Need an SLR for Dental Photography

[Ari Dubov]

I am a dentist and I need an SLR camera for dental Photography, a camera that can take good macro photos as well as a ring flash attachment, does any one have any suggestions. Any Input would be greatly appreciated .

Ari Dubov

[gryphonslair99]

Canon 30D, Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens and a Canon Canon MR-14EX TTL Ring Lite Flash. $1987.00 from B&H photo less shipping. But then it's a business write off.

Actually the same setup from Nikon, Pentax or Sony would work just as well. I happen to be a Canon shooter with the above equipment and can testify that it works perfectly.

[Ari Dubov]

what about the CANON EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTI ?

[Ronnoco]

By the way, I found a light table was ideal for lighting purposes and shooting dental xrays for a presentation.

Ronnoco

[gryphonslair99]

what about the CANON EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTI ?

For what you are wanting to do there would be absolutely nothing wrong with the XTI. The XTI is a great camera. I own the 30D and have used the setup I suggested so I am just a little prejudice towards the 30D. Sorry.

[Old Timer]

You need to PM Lionheart he has been doing just this for several years. He is a dentist in California with a large practice.

[Greg McCary]

Yashica used to make one specifically for that. But it is a film camera. You can get them on e-bay fairly cheap compared to digital. It has a ring flash and all. Just do a search for a Yashica dental eye. I have seen some really good ones go as low as 200.00, but again they are film cameras. The great feature here is the data you can add to the picture. Check the link.
Greg

http://cgi.ebay.com/Yashica-35-mm-SL...QQcmdZViewItem

[Lionheart]

Yes, the rebel xti will work just fine. I say this because the xti allows for locking the flash sync at 1/200 sec. when the flash is active and in Av (aperture priority) mode. In my practice, we utilize the cameras in Av mode, f16, ISO 200, with either the 50mm compact macro f2.5 or the 100 mm f2.8 USM macro, MR-14EX ringlights and with flash sync locked in the custom menu at 1/200th sec when in Av mode. We switch to program mode for the head shots required for AACD accreditation. The rebel xti allows for shooting in RAW mode, and RAW+jpg, saving you a step in the workflow if you're aiming for AACD accreditation. I'm not as familiar with the newer generations of EOS dslrs, because the 10D and 1D Mk II have served us so well to this point in time, but I'm sure they all have the ability to shoot RAW format, and have the custom function for locking shutter speed in flash and av mode. We chose this custom function to overcome picture softness due to hand shake from the long focal length with too slow a shutter speed. You could also shoot in manual mode, set aperture to f16 and set the flash to ETTL and shutter at 1/200th second, and that would work as well, but we set ours in Av mode to minimize user error on the part of our assistants who take the majority of our comprehensive exam photos.

[Ari Dubov]

Thankyou so much for the very infomative review, its amazing how technical dental photography can be.

Ari Dubov

Yes, the rebel xti will work just fine. I say this because the xti allows for locking the flash sync at 1/200 sec. when the flash is active and in Av (aperture priority) mode. In my practice, we utilize the cameras in Av mode, f16, ISO 200, with either the 50mm compact macro f2.5 or the 100 mm f2.8 USM macro, MR-14EX ringlights and with flash sync locked in the custom menu at 1/200th sec when in Av mode. We switch to program mode for the head shots required for AACD accreditation. The rebel xti allows for shooting in RAW mode, and RAW+jpg, saving you a step in the workflow if you're aiming for AACD accreditation. I'm not as familiar with the newer generations of EOS dslrs, because the 10D and 1D Mk II have served us so well to this point in time, but I'm sure they all have the ability to shoot RAW format, and have the custom function for locking shutter speed in flash and av mode. We chose this custom function to overcome picture softness due to hand shake from the long focal length with too slow a shutter speed. You could also shoot in manual mode, set aperture to f16 and set the flash to ETTL and shutter at 1/200th second, and that would work as well, but we set ours in Av mode to minimize user error on the part of our assistants who take the majority of our comprehensive exam photos.

[gryphonslair99]

Ok, I don't mean to hijack this thread but, Lionheart, I need this crown on the lower left side and was wondering what material I should have it made of?


Damn. it's not often I get lost in a photography thread but what the #&$$ is AACD accreditation?

I understand the photoraphy part.

[Lionheart]

hahaha...loaded question there. Esthetically, Lava crowns are what we recommend to our patients (porcelain fused to zirconium copings). However, I still place a handful of gold crowns when strength is required (patients with parafunctional habits such as grinding and clenching can very quickly destroy 2nd molar porcelain crowns shortly after cementation). The traditional porcelain crown in the past has been porcelain fused to metal (which can range from base metal to high noble metal), which we have all but abandoned in favor of the more natural look and light transmittance of the Lava crowns. There are also all porcelain crowns like Cerac, which are made in the office at the same visit as your preparation, but which esthetically I find awful unless you're one of those hard core dentists who enjoy labwork and LOVE detailing and staining and stacking feldspathic porcelain on Cerac crown cutbacks while the patient waits. Talk to your dentist, we all have favorite modes of treatment. (You were serious about needing a crown, right?)
Regarding your second question, AACD is the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and they have an accreditation process which naturally requires a fairly stringent and well defined series of photos, taken in RAW mode, before treatment, mid treatment and post treatment, and converted to TIFF format, saved on separate cd's or dvd's, and presented in a powerpoint format, which is where the jpg format photos come in handy for use in powerpoint. That's why I like being able to shoot in RAW + jpg is so handy, trust me, it's a pain working with HUGE TIFF files (12 photos in each series at an average of about 25-30 MB per photo-echh), and it takes longer to process dual outputs to TIFF and JPG in the RAW processing workflow, and I hate waiting, especially on the slug of a PC in our consult room which serves as our RAW photo repository and processing PC. Actually, it's not that slow (P4 3.2 GHz, 1 GB memory, 256 mb video card), but it's not my home desktop either (Quad core OC'd to 3 GHz, 4 GB memory, 768 MB Geforce 8800, 30 inch Dell monitor).
Pretty lengthy answer huh? Sorry, I get pretty carried away sometimes when I start technobabbling with dental photography.

[Ari Dubov]

Hi Lion Heart
I know this thread is old but I was wandering for head shots in program modes do you use the ring flash, and what are the camera settings?

Ari

[Old Timer]

Hi Lion Heart
I know this thread is old but I was wandering for head shots in program modes do you use the ring flash, and what are the camera settings?

Ari

Been sometime since I have seen a post from Lion Heart. You may be better off to email him.