Silverfast Gamma Settings for Epson 750 scanner

[Greg Knipp]

In the Silverfast documentation, the recommendation for gamma seems to be in the 1.8 to 2.2 range. I've tried this for scanning 35mm slides, but I frequently need to use the Gradation Curves tool to brighten the scanned images.

Recently I tried setting the gamma at 3.0 and this seems to help. Is there any downside to scanning with the gamma set this high?

[LSI_Noack]

Dear Mr Knipp

reading your posting, my first ideas are that either your pictures are under-exposed or your scanner is somehow not delivering "enough light".
Well, you will certainly know for yourself if the first thing might be the cause for the problem experienced, or if you can rule out a scanner defect. And you can decide if you should be bothered at all as you seem to have found a solution to the problem already yourself :)

Best regards
Sonny Noack
- Manager Technical Support, LaserSoft Imaging AG -

[Greg Knipp]

Follow-up regarding gamma settings for anyone interested -- see following link for article regarding scanning and Gamma-Gradation that is written by Ian Lyons. I found it to be very useful and confirming of my thoughts about using higher than the recommended 1.8 to 2.2 gamma settings in Silverfast.
http://www.computer-darkroom.com/gamma/gamma_1.htm

Best Regards,
Greg Knipp