A good place to start!

lcmlabforum

lcmlabforum

Well-Known Member
Full Member
Messages
1,476
Reaction score
160
Good evening..
I have Nikon D7000 with R1 and Nikkor 105 micro lens... and I have aquestion plz
I want to study the marginal leakage under composite fillings on extracted teeth... what settings I have to do it to get very clear pictres?
thanks in advance


If you are doing research, you will need calibrated scales on the lens
and compatible image analysis software. Going 'amatuer' may not
get you published in peer-reviewed articles. Most need micron level
accuracy for anything significant to measure or report. Recommend
you get help from some lab in a university.
LCM
 
JonB

JonB

Active Member
Full Member
Messages
328
Reaction score
5
I have once again been remiss in attending to the questions posted on the thread... sometimes life has a way of getting in the way of the internet!:)

To answer Lolla - LCM has a great point - but for a quick dirty answer, the things that make for a sharp photo are universal.

A sharp lens is paramount - not all are sharp, and some won't focus correctly from the factory. It doesn't matter what brand of camera or lens you shoot with either. The factory guys have bad days just like we do.

Test your lens - use a focusing grid. If your camera body has lens microadjusting features, use them. If not... you may be barking up the wrong tree in your efforts to produce ultra high quality images for this purpose.

Once you have established the lens is sharp and adjusted/calibrated to your camera body (which may require sending both in to the respective repair facilities) then and only then can you move to the next level.

These "rules" apply no matter whether Nikon or Canon.
1) use the lowest native ISO for your camera. That is 200 ISO for Nikon and 100 ISO for Canon
2) use a tripod and if you have a remote cable release or timer, use it.
3) manual focus
4) use a shutter speed equal to or higher than the focal length of your lens -- 105mm - use 1/125 shutter speed or higher
5) aperture needs to be experimented with as it controls more than just how much light is allowed into the lens. It controls how much depth of field you will get in your image. That is how much of your subject will be in focus from front to back. Also typically a lens is not at its sharpest when wide open or closed down. You will generally find ƒ11 to be a safe starting point.
If ƒ11 at 1/125th with 100 ISO gets you a black screen, you need to find a way to get more light onto your subject. More flash power by adding flash heads or reflectors - not by changing your other camera settings.
The old adage from Ansel Adams is "ƒ8 and be there". Which is essentially what I'm saying. Experiment with aperture from about ƒ 5.6 to ƒ16 for finding the sharpest range inside your lens. Not all lenses are created equal.

That's about all I know to tell you without more specifics on your gear or the kinds of hurdles you are facing.

On another note, photo stacking can be a way to increase depth of field to render more of your subject in focus, but since it is a compositing method and photographing intra-oral leakage would require zero movement of the patient - its probably not practical or scientific enough to be acceptable.
 
Last edited:
JonB

JonB

Active Member
Full Member
Messages
328
Reaction score
5
JonB,

I have 3 old SLR fillm based cameras. One is the old Lester Dine zx50 Pentax model with a lester Dine 105mm lens with ring flash and the offset flash. The second one is a Canon Elan with a 100mm Macro zoom lense with the Canon Ring flash. The last one is a dinosaur Minolta XG 1 with a multitude of lenses, filters, etc. I talked with a local camera shop in an attempt to parlay all three of these into a nice digital setup with a macro zoom lense and ring flash. They all said the bodies were not worth much at all, but maybe I could find something to use the lenses and ring flash with. I want to be able to shoot some of my work, and also, since I'm a pilot, I want to get a good camera for shooting from the plane during flight.

What, in your opinion would be the best set-up for this. I enjoyed the post above, and thanks in advance for your response

hi Randy - sorry for the delay in replying.
I also have a couple 35mm slr bodies - so if you find a market for them...:D

The Canon 100mm ƒ2.8 Macro lens isn't a "zoom" so I'm guessing you might have misidentified it. It IS however a fantastic lens. What model of Canon ring flash is it? If it was designed for film cameras - it is probably NOT safe to use on a digital camera body. Older flashes fire at much higher voltages and will fry your digital camera.
So you may or may not be able to use your lens or your flash. Please let me know which models you have before you sell them or give them away... or use them.

I suggest going to the KEH.com website and requesting an evaluation of all of your gear. They are buying older equipment all the time and will give you a decent price for it. Not great - but not giving it away either.

If you are comfortable in the Canon camp, and assuming your 100 Macro is a model 1 version it should work fine on any newer digital bodies. I use mine on my old 20D as well as my 1D Mark IV and it will work fine on the IDX when it comes out. If it is a manual focus lens, it is time to upgrade.

I'm an advocate for buying used, so there again you will save a boatload of money at KEH.com. You need a good digital body, a 60D, 7D or a used 5D Mark II are great choices - but a 20D or a 30D will suit most people for most purposes for a lot less money. Canon is coming out with their 5D Mark III, so Mark IIs will be had for a song in short order.

In shooting air to air - that is another animal altogether. It Requires (and that capital R is there for a reason) so I'll repeat it - Requires experienced formation pilots to do safely. Too many fools turn their beautiful airplanes into smoking holes with a gust of wind, or a right when it should have been left, or an up when it should have been down. usually when a pilot wants images of themselves flying in their planes, the formation pilot takes the right seat - but still controls the aircraft. You would do well to consider this.

All that said - the tools we use for air to air include a fairly simple rig - a good digital body, either a 24-105mm ƒ4.0 IS USM or a 70-200mm ƒ2.8 IS USM, a Kenyon Gyro is a good thing to have in choppy weather - but at $3500.00 - a little pricey... that and good light in the early morning or the early evening. Flash/lighting is an option but it is a very difficult option and adds to the costs. Same with professional video.

You want to plan your shoot over a large body of water or an area of countryside that isn't cluttered with farms, buildings, cities, or even power lines. A good photo ship is a B-25 Mitchell with the tail guns removed, but lacking one of those at 4 grand an hour, a Skyvan will work well. Of course having an experienced photographer with some common sense is always a good thing. That photographer will not even consider going up if the pilots involved aren't experienced formation pilots.

If you just want to shoot scenery from your plane, that 70-200 is a great one to consider - cause its good for a whole lotta photography stuff. I wouldn't be without mine anywhere!
 
Last edited:
Hary

Hary

Active Member
Full Member
Messages
293
Reaction score
18
Hi what do you think about FUJI FINEPIX HS10 ?
 
JonB

JonB

Active Member
Full Member
Messages
328
Reaction score
5
Hi Hary,

I haven't shot with one, so I really don't know much about it. The ISO examples would preclude using it over 400 ISO due to noise issues, but the images I have seen are really pretty good. If you want a good camera to take with you on vacation and all around shooting of family events, you would probably really enjoy this camera. But if you wish to use it for professional level images, you will likely be disappointed. It has a number of pluses but being a compromise or middle ground camera, the limitations may keep you from getting everything you could get out of a more advanced camera.

Plus, as I understand it, the Fuji is pricey for what it is.

These cameras are coming a long way and more and more people realize they have no use for an $8000.00 camera body - much less all the lenses that go with it. This Fuji might fill the bill as long as you recognize you won't be printing wall sized images or selling them to Nat. Geo.

Here is the breakdown of a review I read recently - maybe this helps?

"The HS10 presents a couple of frustrating missed opportunities in the design process, and it's a poor choice for those who like to shoot primarily action or video. For just about everyone else (in my opinion) this camera stands above most of its competition."

Pros:

Versatile
30x zoom
Excellent image quality
Very good feature set

Cons:

Low resolution LCD
Expensive at $500.00 list (for an advanced point and shoot)
One-touch video button not instant-on

Individual Ratings: *
Image/Video Quality ***ºº
Features ****º
Design/Ease of Use ***ºº
Performance ***ºº
 
Hary

Hary

Active Member
Full Member
Messages
293
Reaction score
18
Thanks JonB for the info, i am going to try taking pictures of dental cases to add them in my website i dont know if i have to shoot my pics on automatic maybe?
 
JonB

JonB

Active Member
Full Member
Messages
328
Reaction score
5
I always recommend setting it on "P" if you want "Professional" level shots.
 

Similar threads

Top Bottom