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2– Equipment, Vendors, Prices ,and Scams |
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Equipment Items recommended for Dentistry Digital SLR 100mm or 105mm Macro Lens Dual Point Light Flash (Looks like a ring but has two lights, not one circular one) Accessories- SD or Compact Flash Card, NiMH Batteries, UV Filter to protect lens
Mirrors- #2 Buccal, XL Occlusal Retractors- Clear half round, clear quarter round, Columbia Mixing bowl with hot water Contrasters- optional
The Systems
The Nikon System $1152 to $2938 The Canon System $1325 to $2897
Nikon Body Nikon D40 $484 kit Nikon D300 $1799 kit *Won’t auto focus with older lenses Get D50 or higher if this is important to you Flash
Sigma EM-140 DG for Nikon $309 Nikon R1C1 $589
Lens
Sigma 105mm Macro for Nikon Body Nikon 105mm Micro $359 $550
Canon Body
Canon Rebel XTi $667 kit Canon 40D $1449 kit *Aperture Priority is bogus on the Rebels Flash
Sigma EM-140 DG for Canon $309 Canon MR-14EX Macro Flash $438
Canon MT-24EX Twin Light Macro Flash $849
Lens
Sigma 105mm Macro for Canon Body Canon 100mm Macro $599 $349
Summary Nikon and Canon are mentioned because they tend to be the forerunners for these products and it helps to narrow ones scope if one is to come to a timely decision on making a purchase.
In short, if you have a little extra money and want to have a little fun, then go with the equipment on the right column. If you are a practical person and/or would rather not put down as much cash, then get the equipment on the left.
Be sure to order Canon products for Canon and Nikon for Nikon, and when buying Sigma make sure you indicate that you want the Canon or Nikon version.
If you do go with the less expensive products, then rest assured that you will get just as good of pictures, and that pixels hardly matter. For example it may excite you to get a couple more million pixels(D40 vs. D40x) for a couple hundred more dollars, but you really won’t ever notice the difference for all practical purposes.
There are many cameras that fall between those listed above, (any one of which will work great) but the above columns represent the reasonable extremes.
The strobes above that have arms on them (Nikon R1C1, Canon MT-24EX), are often used for anterior work and may provide better depth for esthetic photos of anterior teeth. These strobes may be more difficult to use in the posterior areas, and are more difficult to handle in general. Some photographers will have one of these for the anterior, and use one of the others for the posterior.
Canon vs. Nikon Both systems are outstanding and there are few valid arguments for going either way. It usually comes down to personal history and preference.
Sigma Although technically Sigma lenses will contain a variety of lens distortions and imperfections, you will not notice these unless you are running tests specifically for that purpose, or perhaps if you are a professional. For all practical purposes you will be equally satisfied with these lenses, but know that they are not quite made of the same stuff as the Nikon and Canon lenses.
Mirrors
Buccal #2, XL Occlusal, Buccal #1 $38 $53 $38
These are the recommended mirrors for intaoral photos. They are chromium not titanium, and their use will be discussed in another lesson. You can purchase them upstairs at the Schein store for at a nice discount. The XL occlusal allows you to hold the mirror without getting your gloves in the photo.
Retractors Clear half round $24/pair Clear quarter round $24/pair *Buy half round and cut yourself Columbia $20/pair Mixing Bowl
Mixing bowl with hot water $13.50
These are simply used to heat mirrors to prevent fogging while in the mouth.
Contrasters (optional) Occlusal contraster $47 Anterior contrasters- pedo and adult $42
These make for a very nice background that is free of distractions. They can however add a little coordination to the photo shoot, and will throw off your meter if you’re shooting TTL or other auto settings. To use this you’ll need to know how to make adjustments if you want correct exposures. *A black note book insert (boomerang shaped) can be cut down and used for MUCH less expense
Vendors and Scams The following are reputable vendors: http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl http://www.amazon.com/gp/homepage.html/
PhotoMed: http://www.photomed.net/index.htm Not a scam, but they will charge extra to put everything together, and want to set you up with a service plan. They will send you replacements during times of repair and so on. This could be nice, but might not be for everyone. If anything, look at this site to see all of the equipment in one place. You can buy your contrasters here as they don’t have them upstairs at Schein.
Do not buy from:
These and similar vendors who show prices significantly lower than Ritz, Adorama etc., have a few tricks up their sleeve that can be very frustrating:
“Want to buy a bunch of other stuff? Your camera is on backorder.” Often times you will get a call and they want to sell you some accessories at a ‘great deal.’ They’ll want to throw in a camera bag, tripod, extra battery, flash cards, and who knows what. When you say, “No thanks, I just want the camera,” they will tell you it is on back order and they’ll get it to you soon. A couple weeks will go by and they’ll call you again with another sales pitch, followed by another affirmation that your camera will come once they get it in. In the end, you will buy their accessories, never get a camera, or cancel your order (as many have done) and buy it through a reputable vendor.
Woops, no US warranty Another common problem is that someone may send you a camera without a US warranty. Now no one will take it for repair when the time comes- no good.
Credit cards There are worse scams than mentioned above that involve credit cards. If you buy from the vendors on the good list then you won’t have a problem.
To get a more complete understanding of internet scams read about it here: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/buy.htm
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