Fujifilm GFX100 II: Why We Chose It for Dental Photography

By David Drew, Co-Founder of The Dental Barns

Keely and I can spend a surprising amount of time looking at a photograph. I tend to zoom straight in: how sharp is it, and how much detail can we see? Keely has an exceptional eye for natural colour. She notices when something looks right, and when it is just a little off.

That shared interest shaped our choice of camera at The Dental Barns in Lichfield. We wanted photographs that felt true to the person in front of us, with enough detail to make them useful throughout their care. After plenty of testing, we chose the FUJIFILM GFX100 II.

Why Fujifilm?

We tried Sony and Canon cameras, both very capable systems. In our own trials, though, we kept finding a compromise somewhere, usually in how the colours looked with our lighting and workflow.

Keely had also been following Joey Kendal-Brown, one of her favourite interiors photographers. Knowing Joey used Fujifilm encouraged us to take a closer look. We already loved the colours in her work.

Once we tried it ourselves, the appeal was clear. Skin tones, subtle changes in tooth colour and the softer colours around the practice all had the natural feel we had been looking for.

What does 102 megapixels mean for your smile?

The GFX100 II has a 102-megapixel sensor measuring 43.8 × 32.9mm. Its surface area is about 1.7 times that of a conventional full-frame sensor. In everyday terms, it gives us plenty of room to look closely.

For composite bonding and veneers, those close views help us discuss tooth shape, texture and the small details that make a smile feel individual. A portrait gives us the wider picture: how that smile sits within your face.

Good photographs also make conversations easier. During a Signature Assessment or smile design appointment, we can show you what we are looking at and explain the details together.

A workflow the whole team can use

There was plenty of trial and error before we reached a setup we were happy with. The aim was a repeatable process that any of our team could follow, with consistent framing, lighting and settings from one appointment to the next.

We use a fixed 120mm macro lens, working at around 0.45m for close-ups and around 1m for facial photographs. Both clinical examples here were recorded at f/26, 1/125 sec and ISO 160, with flash and manual white balance. Keeping those settings consistent simplifies the routine.

For close-ups, we set the magnification and use focus peaking: little coloured highlights in the viewfinder that help us see where focus falls. We look for those highlights on the central front teeth, take the photograph, then check the result.

Our portraits use two external studio lights; our intraoral setup uses four lights on a ring mount. A small adjustment to one side light gives portraits a more natural sense of shape. When we need a clearer view of shade, we add a polarising filter and polarising film over the lights to reduce reflections.

The photographs transfer wirelessly to our secure practice network storage, or NAS, ready to bring up on screen as they arrive. That keeps the conversation moving without stopping to remove a memory card. For the technically minded, the camera supports wireless FTP transfer, including encrypted FTPS.

Our camera kit, at a glance

• Camera: FUJIFILM GFX100 II, with a 102MP medium format sensor and X-Processor 5.
• Lens: FUJINON GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro — a fixed 120mm lens with optical stabilisation, 0.5× maximum magnification and a minimum focusing distance of 0.45m, measured from the sensor plane.
• Viewfinder adapter: Fujifilm EVF-TL1 — the tilting and swivelling eyepiece adapter we use to make viewing from different camera positions more comfortable. It tilts up to 90° and swivels 45° to either side.
• Lighting: two external studio lights for faces and four lights around the lens for intraoral views.
• Flash trigger: the Godox X3Pro F, the Fujifilm version of Godox’s wireless flash trigger, lets us control our lighting groups from the camera.
• Polariser: a Breakthrough Filters Magnetic X4 CPL, 72mm. We use this circular polarising filter alongside polarising film over the lights when we need to reduce reflections for shade photographs.
• Storage card: a Lexar Professional Silver 1TB CFexpress 4.0 Type B card, rated at up to 3,600MB/s read speed, gives us plenty of space for large image files. That is the card’s rated maximum; actual transfer speed depends on the equipment used.
• Camera bracket: the IDSworks GFX series modular full set for the GFX100 II, comprising the base plate and L-bracket.
• Spare power: two spare Fujifilm NP-W235 batteries and a BC-W235 dual charger, so a battery change can be a quick swap during a busy day.
• Clinical examples: f/26 · 1/125 sec · ISO 160 · 120mm, with fixed magnification and focus peaking for close-ups.
• Transfer: wireless delivery to our practice NAS for storage and on-screen review.

The distances describe our usual setup; the exposure settings beneath each photograph come from its original file. These examples were saved as 8,256 × 6,192 JPEGs, approximately 51MP, and resized for the website.

A camera we enjoy beyond clinical photography

It would be a shame to use it only for teeth. We love photographing the practice, flowers and everyday details, and I enjoy using it for family photographs too. The flower photographs here show another side of the same lens: at f/4, the background softens and the colour and detail of the subject stand out.

Was it worth the £10,000-plus investment?

For us, absolutely. Here is the kit breakdown:

• GFX100 II body: £7,499
• GF120mm F4 Macro lens: £2,499
• EVF-TL1 tilt adapter: £549.99
• Lexar Professional Silver 1TB CFexpress 4.0 Type B card: £599
• Godox X3Pro F wireless flash trigger: £79
• IDSworks GFX100 II full set — base plate and L-bracket: ≈£180
• Breakthrough Filters Magnetic X4 CPL, 72mm: ≈£105
• Two spare Fujifilm NP-W235 batteries: £129.98
• Fujifilm BC-W235 dual battery charger: £59.99

That is approximately £11,700 for the kit above, before lighting, polarising film and network storage.

We would not be without it. We love the colour and detail, but we value the consistency just as much. Our patients expect the best from us, and I want that care to extend to the equipment we use every day.

I may write more about the lighting, settings and practical setup another time. For now, this camera has earned its place at The Dental Barns — and, occasionally, on a family day out.