help for dental camera

[MikeD77]

I'm looking for a camera to use in dental practice, here are the the specs I need:
Price up to 450 euros
Features
standard or ultra zoom
4-5MP
Usage mostly indoors , macro photography need to:
-close up shots. the whole smile area in one frame, the camera at 20-30 cm from subject
-ability to take shots using only the dental projector, thats why I need the distance so I dont have to use a ringflash
-some depth of field (the teeth shown in a smile-photo must be all in focus)

Printing pictures is not important, but colour fidelity is.
Misc:
Rather important:manual controls, camera bracketing, macro and super-macro mode, good colour, accesories( macro-lens, external ring flash).
Secondary:
IS, rotating lcd , AF light

Cameras I have in mind
Olympus C-770 (first choice ), Finepix S5500, Minolta dimage z3 or Z1, nikon Coolpix 5400, Panasonic zx3

Thank you for helping!
Mike

[speaklightly]

if you will go to www.olympusamerica.com, they have a whole section that is devoted to medical/dental digital photography.

Sarah Joyce

[Rhys]

I'm looking for a camera to use in dental practice, here are the the specs I need:
Price up to 450 euros
Features
standard or ultra zoom
4-5MP
Usage mostly indoors , macro photography need to:
-close up shots. the whole smile area in one frame, the camera at 20-30 cm from subject
-ability to take shots using only the dental projector, thats why I need the distance so I dont have to use a ringflash
-some depth of field (the teeth shown in a smile-photo must be all in focus)

Printing pictures is not important, but colour fidelity is.
Misc:
Rather important:manual controls, camera bracketing, macro and super-macro mode, good colour, accesories( macro-lens, external ring flash).
Secondary:
IS, rotating lcd , AF light

Cameras I have in mind
Olympus C-770 (first choice ), Finepix S5500, Minolta dimage z3 or Z1, nikon Coolpix 5400, Panasonic zx3

Thank you for helping!
Mike

There have been good reports of the Nikon 990/995/4500 used as dental cameras. I have even come across people using the Panasonic FZ 10 combined with a home-made ringlight made from LEDs.

Personally, I have used a Nikon 995 for dental photography. I would recommend Nikon as your first choice as they have the best macro mode.

[MikeD77]

thanks for help, it seems that nikon is a good choice but here in Greece they have discontinued the models that you told me (5400, 4500, 990,950) and nobody imports panasonic cameras.I'm not going to buy something over the net because if in trouble, I'm not sure I'llbe covered by guarantee. So it seems that finally it will be the 770.
I've seen also the nikon 4800 but no manual modes whatsoever.

[Rhys]

thanks for help, it seems that nikon is a good choice but here in Greece they have discontinued the models that you told me (5400, 4500, 990,950) and nobody imports panasonic cameras.I'm not going to buy something over the net because if in trouble, I'm not sure I'llbe covered by guarantee. So it seems that finally it will be the 770.
I've seen also the nikon 4800 but no manual modes whatsoever.

Nikon has an excellent pedigree. Try the Nikon 8700. It takes either the rechargable battery supplied with it or a 2CR5 battery. These are excellent as you can put the battery and the camera separate in your drawer and the battery will still be usable 10 years later as they're lithium.

[gary_hendricks]

A friend of mine bought the Nikon Coolpix 5400 with some trepidation after reading bad reviews about problems with focus in low light conditions.

It has turned out to be a great little camera - sharp images, good colour rendition, wide angle zoom, and the option of full manual control.

For enlargements at 8" by 10", it beats the venerable old Nikon FE with Nikkor 35-135 zoom. I also compared it with another friend's Canon Elph S400, and the 5400 is much sharper. Low light focus isn't much of a problem, particularly at wide angle.