[filmscanners] SS4000 and Insight advice

["" <snsok@cox.net>]

A few questions about the SprintScan 4000 (not Plus) and Polacolor Insight.
(I also have VueScan and I have used it but I find I get better results with
Insight)

1. The Help screens suggest scanning a few detailed slides with Enable
Autofocus on, then just leaving it off after that. I remember from previous
discussions that the DOF for this scanner was such that slight bowing of a
transparency shouldn't affect final focus. Is there in fact no advantage to
leaving the Enable Autofocus on?

2. I am not clear on what the Dodge and Burn control is really doing. It
look like what you see in PS after applying a curve to unblock shadows and
reduce highlights. Does this control work in an intelligent fashion or is it
just applying the same correction no matter what the scanned image needs?

I have just scanned a problem image with a sunlit, somewhat burned out
hilltop and a river in muddy shadows. The Dodge and Burn control seems to
give results with better shadow detail than I can get in the shadows of the
raw scan using PS adjustments.

3. I can understand the value in adjusting lightness in Insight but does
small variations in contrast adjustment on the original scan really add
anything to the scan that I can't do later in PS? Similarly, is there
advantage to working with the cast adjustments in PS instead of using PS
curves?

Stan Schwartz

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