Lens for shooting dental procedures inside the mouth

Hey everyone,

I am shooting a video for a dentist who needs closeups of a dental procedure. I shoot with a Canon t2i and a Canon t3i, but I don't think any of my lenses will be able to capture the kind of close-up in-the-mouth footage he requires. I have the Canon 50mm 1.8, the Canon 85mm 1.8, the Tamron 70-200mm 2.8, and the Sigma 17-50mm 2.8.

Has anyone shot similar video before, and what lens do you recommend? Your recommendations are much appreciated.

I haven't shot the same before, but if the patient is sitting somewhat upright, I would probably look to the 70-200. That would let you stand a bit away without the camera being in the way of his work. Depending on the minimum focusing distance, you can probably zoom in to 200mm and fill the screen with the patient's mouth. Shoot in the highest resolution, and the video editor may be able to crop in even closer.

Make sure you have plenty of light, and don't shoot wide-open: You likely don't want that narrow-DOF cinematic effect; you want everything in focus for a proper training/documentary shot.

I'm a little concerned about framing and lighting - his head and hands are likely to be in the way of many shots. And if the patient is leaning way back, you'll need to shoot from directly overhead.

Any macro lens will do just fine for close-ups.

An interesting challenge, I would either get up close with a macro lens eg the EF 60 or 100mm macros though you may suffer from too shallow DOF or from a distance with your 70-200 zoomed right in. I've a feeling that the physical limits of where you can get your camera with an unobstructed view and enough light in there may be your biggest issues.

For stills I'm 100% sure either of these would work but for video, Im so not sure. I've a feeling that specialist equipment would be the way to go, top of the list on google search is http://www.dental-cameras.com/ no idea if they are good/bad/cheap/expensi​ve but a starting point for further research maybe?

The Canon 180L macro was long considered the lens of choice for dental photography, due to the comfortable working distance. That or something similar like the Sigma 150 macro should be top of your list.

StayFrosty wrote in post #16622928
...I've a feeling that specialist equipment would be the way to go, top of the list on google search is http://www.dental-cameras.com/ no idea if they are good/bad/cheap/expensi​ve but a starting point for further research maybe?

Very interesting products, but they desperately need a native English proofreader!