Nikon Flashes and Dental photography

Dear all,

I'm wondering if there is anyone among the Nikon users who

use Ringflashes for Macro photography. Nikon have stopped producing

their old ring flash and have introduced the R1 and R1C1 range of

wireless speedlight. I am looking for anyone who has had any

experience with intra-oral photography to advise me on whether this

new system will work as well as the old ringflash system? It seems to

me that the greater distance and angulation of the new flashes will

lead to unwanted shadowing of intra-oral shots used in dental

clinical photography. It seems Nikon haven't got this quite right for

medical and dental photography.

Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Seamus

have a look at this thread:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00FHE9

I use the SB-21 ring flash regularly in the operating room to record pelvic and vaginal surgery. For this purpose it works fine. The vagina is narrower and deeper than the oral cavity. There are no cross shadows as you would expect with two flashes on opposite sides. You should be able to pick up one of these for less than $200.

You can still use the macro ring flash supplied by Sigma.

It is called Sigma ELECTRONIC FLASH MACRO EM-140 DG.

 

Although it currently doesn't work with D200 in i-TTL mode (although they are planning to update their firmware), it works fine on D70 which we happen to use in our practice.

 

Hope this helps.

I have had a quick look at the Canon version of this and it can give different lighting to a conventional ringflash. However the Canon 'Twin Light' can be set up in such a way to replicate the lighting of a ring flash. I think the whole point of a twin light system is its flexibility in terms of producing 'modelling' i.e. shadowing, where it best shows the effect you require. I am hoping to get hold of the Canon twin light soon and will try to get hold of the Nikon equivalent. A review of these wil be posted on http://www.thedigitaldentist-site.org.uk . The Sigma or Canon Ringflashes work extremely well and Left and Right sides of the ringflash can be powered individually. Though recognised as THE lightsource for intra oral work, ringflashes do produce 'specular' reflection in particular on the centrals. The twin light system once set up could diminish this effect maybe?

You might also like to try the Lester Dine Point & Ring flash, I've just purchased one and would now not use anything else. Check out www.dine.corp and mention my name.

I have extensive use with the Nikon R1 flash and consult with dentists using this very system. With the twin light type sysytem, you gain flexibility when using for intraoral case study photos and especially when you are shade-matching. The ring flash did provide even, shadowless illumination, however is not as versatile as stated in previous post, you will get "hot spots" on the central anteriors that would be difficult to match a shade to. There are also some necessary steps you need to take with the R1 to ensure there are no unwanted shadows from the on board flash (you need to turn it off). The flash units themselves move freely around the lens barrel collar making it easy to point the light where you need it. This might be necessary for the buccal corridor. Please see http://www.dmddigitalphoto.com for our upcoming seminars and information.