RAW or JPEG for dental photography?

Here's another thought that popped to mind this evening as I was playing with my new Canon 7D (oh god, how I love this thing already!), and it relates to 2 questions many colleagues ask:

1) Should I shoot in RAW or JPEG?
Simple answer to a complex question: UNLESS you are taking pictures that you need in RAW because you're aiming for accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry or a similar organization, I recommend you shoot in JPEG.  Why?  Well, there are no PMS (practice management software) programs of which I know that can handle RAW files; you need much bigger memory cards if taking a lot of pictures; RAW files do take longer to download; you need a lot more HD memory to store a large number of RAW files.  As a comparison:
     My work PC has roughly 44,000 pictures of patients that I've taken with all my digital cameras going back to 2002 (my first was an Olympus C2500L), and the My Pictures folder is approx. 130GB.  My home PC has approximately 20,000 pictures in the My Pictures folder, but because I shoot all my personal stuff in RAW, that folder is about 300GB!  So only 1/2 the pictures, but more than double the memory required.  And with the new 7D having RAW files of about 24MB each, that will increase fast!

While JPEG files do degrade slightly over time when opened and closed many many many times, with the current resolution of images, the likelihood that such degradation will be visible in your entire lifetime is practically zilch.  Ain't gonna happen.  No need to worry about it.

If you ARE aiming for accreditation, why is it therefore important to shoot in RAW?  For a very simple reason: the RAW file is equivalent to a digital negative, and it is ALWAYS that equivalent.  Even if you edit it, the original is always there and can be recovered, so it's impossible to "fake" pictures by editing them.  That way the examiners can be 100% positive that no-one is trying to sneak something by that was really Photoshopped.

2) OK, so I shoot in JPEG for intraoral/extraoral photography, what level of resolution should I choose?
Since JPEGs can be handled pretty easily by virtually any computer these days, and you can get a lot more pictures onto a card and HD, it makes sense IMO to shoot at the largest resolution (the "L" with the smooth curve next to it, not the steps).   Sure, you could shoot much smaller files, but what's the point?  At some time you will probably regret having a lower-quality image that you can't improve/upsize......but it's easy and fast to take a bigger-than needed picture and downsize it.

Getting my new Canon 7D today!

Oooooooo, as a camera geek (who would love to have a LOT more gear than I do), I am very excited to (hopefully) be picking up my new Canon 7D DSLR today.  18MP, true 1080p HD video, ISO expansion up to 12800 with a VERY usable 3200 and 6400 ISO, the 8fps will be awesome for shooting my daughter's competitive cheer events (Go Odyssey!)

As of right now, given the $1700 price tag, this is not a camera that most dentists will want for their office, and with the Canon T1i being a very good alternative for a much more affordable price (only $649), I am not recommending that you run out and replace any old DSLR you have for your dental photography with the 7D.

Unless you happen to be a photo geek like I am.  :-)

5 Good Cameras for Dental Photography

Now to the real question: Which camera/flash/lens combination should I buy? 

I'll start off with what I think are simply THE standard lenses and flashes to get, as these won't change much over time, even though the camera bodies will.

For Canon lenses (overall, more dentists use Canon than any other brand in my experience), you want EITHER the:

1. Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens  OR
2. Canon 60mm f/2.8 macro lens

There is only 1 Canon ring-flash commonly used (while the twin-light flash is really nice, it's trickier to learn and definitely more expensive), and that is the Canon MR-14EX ring flash. 

For Nikon, the comparable lenses are:

1. Nikon Telephoto AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm, OR
2. Nikon Macro AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm

As far as I know (which is a lot less about Nikon that Canon, admittedly), Nikon does not make their own ring flash comparable to the Canon MR-14EX.  The one I've seen commonly recommended is the Sigma EM-140 DG TTL Macro Ring Flash for Nikon.

So does this mean that these are the ONLY combinations of DSLR lenses and flashes that you can get?  NOPE, not by a long shot!  However, they are the most common selections used by skilled dental photographers, and so....if you happen to need help from a colleague, it's easiest to get help on these.  So rather than give out every single combination of lenses, bodies, and flashes that could be used, to keep it simple, these are the ones I recommend you consider.

Remember that the most important feature in the lens is it MUST BE A MACRO.  Otherwise, you will not be able to get close enough to the teeth to photograph them well.
=======================================================================

Now on to the Camera Bodies: 

For Canon, as of today (12/22/09), I recommend the Canon T1i for 1 very simple reason: not only does it have all the nice features necessary to take high-quality pictures, it ALSO has 1080p HD video recording capabilities.  And with the Internet rapidly becoming a major force in reaching both new and existing patients, video can be a powerful tool for influencing them; follow this link to see some of my patient testimonials on YouTube!  The sheer convenience of having both a video camera and a DSLR in 1 is just too nice.  And, if you happen to be a microscope-using dentist (which I also highly recommend), you can hook up the T1i to your camera adapter and record both video or still images.
Of course, you can also use any of the following Canon camera bodies: 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, XT, XTi, XS, XSi, or even go really upscale with the Canon 5D, 5D Mark II, or 7D.  However, I don't recommend those because of the price.


For Nikon, I recommend the (for the same reasons as above) Nikon D5000 or the D90.  If those don't float your boat, you can choose any of the following (just be aware that none of these have the video either): D40, D60, D80, or D200.  Again, if you want upscale, go for the D300s or D700.

OK, if you count up all those possibilities, you'll realize that's actually WAAAAAAY more than 5 possibilities.  I've given you the criteria I use when recommending, though, so you should be able to make your choice.  If not, please ask questions!

I'll cover some of the alternative DSLR camera bodies, lenses, and flashes in a future post.

What kind of digital camera should I buy?

Of all the questions I receive, the single most frequent one has to be, "What camera should I buy if I want to take pictures of patients and teeth for my office?  The second is often, "Do I have to get one of those big cameras with interchangeable lenses, or can I use a Point-n-Shoot?  Might as well get these covered right away.

Let me give you my personal bias first:
    Point-and-Shoot (POS) cameras have come a long way in the last few years, and they can take very high quality, high resolution pictures.  The primary limitations are:

1. Inability to control both exposure and f-stop to get pictures completely in focus and well-lit.
2. The flash angle is such that the front of the mouth is super-bright and the back is very dark.
3. Many do not offer a manual focus option, and the mirror reflection can really screw with the auto-focus.

Digital SLR (DSLR) cameras, on the other hand, offer complete control over every aspect of taking pictures, which means all you need is the right settings, and you'll capture virtually perfect pictures every time with just a little practice.  The 2 biggest advantages to using a DSLR for dental photography are:

1. Can choose from several macro lenses to get extremely close-up pictures; dental photography is mostly a variation on Macro Photography, or the art of shooting small things very close-up. 
   
2. Can use a ring-flash or dual-mount flash for bright, even, shadow-less pictures even in the very back of the mouth.

Therefore, I am a BIG proponent of using DSLR cameras for dental photography.  Yes, they are more expensive, but given the importance of quality images when communicating with patients or documenting work for all kinds of purposes, they pay for themselves extremely quickly.

Next post......WHICH camera/lens/flash combination to buy, and where?

Why Digital Photography for Dentists?

As a kid, my Mom, sister, and I were constantly aggravated by my Dad's fascination with photography, because he would take FOREVER (it seemed to us at at the time) to compose and take a shot while we were on vacation, or he would want to take a gazillion pictures of us so we'd have to sit there with a frozen grin on our faces while he snapped off a number of shots. Never did I imagine that one day I would do the exact same thing to my own wife and 2 daughters, but that's what happened!

Interestingly, though, it was actually my friend and Charlotte dental colleague, Dr. Ross Nash, who actually got me interested in photography on a more serious level, when I was still a recent grad of UNC-CH School of Dentistry. The memory of seeing Ross' ROOM full of slide books (and yes, I mean it was literally a room unto itself, about 750,000 slides in 2000, I think) is still a vivid one! At the time, though, digital cameras were still too expensive, and the software too difficult to use, for many to use. Like many, I started with a Yashica Dental Eye III film camera; anyone else remember that? LOL

But the advent of the Canon Digital Rebel in 2004 signaled a new beginning, as affordable digital SLR cameras came on the market. That was my first foray into digital dental photography, and my interest and passion since then has only grown. Another colleague and terrific photographer, Dr. Tony Soileau, was key to igniting the fire with his portrait photograpy course for dentists at the Nash Institute. It is now an indispensable and critical part of my daily dental practice, as well as a passion for photography outside the office.

It's been a long journey, though, to learn all that I have, requiring many thousands of dollars in CE, thousands of hours shooting and learning software, and then figuring out how to present and use the pictures taken. Today, I receive emails and private messages from colleagues almost on a daily basis, asking the fundamental questions about getting started, especially through Dentaltown.

The good news, though, is that integrating dental photography into your practice is now easier and more affordable than ever, and what's even better than that is that the software is becoming more affordable and easier to use. It can still be a daunting taks, though, to decide what you need, where to get it, how much to spend, what software to use (your PMS or something else, for example), how to start taking pictures and troubleshoot, how to train your staff, etc.

Over time, I'll be discussing the fundamentals of photography, of DSLRs, and really.....all the whats/whens/whys/hows of using digital dental photography. Follow along, feel free to comment and add your own experience, or ask questions.