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 Question:
How much resolution is enough or too much for scanning in slides and non-digital x-rays? The more the better? Is it like digital cameras and past a certain point doesn't really make any difference?
Answer:
The answer is...it depends. If you are never going to print them and just display them on a monitor, LCD projector, or web page, 1024x 768, or under a megapixel is enough. If you are going to print them, how big? A 4x6 print requires only a megapixel or two. A poster size print could use all your scanner has to offer.
On the other hand hard disk drive space is cheap and back up systems are capable of handling large drives. Don't discount forward compatibility as monitor resolution gets better. |
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Question:
For taking portraits, either indoors or out, what lens are you using and for the outdoors, are you using a flash, and if so, the flash on the camera or a higher power one?
Answer:
You can use the 100 mm macro that you use for intra oral shots, but you will lack zoom versatility. I have a 28-200mm lens I use for recreation. A 28-70mm would be ideal for outdoor portraits.
Lighting for outdoor portraits is a complex, but fun topic. The sun will cast shadows across the face. Sometimes these can be desirable. Usually I try to eliminate them. This can be done with the onboard flash, slave flashes, diffusers that diffuse the light or reflectors that reflect the sun on the face to fill shadows. |
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Question:
How much resolution do I need in a digital camera?
Answer:
It depends. Are you going to view images on a computer monitor? If so you will only need 1024 x 768 or about 3/4 of a Megapixel. Are you going to print the images? If so, how big and at what resolution. To print an 8x10 at a good resolution, you will need at least 3 Megapixels. Fortunately, most all digital cameras today have resolution at this level. What if your camera has more than three megapixels? You may want to dial back the resolution to make the files smaller and more managable. |
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Question:
What is the best and easiest to use digital camera for dentistry today?
Answer:
The Canon 10D is undoubtedly the best and easiest to use digital camera for dentistry. It is foolproof, when properly set up. The only dowside is size and cost ($2800 for a dental kit). Canon recently released the Digital Rebel which is a strippped down 10D with a plastic body instead of an alloy body. The kit is $600 less than the 10D. This is a good choice if you are looking to save a few bucks. |
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Question:
What other cameras should I consider?
Answer:
The Canon G2 or G3, Fuji S1 or S2, Nikon D100, Kodak 6490 Dental Kit, the Olympus 2500 with ring flash, the Olympus 4040. |
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Question:
What printer should I buy?
Answer:
There are two main types of printers used in dentistry. Dye sublimation and ink jet. I would suggest that you need one of each. The Olympus P440 is a great dye sublimation printer for $350. It kicks out beautiful 8x10 prints in 90 seconds. Prints cost about $1.80 each 8x10 for paper and ribbon (ink). You can put multiple images on a sheet. Use this printer for wall images and to give to patients. Canon makes the best value printer with respect to cost and performance. The s9100 is around $350 and will print any size up to a 13 x 19 with stunning color and fidelity. Use the Olympus Hi-Gloss White film paper for best results. |
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Question:
What's better for a PowerPoint slide presentation JPEG or TIFF photos? I'm putting the presentation together and the photos I had taken are in both format and I can't tell the difference.
Answer:
You don't need much resolution for a Power Point presentation. JPEG files are generally much more compressed and will not have large files. The greatest image size you could need is the resolution of the projector. A projector with a resolution of 1024 x 768, which is quite good today, can not even use 1 Megapixel of information with a full screen image. Most Power Point images only take part of the screen real estate. Use JPEG and compress. Larger images can be used and resized in Power Point, but all of the information resides in the Power Point file, making huge, slow Power Point files. |
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Question:
What software do I need to store images and manipulate images?
Answer:
There are many great software programs on the market. ACDSee, and Thumbs+ are programs that were written to manage and manipulate, but not image, pictures. Photoshop Elements adds imaging capabilities to the mix, but may require a considerable investment in time to do dental imaging. Digital Dentist takes it to the next level by offering detailed instructions as to how to use Micrographix Picture Publisher to perform dental imaging. Dicom Image and Image F/X have taken image storage and imaging to the ultimate level of simplicity. This simplicity comes at a price and time is money in dentistry. These programs start out at around $50 and can reach over $4000. I am in the final stages of developing a program that will download and store patient images, allow some manipluation, facilitate e mailing images at a specified size, and present images to patients in a slide show format. The goal is to provide a program that will fulfill a need in dentistry at a reasonable cost. |
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 Question:
I'm using the Smallest setting for size on the camera (for regular - i.e. non-portrait intra-oral photos) - still producing photos that are +/- 450-550 kb. Would you recommend resizing them in ACDsee or similar program before importing them into Dentrix? Any worry about storage? (I know we have giggibites galore - but several thousand pictures later @ ½ megabyte each, adds up.)
Answer:
I am saving in large compressed mode. This is a 2 Mb image. Drive space is cheap and I may need a higher res image in the future. You cannot get resolution back later. Projectors, monitors, and printers will continue to get better. |
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Question:
Your recent setting suggestions were good. I'm noticing that the Av setting works well, even though I'm still not sure I know what I'm doing with the settings. The Macro setting with its automatic settings, doesn't give me depth of field. Do you have any experience or opinion different that would improve my results?
Answer:
Av setting is good. You pick the aperture (f32 - high for maximum depth of field) and the camera picks the aperture for you. I prefer Manual mode where you set the shutter speed (1/90 second) and f stop (f32). The flash output needs to be boosted by 1 f stop also. These settings remain when you turn the camera off. |
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Question:
I can't seem to find a setting for taking x-ray shots off a view box that works. Any suggestions?
Answer:
You put the camera in Program mode and turn off the flash. Rest your elbows on something, as the camera will shoot at a slow shutter speed. |
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Question:
For portraits - as in nice ones! Do you recommend setting size of photo high - low - in-between?
Answer:
I would shoot in the large compressed mode if you don't shoot everything here. |
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Question:
Andy at Norman suggested a new InkJet type printer for printing portraits. I mentioned that I might be interested in a Die-Sublimation printer and he said the new Cannon S9000 inkjet was as good or better, and could print 13" x19", 8.5x11, and 4x6 paper. Any input?
Answer:
I just ordered an S9000 today. The 13 x 19 images are stunning and fast. |
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Question:
What lens and ring flash do you recommend for use with the Canon 10D and Digital Rebel?
Answer:
The lens is a 100 mm Macro (around $600) and the ring flash is a MR-14EX (around $499). You can also use a Sigma 105 mm Macro lens (around $359). |
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 Question:
I want to print photos to mail to referring dentists, such as before and after for crown lengthening, gingival grafting, etc., or to print a photo for insurance. You mentioned the Canon i9900 printer, but what about paper brand, size, matte or glossy?
Answer:
Can't go wrong with Canon paper. I like Glossy. If
I was sending a before and after to a referring doctor,
I would print 8.5 x 11. I would arrange the images
and text in Photoshop Elements and print in Landscape
orientation. |
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