"Dave" asked: "Has anybody had any luck with Polaroid Dust and Scratch
Removal software? It's a free download and seems to work well at
removing dust and scratches, but if you zoom in on the image you can see
it leaves a lot of artifacts behind."
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I use the Photoshop (7) Plug-in version regularly. I use low settings:
from Tile Size and Mask Size at 1/2 of lowest tick-mark and Defect Level
at first tick-mark to Tile Size and Mask Size at lowest tick-mark and
Defect level at second tick-mark. The PS filter version shows a preview
of the "cleaned" image before actually making the changes to the file,
so the filter settings can be adjusted if different levels are required
for a particular image.
The defects I notice are the "false positives", particularly catchlights
partially filled in on negative scans, which mine mostly are. I have a
ScanDual III so there are usually lots of little spots to deal with. At
the higher settings mentioned above, there are lots of false positives.
After using the D&SR filter, I use Photoshop's Clone Tool and Healing
Brush to remove larger defects the D&SR missed and the History Brush to
fix the false positives. I use an Actual Pixels view and try to get all
noticeable spots. Except for the catchlights, I don't see other
artifacts from the D&SR filter.
On some scans, I will isolate an area of the image (the sky, for
instance) and use the D&SR on that area and manually clean the balance
of the image. The most bothersome problem areas for me are areas of tree
leaves with sky behind them. D&SR is bad about making the sky segments
into leaves.
I generally do spot removing before any color corrections. If I have
made any cropping or color changes before using the D&SR filter, I have
to remember to save a snapshot of the image before applying the filter
so I will have a good copy to use for the History Brush state.
Preston Earle
(e-mail address removed)
