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Line Pairs per Millimeter (lp/mm). This is a measure of resolution, which refers to pairs of lines pressed tighter and tighter together until they eventually merge into a single line. The more lines that can be pressed into a millimeter and still be seen as individual lines, the higher the resolution. Digital radiography sensors can acquire images ranging from 8 to <20 lp/mm. Line pair gauges have a maximum setting of 20. Any vendor who tells you his sensor has a resolution of 22 or 25 etc is not being accurate. The unaided human eye can distinguish about 10 to14 lp/mm. Is that extra resolution lost? Not really that’s where the software takes over.
Pixel and Megapixel. Pixel is short for picture element. Basically it is a dot on the computer screen. (Actually a square)The dots are arranged in rows and columns and are so close together they appear to be connected. The dot can be a shade of gray or a color. A typical 800 x 600 image has 480,000 pixels. The more dots that make up an image the better the resolution. A megapixel is simply one million pixels.
8 bit or 12 bit. A bit is short for binary digit. In graphics the term refers to the number of different shades or colors a single pixel can display. An 8 bit image is 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x2 x 2 x 2 or 2 to the 8th power. If you do the math that comes to 256. Most monitors display an 8 bit image meaning each pixel could be one of 256 different shades of gray. A twelve bit image is 2 to the 12th power or 4,096. True color is 24 bits which allows for 16 million different shades. At most the unaided human eye can distinguish 100 shades of gray. Is the extra detail useless? It depends on the software.

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News from PC Magazine: [1]

Nikon Introduces Its Cheapest D-SLR Yet By Terry Sullivan
As if this year’s D-SLR war wasn’t already intense enough, Nikon has again upped the ante with its latest low-end D-SLR, the D40. At 6.1 megapixels, it’s destined to replace the D50 as Nikon’s entry-level D-SLR for those looking to step up from a point-and-shoot digital camera, though the D50 will remain in the product line for now. But the real big news here is price: It’s going to list for $599.95 with a new Nikon 18-to-55-mm Nikkor zoom lens. Nikon says it hopes to have the units in stores by this December, making this a hot holiday product.
For good clinical photos an SLR camera is nice. However the basic camera above will need some accessories to be really useful. Intraoral images are best with a 100mm zoom lens. These lenses sell for $400 to $600. Also a digital ring flash will give even full light. Ring flashes also retail for $400 to $600. The pop up flash that is built in will tend to produce shadows.a great source for these accessories is Photomed [2]. Photomed also provides complete SLR dental packages with all the accessories starting at $2,100.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2059797,00.asp
[2] http://www.photomed.net/

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KODAK P712 Dental Digital Photography System [1]

A new 7.1 Megapixel digital photography system from Kodak, the P712 camera features a user-friendly design. The innovative dental flash and close-up lens 2 with ring flash light source, along with a new intraoral setting, provide even, shadow-free lighting for macro photography. The KODAK P712 System is configured for optimal dental photography, with its world-class optics technology.

[1] http://www.kodak.com/global/en/health/dental/digitalImaging/digitalPhotographicCameras/P712/index.jhtml?pq-path=2300

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I was privledged to see Rita Bauer present at the recent Kodak Users meeting in Costa Mesa. I highly reccomend her to anyone who wants to take better clinical photographs.
She is a professional phtographer and has been working at the University of Toronto dental school as a medical photographer developing and testing digital camera systems. Her advice was simple and practical. She will be presenting again at the Kodak Users Meeting in Atlanta Nov 10–12.

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A new, high resolution, 7.1 megapixel digital photography system from Kodak  the  P712 Dental Digital Photography System, features higher lens magnification (12X optical zoom and 3.3X digital zoom) yields improved image quality and detail.  The system now comes pre-programmed with two dental settings – one setting for portraits and intraoral photographs; the other setting, with enhanced lighting, for mirror shots.
More here Kodak [1]

[1] http://www.kodak.com/dental,

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Look here PhotoMed / Canon G6 [1] for more details

Update June 2006: *****************************************************************************The Canon G6 has been discontinued. While all of the new ones are gone, we do have a limited number of Canon Factory Reconditioned models. These are now $400 less than the new ones and carry a Canon 90 day warranty. All other package details are the same and the refurbished G6s are covered by our 30 day return policy. *****************************************************************************
The new option from Canon is either the G610 or G620

[1] http://www.photomed.net/g6.htm

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From PC magazine click here : Digital Camera Basics: Understanding Exposure [1]

Light is the essence of both film and digital photography. When light strikes film or an image sensor, it creates a photograph. Too much light, and the picture is “blown out” (too bright), with no details that you can discern. (See Figure 6-1a .) Too little light, and it’s so dark or muddy looking that you can’t really see anything. (See Figure 6-1b .) The trick is to get just the right amount of light to the photosensitive element (the film or image sensor) to record the scene accurately.
WOW, Click the link above to go to the PC Mag article. Lots of information on taking good photos. and lots of tech detail.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1819062,00.asp

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Digital Camera Satisfaction Study [1]

As increasing digital camera model offerings challenge perceived product differentiation among consumers, only 26 percent of digital camera buyers say they would purchase the same camera brand in the future—down from 35 percent in 2005, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Digital Camera Satisfaction StudySM released today.

[1] http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.asp?ID=2006142

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The latest edition of Dental Products Report [1] has an article on the high tech trends in dentistry. Some of the more interesting findings.
The number of dentists with computers in the treatment rooms is over half for the first time. 62% of dentists now have computers in at least one operatory. This is a 19% increase since 2005.
Even more dentists 72% own a digital camera.
77% of dentists have a high speed Internet connection and another 8% plan to get high speed within a year.

[1] http://dentalproducts.net/

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This is an excerpt from PC Magazine, read the whole article here: Feature from PC Magazine: Pick the Right Camera [1]

First, figure out a budget. About $100 will buy you the most basic digital camera, with 4 megapixels at best and likely no optical zoom (just digital zoom). Cameras from $200 to $450 come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes (from compact to superzoom 35mm lookalikes), although the most popular are 5- or 6MP models with 3X optical zoom. The next price tier—$450 to $600—gets you much more in terms of optical zoom, megapixels, and features. Last but certainly not least, you can get a decent D-SLR (with lens) for about $600, but a pro-level model can cost up to $8,000 (with a variety of lenses).

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1970424,00.asp

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