We have spent the last several columns talking about how to take an image. Don’t worry if you missed any issues because I am planning to return to that subject in future columns. But for this month, let’s move forward a bit and talk about getting images from the camera onto your computer. In order for digital photography to be cost-effective in a busy dental practice, it has to be time-efficient. Most dental practices schedule patients by 10-minute time increments. Generally, hygiene schedules are very busy, and most - if not all - of the time allotted during a hygiene appointment is accounted for. If appointments are scheduled this tightly, then how can a busy practice find time to incorporate digital photography and still stay on schedule? This question will take more than one column to answer. We have already talked about efficient methods of taking photos in the least amount of time. Now let’s talk about transferring the photos onto your computer in the least amount of time. When an image is transferred from the camera to your computer, it goes through a series of devices and file transfer software. Each step along the way is like a sprinter on a track relay team. Each sprinter has to be as fast as possible, or the team will be slow. In this month’s column, I will talk about how to complete each step as fast as possible.
The first step deals with a camera’s processor. The higher the quality of a camera, the faster its processor will be. This means that, on average, the more expensive single-lens reflex digital cameras will process an image to the compact flash card faster than a point-and-shoot style camera.
At one time, all you had to concern yourself with regarding compact flash cards was the memory size. Remember when we all thought a 128MB card was awesome? Now there are compact flash cards that can store up to 12 gigs and more. Compact flash cards now come with different read/write speeds. Read/write speeds are how fast information, such as digital images, can be written (placed) to a card and how fast the image can be read (transferred) from the card to a computer. The speeds are 4X, 8X, 12X, 40X, etc. The higher the number, the faster the read/write speed. But keep in mind that there is no current standard for read/write speeds. So an 8X read/write speed for one brand may be just as fast as a 12X speed for another. My advice is to buy the fastest read/write speed for whatever brand of compact flash card you are buying.
The next step is the card reader. This is the device that is connected to a computer into which the compact flash card is plugged. There are two speeds of card readers, USB I and USB II. The USB II readers are a lot faster, and do not cost very much. A USB II reader costs from $15 to $40, depending on how many types of cards it reads. Most compact flash cards on sale today are type USB II. There are also Fire Wire readers, but they are not as fast as USB II. But Fire Wire is faster than USB I.
The next step is the computer port into which the compact flash card reader is plugged. These ports are either type USB I or USB II, just like the readers. USB II ports will read images from a compact flash card much faster than USB I. This means the fastest combination for data transfer (taking images from the compact flash card and downloading them onto a computer) is a type USB II compact flash card reader connected to a type USB II port. Most computers on sale today have multiple USB II ports, a Fire Wire port, and maybe USB I ports as well. If you plug a type USB I compact flash card reader into a type USB II port, it will still read the images. But it will read them at the slowest link, which is USB I. If your computers are a few years old and are working fine, but have USB I ports, you can have these changed to USB II quite easily and inexpensively. This is not the case, however, for laptops as most ports are built into the computer and cannot be upgraded.
The last step is the software to which you are downloading the images. This step assumes that you are not simply copying the images to your computer’s hard drive. Most editing software has the ability to remember where card readers are. A single mouse click will download the images without having to go searching for the card. But you will have to set this up the first time you do this.
I hope the information provided in this column will make your system flow as efficiently as possible. In future columns, I will talk about what to do with the images once they are on your computer.
Dr. Tony Soileau is a general dentist from Lafayette, La. He has taught digital photography at the Pacific Aesthetic Continuum in San Francisco, the Institute of Oral Art & Design in Tampa, Fla., and the Esthetic Epitome in Charlotte, N.C. Soileau is currently a co-director for the genR8TNext digital photography program. He lectures on the use of digital photography, digital radiography and computerized case presentations, and high-tech marketing. Contact Soileau at (337) 234-3551, or at [email protected]. For more regarding digital technology, visit www.tonysoileau.com or www.dentalblogs.com.
