Highlights blown every time--Plustek 7600i and Silverfast 8

I found this thread when doing a google search trying to figure out the same problem...good looking contrasty negatives that end up with blown highlights no matter what options I choose.

I am using a Plustek 7600i with Silverfast v6.6.2r5

Here is the best scan I could get when I scanned it as a negative

#11, Nikon S2, Nikkor 5cm f1.4, Arista Premium 100 - 20 by Chris Bail, on Flickr

I rescanned the same negative as a positive and inverted it in PS. THen adjusted with Levels and Curves to get something that looked reasonable. This method took much less time. This is my first shot at using this technique

#11, Nikon S2, Nikkor 5cm f1.4, Arista Premium 100 - 20 b by Chris Bail, on Flickr
 
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You need to get out of automatic mode and control it yourself. What you are getting really is not optimally repaired in post.

How do you know the highlights are not to dense? You should be able to see through them. Cut development time as required.
 
Ronald M said:
You need to get out of automatic mode and control it yourself. What you are getting really is not optimally repaired in post.

How do you know the highlights are not to dense? You should be able to see through them. Cut development time as required.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input.

I was just trying add to this older thread a couple example pics of the inversion method, and how the highlight detail is better.

I understand using the gradation curves in Silverfast can achieve the same thing, in theory...I just haven't been able to do it yet, and frankly don't have the time to dedicate to that level of manipulation to each negative.

The method of scanning as a positive has been much quicker for my workflow, even if the example that I showed here isn't optimal.
 
I edited the second pic further and update the link, using the burn tool in PS to bring out more of the highlight detail in the bridge.
 
I didn't feel like reading all the posts so maybe someone has already said this; but I check the histogram on the scanning software right before pushing the scan button. I make sure that histogram arrows are well past the end of the white and black points. That way I can close in on both points on my editing software.


This was a negative that I wanted lots of shadow detail so I gave it plenty by moving the black arrow away from the main histogram. I did the white point the same, but even more so as I was sure that if I didn't the light area at the end of the bridge would maybe not be blown but too light for my taste for this image:

14734497139_7a134826cf.jpg
 
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