N80 lens for surgery

I am a hand surgeon and would like a camera to take to the OR but also for personal use.. mostly for vacations ect.. and I would like to do a little photography just as a hobby.

I have look at the reviews and gone through the forums here and decided on the Nikon d80.

I'm just learning about camera's so my knowledge is not the greatest yet. I was thinking of purchasing at best buy but I'm not sure if I should get the one that comes with the 18-135 lens or if I should just get the body and get a different lens. The difference is $999 vs 1,299.

I definately will want good close ups of the hand... usually I take them around 12 to 18 inches from the subject. I guess a decent ring flash is recommended for something like this....

What lens should I get? I don't really want to spend a fortune but I don't mind spending extra for a good lens.

Sorry if the question is vague but I'm a little lost. I've been reading here in the forum for the last few days but theres alot thats over my head.

Thanks!

I did post this in the N80 forum but this is the appropriate forum I was told.

What you want is a macro lens (Nikon calls them Micro). The longer the focal range, the more distance you can have been the subject and the lens. The 105VR would probably work fairly well for you.
--
http://www.southfloridapics.com

"Don't want to spend a fortune"

Sounds like my doctor, makes an excellent living but shops at Cosco for everything.

As previously stated, buy the 105 macro either with or without VR(vibration reduction) You really don't need it for close up flash shots and without will save you $.. Also consider the new Nikon dual flash set up.

I think that you can forgo the flash when photographing under operating room lighting. Get the camera/lens and practice under the actual ighting conditions before you get a flash set-up. Shoot in RAW so that you can easily adjust white balance, etc.

Go to Nikonusa.com and check the specs for the Nikkor micro lenses. That should provide you with some lens-to-subject distances. You can also try Googling terms like "macro lens subject distance" and "photographing surgery" to see what comes up... use your imagination; there is a lot of info on the Web.

Since you are a beginner I highly recommend Thom Hogan's D80 ebook and Jason Odell's ebook guide to Capture NX, an excellent RAW convertor for Nikon cameras. You can download a one-month demo of NX at the Nikon Web site. You may find NX suitable for doing the basic manipulating of your images so that you don't need to buy something like Photoshop Elements right away. Using those books will get you up-and-running quickly and you can expect good images right from the start if you follow their suggestions. (Google the authors' names to locate their Web sites.)

Unlike the previous person I don't begrudge you wanting to save a little money... medical school student loans can be onerous! Here are some B&H Photo discount links that will save you $95 on a D80 and $10 on Nikon Captue NX. B&H has excellent customer service and a good return policy. I recommend two-day UPS delivery.

D80: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=477761&is=REG

Nikon Capture NX: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=477663&is=REG

I settled on Transcend 2GB 150 SD cards at Newegg.com at $20.49/card. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820163158

If you have any other questions you can e-mail me privately. Good luck!

Thanks for the info!

I'll definately get those books. I have alot of learning to do.

I probably should get the camera and lens before the end of the month for tax reasons. I usually take a very long time to research something before I buy it but buying it this month will really help me out.

I just started practice 6 months ago so I don't really want to spend money needlessly. I don't mind spending the money if it will impact my pictures however.

I was a little afraid to google stuff because I don't know enough to know a good opinion from a bad opinion.

With the 105VR.. would that really only be good for my OR pictures? If so what should I get for everything else?

With the OR lighting.. the problem is that it's really focused and harsh. Pictures taken with the lights usually don't come out good. I have just been using a cheap point and shoot camera with the OR lights moved away without a flash for the best results. (results still suck though). The OR is otherwise well lit and possibly I still would not need a flash?

I really appreciate your responses.. thank you!

Sam's club is more my style.

Jim said:

Sounds like my doctor, makes an excellent living but shops at Cosco
for everything.

Click to expand...

..if you want great, consistent, intraoperative lighting, without having to fiddle with the OR lights:



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=9597&A=details&Q=&sku=410481&is=USA&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

This flash, mounted on the 105VR should work great for hand surgery pictures and will provde even, consistent lighting.

This is what I suspect you'll eventually end up with. Might as well get the good stuff and not have to worry about 'upgrading' (i.e. selling) your suboptimal equipment to buy what you should've bought initially.
And yes, the 105 can be used outside the operating room:
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/nikon/105_28g_ed_if_afs_vr_micro

Good Luck,

RB
http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile

RB

http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile

Ten
I like Sams too.

Didn't want to sound mean but always get a kick out of my doctor, who is in his 70s now, talking about Cosco deals as he examining me.

As to lighting, true ring lights produce a very flat look and are used when looking into a cavity like in dentistry. For other applications like you may be refering to a regular flash angled down slightly may work better giving texture caused by slight shadowing. Also remember that you must be shooting stoped down like f11 or 16 to get as much depth of field as possible at relative close distances. At such aperatures, a flash is a must unless you use a tripos and the subject does not move. In other words hand holding without a flash will produce blurred pictures without a flash.
Hope this helps.

The macro lens will take great macro pictures and good portraits. For everything else get the 18-55DX or 18-70DX or 18-135DX or 18-200VR in order of most affordable to most expensive depending on your budget. They are all roughly the same image quality.

--
http://www.southfloridapics.com

You want to get a macro for the hand surgery, you will also need a close-up flash. My 1st choice would be a 105 Nikon micro VR and an R1C1 flash unit. If that is too much $ then look at a Tamron 90 and a Sunpak ring flash. Other choices would be a Tokina 100mm macro or a Sigma 100mm macro. All are excellent lenses.

The 18-135 is an OK lens but a macro will spoil you. But you really want a macro for surgical photography. Been photography eye surgeries for 30 years.

Tom

Thank you. I hope to be around for a while.

Well I'm going to start with the D80, 105VR, and the R1C1. I can worry about other lens later.

Seems like the d80 is about 80 bucks cheaper at B&H than Best buy. Good place to buy from?

Here is the lens at b&H... this is it right?

Nikon Telephoto AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR (Vibration Reduction) Autofocus Lens
USA

Also .. any reason to buy the camera with or without the 18-135 lens? Seems like it would be a better deal than buying them separately but am I going to be happy with this lens or would be probably get something better in the future anyways?

Thanks!!!

MrMojo said:

I think that you can forgo the flash when photographing under
operating room lighting. Get the camera/lens and practice under
the actual ighting conditions before you get a flash set-up. Shoot
in RAW so that you can easily adjust white balance, etc.

Click to expand...

The OR lights I work with will get you f11 at 1/180 at ISO 400 at about a 1:2mag so if you want to you can go without a flash. But with the R1C1 you can use ISO 100 or 200 and get better results. I would suggest at least double your focal length for speed, 1/250 for a 105. I shot a 120 medical Nikkor at 1/180, everything was fine except for the day I had just had a cup of coffee when OR called.

Tom

Have to stay away from the mountain dew...

Well I have the d80, 105vr, and R1C1 in the cart... now for the memory card. I see lexar 133x 4gb on ebay but not at B&H... would 2gb be enough? Should I get a different sd card?

Thanks... almost there...

Thanks for the links that does help.

Well the transend is a bunch cheaper than the lexar 133x I was looking at. I think I may get that. Any reason to get the 2gb vs the 4gb. Transend has both at the 150x...

Thanks!!!

TenBlade said:

Well I'm going to start with the D80, 105VR, and the R1C1. I can worry about other lens later.

Click to expand...

TenBlade said:

Seems like the d80 is about 80 bucks cheaper at B&H than Best buy. Good place to buy from?

Click to expand...

B&H is great. (Be suspicious of other mail-order places that are significantly cheaper than B&H)

TenBlade said:

Here is the lens at b&H... this is it right?

Click to expand...

Nikon Telephoto AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR (Vibration Reduction) Autofocus Lens

TenBlade said:

USA

Click to expand...

Yes. Be sure to get U.S., NOT imported (same lens, different warranty)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=8456&A=details&Q=&sku=424744&is=USA&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

TenBlade said:

Also .. any reason to buy the camera with or without the 18-135 lens? Seems like it would be a better deal than buying them separately but am I going to be happy with this lens or would be probably get something better in the future anyways?

Click to expand...

The D80, 18-135 and a 2GB card will only cost you ~$200 more than the body only, probably not a bad way to start out until you have a better idea of other lenses you may eventually want/need.:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=6222&A=details&Q=&sku=464957&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Best Regards,

RB

http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile

No they are not as good as the 105 which has better optical quality and will focus closer which is why is calles micro.

I was the first person to reply to this thread and suggest a macro/micro (and more specifically the 105VR even). He wanted a lens for everything else so I suggested the kit lenses.

Jim said:

No they are not as good as the 105 which has better optical quality
and will focus closer which is why is calles micro.

Click to expand...

--
http://www.southfloridapics.com

Get your equipment at B&H - been using them for years with no problems. Best Buy is not really a "Best Buy" - they just want you to think they are.

John

You can always sell the kit lens on ebay if you don't like it & recover the cost of the lens - just take good pictures of the lens when posting on ebay. I sold mine for more than the difference in price for body only camera & body + kit lens. In my case it was the 18-55.

I suggest you buy either 18-55 or 18-135 kit as per your choice - most people here will advise you to buy a Ferrari for a half mile commute - will work but may be an overkill for some - especially considering you will have plenty of light in the operating theatre.

The 18-55 minimum focus distance is 0.9 feet - the other micro (close up) lens 60 mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor minimum focus distance is 8.75 inches (0.7 feet??) - hardly a big difference. The 60mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor will be cheaper than the 105mm VR.

The 18-135 minimum focus distance is 1.5 feet.

• Abhijit