Digital Dental Photography

Digital Photography and Workflow for Dentists

Canon DSLR

Canon Announces 2 New DSLR Cameras

by

While there are numerous digital SLR manufacturers, in dentistry (as in the rest of the digital camera market) there are really only 2 players: Canon & Nikon.  The simple reason?  There are more dentists shooting with these 2 brands than any other, because they have a long history of excellent products, from camera bodies to lenses and flashes.  Each has been working to one-up the other steadily over the last few years, with the result being ever-more-affordable pro-sumer DSLR cameras, with greater ease-of-use, and far more features than we really could have imagined only a few years ago.  And now Canon has announced the next in its series of EOS DSLR cameras, both of which would be excellent for dentists.

I had been planning on purchasing a Canon T2i in a month or so, but I’ve decided to hold off on replacing my Canon XTi’s at the office for just a little bit longer.  😀 This way, I’ll get to have one just in time for the Townie Meeting.  Anyone interested in buying a couple Canon XTi cameras for an extremely reasonable price around early March — contact me then.

Important adapter for new Canon 100mm Macro

by

I confess, I did not bother learning much about the new Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS macro lens that was introduced early in 2010 due to the significantly greater cost and the minimal increase in usefulness for dental macro photography.

Recently, however, I learned from Mike McKenna at Photomed.net, that the new 100mm macro does NOT have the little “lip” at the end to allow the Canon MR14-EX ring flash or the Canon MT-24EX Twin Lite flash to be added.  Why?  I have no idea, as such flashes are an integral part of many macro photographer’s gear.  In fact, I think it’s pretty stupid, but hey, I guess it’s just another way for Canon to squeeze a few more dollars out of you, because now you have to buy the Macrolite 67 adapter (see below) for another $32 or so if you do choose to buy the new version of the 100mm macro.

Canon announced the EOS Rebel T2i/550D | The Digital Photo Experience

by

2010/02/08 Canon announced the EOS Rebel T2i/550D | The Digital Photo Experience

Well……..I guess I have to take back my recommendation for the Canon DSLR that I most recommend for dental offices, as Canon has just announced the release of it’s newest, the EOS Rebel T2i (or the 550D, as it’s known outside the USA). With many of the features of their newest semi-pro DSLR, the Canon 7D, this new camera is truly a perfect fit for dental offices.

Lightweight, an incredible 18 megapixel sensor (still 1.6x crop of course), with genuine 1080i HD video recording capability (and I can tell you that the HD video I capture with my 7D is simply superb) for recording patient live testimonials, you really can’t go wrong. And with the features it has, this would be a fantastic camera to take on vacation, to family outings, kids’ sporting events, etc. Paired with a Canon 60mm f/2.8 macro or a Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens and the Canon MR-14EX ring flash, as discussed in a previous blog entry about Canon DSLR set-ups for dental offices, and you are set.

How Many Megapixels Do You Need?

by

This is one of those questions that always comes up when new photographers are asking what camera they should get.  When you consider how much the advertising for digital cameras seems to focus on the number of megapixels, it’s not really surprising, but still a bit unfortunate, because it gives the impression that one must have the camera with the most MP to keep up.

The truth of the matter is, when we’re talking about digital photography for dentistry, in particular, any DSLR since Canon came out with its Digital Rebel (6.3MP) back in ’03 has been totally adequate.

BTW – I still use the same 100mm macro lens that I bought with that Rebel back in 2004, so it may be reassuring to know that you won’t need to keep upgrading lenses every few years.That’s one of the keys to quality pictures that most people don’t understand: it’s more important to have quality lenses than a camera with high megapixel count for sharp, clear, colorful pictures.

So the simple answer to the question?  Any digital DSLR that has ever been made has more than enough megapixels, so don’t worry about that at all.  🙂