Sigma 17-70 HSM macro

Now with the dome port polished and decent conditions and no more winter bugs I finally had a good go with this new lens.

Results were very nice, much more contrast and sharpness than the Nikon 18-55 kit lens.

More photos here

This lens is actually a little too fat to fit the Ikelite housing using the spring zoom ring supplied. An easy work around is to add sticky-back velcro to the inside of the gear ring. This  provides enough grip to operate the zoom.

Dome port scratch repair - Micro Mesh

My Ikelite 8" acrylic dome port was quite scratched up, bad enough to show in the photos.

I bought it second hand and it was in worse condition than I expected.

Micro Mesh NC-78-1 is a surface restoring kit used for aircraft windows, among other things.
I ordered mine from www.thesandpaperman.com.au $59 including freight.

It's quite daunting to attack your dome port with sandpaper but the end result is well worth it.

Here's a video of the process.