My camera Equipment

I make a big point about how important I think photography is in dentistry so I often get asked what camera equipment I have or get asked for advice about what to buy. Therefore this post is a little summary of all the camera equipment I currently own. I am happy to give advice but am also the first to admit that there are other dentists who know a lot more about photography than me so you may get better answers from other individuals on various forums.

Main equipment
- Camera Body Nikon D5300 https://amzn.to/2HUakoI
- Lens Nikon 85mm macro lens. I chose this over the often recommended 105mm lens primarily because the 85mm is cheaper and lighter. https://amzn.to/2JlBODf
- Flash Nikon R1C1 twin flash https://amzn.to/2HqAvXi
- iPad Pro for storing and editing photos and showing animations to pts and for signing consent forms

Accessories
- Flash air SD card for transferring photos to iPad wirelessly
- Owl Bracket for positioning flashes in various positions to get good posterior shots as well as nice anteriors
- Soft boxes by Polaroid to help soften the harsh flash light slightly
- Big bouncers which really reflect the flash light nicely to create very striking anterior shots and are great for taking photos of labwork however they are too large for posterior shots so I don't use them often.
- Retractors from premium plus. These are cheap and stand up well to being autoclaved. They can also be cut off to make half retractors which makes mirror shots easier
- Contrasters for making nice black backgrounds to your photos.
- Mirrors. Whether you have glass or polished metal you need to look after them as they scratch easily, so mine stay in a cassette all of the time apart from when actually being used.
- I heat the mirrors in a simple heated blanket from Amazon.
- Polar_eyes cross polarised filter to eliminate harsh reflections allowing much better colour analysis of teeth. Essential for new techniques such as eLAB.
- Lab work soft box, black Perspex sheet, ring light. I don't take many photos of lab work but when I want to get good shots I use this setup which gives very good results.
- Stand for the iPad to sit on.
- Cheap touchscreen pen for signing forms on the iPad.

What settings you use depends on the equipment you have and the type of result you are looking for but the last photo shows my standard settings. Generally you want to use as low an ISO setting as you can to reduce noise, and an f stop number greater than 22 so that your depth of focus is decent.

Below are links to some of my equipment on Amazon if you wish to find out more: