination that is easier to handhold and has a greater inherent depth of field. The latter is an advantage in getting all the damselfly in focus but gives a less neutral background.