Basic Camera Settings

[NicelyMKV]

how does that look once you bring the exposure back up on the raw file in photoshop jason?

This was done in aperture 3

 

[paulg100]

Well that looks KINDA ok to me.

Im not sure how much better your gonna get unless you start buying some other kit unfortunately.

Ill see how much difference the polarizing filter makes that i ordered, maybe that will be an easy step up for you to.

Im doing a talk in a few weeks and need to get some shots of a monolithic zr unit as well, so ill post some results and see if theres much difference from what your getting.

 

[Jorge]

Some comments:

- I have read polarizer does not work for metalic reflections

- This book explains where to put the light to have or not have reflections, they say "family angles", all you need is a flash cable to separate it from the camera or a master/slave flash system or use continuos light, not flash.

Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic
Lighting

(look for last edition)

 

[paulg100]

"I have read polarizer does not work for metalic reflections"

yep i think your right there.

That ZR crown is not metal though (well not strictly speaking)

 

[JonB]

One of the things to keep in mind is how highly reflective zirconia really is. Plus we tend to photograph it against a black background or mirror. Add to that, we're using the flash - possibly set to ETTL/TTL, and maybe we're using a photo box - maybe not. That is contrast city! With emax, you could probably get very good results... not so much with zirconia.

Now try to think outside that box. How about shooting against a neutral gray or off-white marble? How about turning the flash waaaay down on manual settings and use small white pieces of paper to bounce around what little light you are using? (fold white cardboard into 4"x 2" L shapes and position them opposite the light source) Shooting inside a photo box is a good thing, but using the same principles of where the light is coming from and how you want to "fill" the scene, you can move these little pieces of "reflectors" to achieve more dramatic effects without blasting the zirconia with direct or even directional diffused light.

Zirconia is a problem - but that should also make us think about how we keep it from glaring in the mouth. All the same principles of diffusion have to be taken into account as we apply in making them look natural. The difference? When we photograph them, it is often the same thing as when the doctor is taking the shade with his overhead spotlight on. Don't do it!

If you've seen some of the foldable reflectors pro photographers use, you would see gold, silver and white. We also use black panels to shape the direction or cut out parts of light. Its all about controlling the light that is spilling all over the scene. Buying strips of gold lame material and using it like the white folded paper will warm the scene and reflect light around - though you may need to tweak the white balance. Silver or aluminum foil might be better - but could introduce gray.

Instead of using the flash, (if you're using a light box) try using incandescent or florescent lights. You will need to color white balance. But possibly these lights won't be so intense. Light is light - the only difference is its color shift.

Zirconia is a dead material - light only the overlay porcelain if there is any. The only way to do that is not pour so much light in as it excites the zirconia to nuclear reflectivity. If you find the image gets too dark, change the shutter speed or open the aperture to compensate. Remember, underexposed images when brought up in post will have noise introduced - which makes the image funky. My earlier suggestion to slightly over-expose an image really wouldn't apply to zirconia - though if shooting in RAW and then doing post and its fairly close it won't hurt you too much. Just remember that when you turn down the light source to control reflectivity, you have to compensate with the camera settings to get a properly exposed image.

 

[EJADA]

I have a Nikon D300. From reading this and other posts seems this is the best or good lens choice.
Nikon Nikkor-Micro AF Macro 105mm F2.8
Am I correct? I'm not a camera buff. What is a good flash option for this camer?
Thanks

 

[Bobby Orr ceramics]

Great camera, great lens.....R1 flash is adequate. Don't need to spend $$$ on the C1 part. PM me for riggin up the flash and camera settings.

 

[EJADA]

Will do when I make the purchase. Might be a while though. Looking for a good deal.

 

[JonB]

EJADA, all the settings you need are in the first post in this thread - the rest is trial and error to find what works best for you. A lot depends on what you intend to photograph - restorations on the bench, or in the mouth, which types of restorations, how do you intend to light it?
Anyone who has used a camera any length of time will tell you that strapping on a flash and pointing a lens at a subject won't always render the image you want.

A D300 and Nikkor-Micro AF Macro 105mm F2.8 are fantastic choices! Nikon's ring flash TTL system has lagged behind Canon for years (which is surprising since their shoe flashes are so far advanced its ridiculous!) That said, it may take some tinkering to set the Nikon ring flash to where you can get useable images.
Don't worry - you don't have to be a pro shooter to get great images and there is plenty of opinions here to get you going!

 

[JonB]

One reason I started this thread was to be sure everyone can get started on the right track with basic settings that will render images that are useable for our purposes. We all have dentist clients who are "shutterbugs" - some really can shoot a nice image, some decorate their offices with wonderful scenery shots. Some can't find the right settings to shoot an intra-oral to save their life. I suspect more than a few dental technicians are in the same boat.

Case in point, I have a client that sends me his intra-oral shots that are always too dark and too color shifted to the orange. When I suggest he use the correct settings, he complains his images come out too dark. So I have to edit what he sends me till i can get over there to see whats going on with his camera and flash. If only he would shoot in RAW format, it would make the editing much much easier!

Here is an image of the before and after editing process - these are the thumbnails generated in the Finder on a Mac - the edited images are on the left, the originals on the right. Lets try to get this from not happening here!