Is Canon 85mm macro lens good for dental photography

Finally a Canon 85mm macro lens for mirrorless cameras but is it suitable for dental photography? Canon has announced its first telephoto macro lens in the RF (mirrorless full frame camera) series.The Canon RF 85mm IS f2 macro lens

Hello and thank you for reading this article. We had said it many a times in the past that we will start recommending mirrorless cameras for dental photography ONLY when a macro lens in the 85 to 105 mm category is available. But is this lens a good choice for a dentist? That moment has finally arrived!  Click here to download the full article on Canon 85mm macro dental photography lens. Lately, there has been a huge buzz about “mirrorless cameras being the future.”  Everyone is suddenly wanting to buy a mirrorless camera.  But is it really worth the hype? Or is it heard mentality?  We at dental photography school have always maintained that the Indian market is price sensitive.We love to save money.  Mirrorless cameras are not only more expensive but also the lens choices are less. We have always insisted that lens and flash are more vital in dental photography than the camera itself.  The arguments that mirrorless cameras supporters give are: 

1. Mirrorless cameras have more resolution 
2. Mirrorless cameras are light in weight 
3. Focus peaking is a huge advantage

Let us now see, if they really hold true or we can bust some myths. To be honest, one would not come to know whether a case was shot on a DSLR or a mirrorless camera even if a RAW file was given to anyone for analysis. A DSLR is capable of the same amount of resolution and sharpness that a mirrorless camera has to offer in dental photography.  Mirrorless cameras are not that light weight either  Lets us say the newly launched Canon R5 is 740 gram (mirrorless camera) The canon 5D mark 4 is 890 gram (DLSR)  So the difference is just 150 grams Besides we never suggest anyone to buy a full frame camera ever for dental photography irrespective its a DSLR or mirrorless   Coming back to this article we will talk about the much awaited Canon 85mm macro lens for dental photography.This lens was announced in July 2020 We were waiting for a macro lens in the mirrorless camera category since long so we could recommend it to our followers and fellow dentists across the globe. It is not that Canon did not have a macro lens for its mirrorless cameras in the past. The issue was that their focal length was such that it would have caused distortion in images which is to be completely avoided for documentation.  As for Nikon users the wait still continues and there are no signs of any announcements for a macro lens for its mirrorless cameras in this particular focal length zone anytime soon.  DSLR lenses (EF mount) can used on mirrorless cameras but it needs the use of an adapter to be mounted on the mirrorless camera hence negating the entire purpose of being a light weight system. Also as a dentist we are more concerned about our cases and no one deserves to worry about where the adapter went in case you misplace it!  As dentist we always want simple equipment and we do not want the “adapter headache”    Let us now have a look at some of specifications the new lens has to offer to us. We will also compare it with the EF mount 100 mm macro lens which is the gold standard for dental photography. 

Vital Features in dentistry	Canon RF 85 mm macro f/2 IS	Canon 100 mm f/2.8macro NON IS
Weight in grams	500	580
Cost in rupees ₹ (as of 26/08/20)	53000	39000
Lens diameter in mm	67	58
Maximum Image Reproduction ratio (Magnification ratio)	1:2	1:1

   

Click here to download the full article. To know more about dental photography please visit our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/Dentalphotographyschool Here is a Telegram group link to stay updated about all our forthcoming events and content releases https://t.me/joinchat/S75MXBvFcTOUSgovUuEI0A