I Love Ringflashes ~

The main technical goal of ANY photograph is proper lighting, and in our case -- macro, intraoral imaging -- this can be a little tricky. I work with dentists frequently who are trying to take their photos using all sorts of lighting sources: overhead lamps, window light,  and anything else that seems workable. Needless to say, the results from this approach are always inconsistent and as often as not produce unacceptable results. Perhaps this had been your experience, too.

First, let's talk about the Canon MR-14 Ringflash. This particular flash completes the Canon Digital Rebel SLR camera and Macro lens system. The flash unit itself attaches directly to the front of the lens, and is connected to a control module that sits atop the camera, attached to the hotshoe. It couldn't be easier to use: it's fully automatic, powerful enough to provide excellent exposure even when shooting for maximum depth-of-field, and goes where you point it.

The Nikon ringflash is called the R1 Speedlight, and although it performs the same function, with the same ease and consistency, as the Canon ringflash, it's designed a little differently. A separate ring attaches the flash heads to the lens, but they are a few inches off-axis, and are detachable and can be triggered wirelessly.  Plus, the flash controls are accessed within the camera's menu system instead of a control box placed atop the camera body. It's a very sophisticated and versatile system. The off-axis flash head configuration is perfectly suited for making all intraoral and extraoral images, but is particularly well suited for shade-matching photos which we'll discuss in a later post.

Other excellent, after-market ringflashes than can be used on both Canon and Nikon digital SLR cameras are the Metz Mecablitz 15 MS-1 and the Sigma EM-140 DG TTL.

All these flashes employ what is known as TTL ("through-the-lens") technology. This allows the flash and camera to communicate with each other in a way that ensures a perfect exposure, automatically, when you move closer or further away to frame your shot. This provides consistent, color-balanced exposures, making it possible, for example, to make identically exposed pre-and-post treatment images regardless of the length of time separating beginning and ending shots.

Need a chance to practice with these? Drop me a note & let's schedule some time together:  dhutt@dmddigitalphoto.com