18-55mm with +4 dioptre

I bought a Hoya +4 dioptre 52mm to try with the kit lens and the results are excellent. I can now focus 10cm from the dome. Perfect for our murky sub-temperate water.

Behind the 6" dome this lens gives reasonable macro magnification with useful wide as well.

Of course it's not as pin sharp or as fast focusing as the 60mm macro or Sigma 15mm Fisheye but it's definitely a useful middle range zoom lens.

It means I wont need to buy a Sigma 17-70 and 8" dome to fill the gap.

On this dive I photographed nudibranchs and sharks, however the nudis were big and the sharks small!

Cuttle colours 18-55mm

These shots were taken at The Springs near Pt Lonsdale. Vis was only 3m with heaps of sand stirred up by the strong current and swell. I was surprised at how little backscatter showed up with the strobes out wide and balanced background exposure.

This is the same giant cuttle over a fun 15 min interaction. Wonderful inquisitive critters.

I used the 18-55mm kit lens with a +2 dioptre behind a 6" dome. Will try a +4 dioptre for closer macro as soon as the wind subsides.

Fix LED mini focusing light problems

Reports are surfacing on Wetpixel about unexplained floods of this little focus light and I have to agree.
Mine partially flooded but was rescued by spraying the electronics with WD40 but 2 mates have not been so lucky.
Theirs have been ruined with no replacement being offered by the supplier.

So I now wouldn't reccommend buying one. Unfortunately there does not seem to be an alternative focus light available for the same price with the light quenching feature.