Totally forked

Tried out the close range abilities of the 18-270mm today. The documentation of the lens will tell you that it can focus as closely as 50cm away. In real world terms, this is only about twice the distance from the front lens element to the eyepiece when the lens is racked out, which makes it feel very close indeed. High winds prevented me from finding any interesting insect life at the local reserve today, but a close look at some echinops suggests that the short working distance is going to be very useful for larger insects like dragonflies and butterflies (some of my favourite photographic subjects). The above image was shot from only a few inches away, at 27mm. This felt very comfortable, and was considerably less distance than would be possible with my other lenses. My 70-200mm lens won?t focus any closer than five feet away, which has been restrictive in tight locations, so the Tamron is going to be incredibly versatile.