LaserSoft Imaging

I have been reading the section about multisampling, that it reduces noise in dark areas. But I'm wondering does it reduce noise in all areas? I have SE basic with an Epson 4990 and get a lot of noise/grain mostly in the sky (with negs iso 100/200/400). I just wanted to know before I upgrade to Plus or AI. (WHY is it that the website says upgrade for $30, but when you click on the $30 it says $70+?? ) and why is noise also stronger in different programs, when I look at images in photoshop the noise is considerably less than say Camediamaster which came with my Olympus digital compact.

Cheers

Hello Justin,

Before you do anything else, have you tried the "Gain" setting? You may find it reduces noise to a more acceptable level for you if you haven't already given it a try.

As a fellow 4990 user that already has SilverFast AI Studio I can tell you that multi-sampling helps in the shadows, but if the image does not have heavy shadows I get quality scans without using multi-sampling. It is one of those things you have to experiment with, so you might want to download the trial version and do some first hand testing.

I have tried the different settings and have found it's a compromise between noise and sharpness. I am going to scan all my negs in the best I can, and stick to transparencies in the future which hardly have any problem with noise. Thanks again Justin