D5100 dental photography tips (macro flash help)

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superustipak

New member
Hi guys. New here, and need some help.

I'm looking to get my sister a present.. she will basically need a macro lens and a macro flash to photograph teeth (true colors and matching shades of color are very important).

There's a few websites that have kits for sale - most with a D7000 - I guess because the D7K can be used in commander mode so that the macro flash acts as a slave.

My D5100 can't do that.

Are there any macro flashes that you would recommend for the D5100? I don't want to buy another body just for this purpose.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks a lot!
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
I have to say, I've never considered what kind of set up you would want to use in order to shoot teeth. So it'll be interesting to see what people suggest for you.

Oh, and welcome to Nikonites!
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
I'm not certain that the commander mode would work well for that. The ring flash that I saw (third party) plugged on the hot shoe of the camera and were controlled by the top unit. I think just a ring flash would be better, even if it is manual (probably even better). She'd have to do a few tests for exposure and then shoot away.

​Just my opinion.
 
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superustipak

New member
I agree that probably my route will end up being just getting a macro lens and a ring flash.

But which ring flash would you suggest for the D5100? I don't trust some 3rd party flash for $50... I'm willing to spend some decent money as long as it's pretty good quality. It would be nice if Nikon made it.
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
Matching colours and shades requires a structured workflow and probably shooting in manual mode to remove variation. If you take 5 shots with TTL flash you will get 5 versions of the truth. Just a thought.
 
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WhiteLight

Senior Member
My mum's a dentist & a professor in a dental college.
I've seen them get by with a regular camera & a ring flash..
you would definitely need a ring type cos the light would be in a small region & not very harsh.
For the D5100, R1C1 would be perfect, though it's quite expensive..
if not you can take a look at the other third party ring lights
 
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superustipak

New member
After doing some research... I'm looking at the Nikkor 40mm f2.8 Macro lens, the 52mm adapter, and Sigma EM-140 DG Macro Ring Flash... All together would cost about $640.
This I would pair with the D5100...
Most of the dental "kits" that are online are about 2k. I think I can save money by getting the inexpensive 40mm macro lens instead of the more expensive ones, as well as getting the sigma ring flash vs the R1C1 (it's really not needed - all she would need is to take pics of teeth.. so it would have to be good at 1 thing and 1 thing only.. I can't justify getting the R1C1 system).
Any other comments before I purchase it?
 
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cpalves

New member
Hi!

A 40mm Macro would be a bad choice for dental photography. You need a 40mm Macro at least, that's because you need to get aways from the teeth so that your ringflash can work properly. I'm a dentist, and teacher at university and I also give dental photography courses.

You can go for a Nikon 60mm f/2.8 AF-D, search for it on ebay. Because it is a Fx format lens, on the DX Nikon 5100 sensor, it will be equivalent to a 90mm lens. Nissin macro ring flash is also agreat choice.

Have fun
 
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Gery

New member
cpalves said:
Hi!

A 40mm Macro would be a bad choice for dental photography. You need a 40mm Macro at least, that's because you need to get aways from the teeth so that your ringflash can work properly. I'm a dentist, and teacher at university and I also give dental photography courses.

You can go for a Nikon 60mm f/2.8 AF-D, search for it on ebay. Because it is a Fx format lens, on the DX Nikon 5100 sensor, it will be equivalent to a 90mm lens. Nissin macro ring flash is also agreat choice.
cpalves said:
Hi!

A 40mm Macro would be a bad choice for dental photography. You need a 40mm Macro at least, that's because you need to get aways from the teeth so that your ringflash can work properly. I'm a dentist, and teacher at university and I also give dental photography courses.

You can go for a Nikon 60mm f/2.8 AF-D, search for it on ebay. Because it is a Fx format lens, on the DX Nikon 5100 sensor, it will be equivalent to a 90mm lens. Nissin macro ring flash is also agreat choice.

Have fun
Click to expand...
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Click to expand...
 
G

Gery

New member
cpalves said:
Hi!

A 40mm Macro would be a bad choice for dental photography. You need a 40mm Macro at least, that's because you need to get aways from the teeth so that your ringflash can work properly. I'm a dentist, and teacher at university and I also give dental photography courses.

You can go for a Nikon 60mm f/2.8 AF-D, search for it on ebay. Because it is a Fx format lens, on the DX Nikon 5100 sensor, it will be equivalent to a 90mm lens. Nissin macro ring flash is also agreat choice.

Have fun
Click to expand...
Hi, ten years later i have similar problem. Can you suggest. i have also nikon d5100 and i want to gear it for macro pics at the lab. What kind of flash or speedlite i need . probably i will go with 60mm macro lences.
thanks :)
 
Clovishound

Clovishound

Senior Member
I have no experience with technical macro photography. My experience is things like insects, flowers etc. I use a standard on camera flash, a Godox 685, and one of several diffusers. The simplest being a small, inexpensive fabric pop up that slips over the front of the lens. The ring flashes may be the better choice for technical, although they are definitely more expensive. Using a ring flash, you won't have trouble with shadows.

What kind of subjects will you be photographing in the lab?

The 60mm Nikon listed is only available used these days, however, it can be had rather inexpensively. From what I can tell from the compatibility chart, this lens will not autofocus on the D5100 (it doesn't have an internal focus motor), although it will work fine in manual focus mode.

Keep in mind that the shorter macro lenses will give you very little working distance at minimum focus, as in 2 or 3 inches from the front of the lens. This can cause issues with the lens shading the flash, unless you are using a ring flash. You might want to invest in an FX (full frame) lens as well. The D5100 is an older body and if you upgrade to a full frame body later on, you won't have to replace the lens at the same time, plus, you will have more choices in the FX lenses. FYI, an FX lens will work fine on a DX (crop frame) body, but a DX lens will on use half of the sensor on a full frame camera. It will work, but you loose half your resolution.

If money is tight, you might be able to get by with extension tubes and the lenses you already have. You will loose some speed, and a decent macro lens will likely give you better image quality.
 
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