I’ve got a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 that’s a few years old.
If a slide contains a very bright area adjacent to a dark area, the brightness bleeds over onto the dark, causing a glare or halo effect. Obviously, I can eliminate this by turning down the brightness, but then most of the image will be way too dark. I have to do a tremendous amount of editing in Photoshop to correct this. And by the way, this effect does not happen when I project the slides.
I was experiencing this with my previous scanner; that’s why I bought this one. It worked perfectly at first, but lately has been having this problem.
Is there a part of the scanner that needs to be replaced, or do I have to upgrade again?
Thanks.
You need to clean your scanner, that’s all. The lenses have gotten dirty. All scanners eventually do this. Either take it into a service center, or look online for directions on how to clean it. You have to be very careful cleaning it, but it is possible for an average person to do it.
Here’s a site for cleaning the LS-5000. It says the same technique should work on the 4000.
Wow, thanks pulykamell! I never would have guessed that dirt is the problem, though I’m not at all surprised.
It’s a very common optical abberation. Camera lenses will exhibit the same phenomenon, especially if the rear lens element is nicked. I had to replace one of my lenses this week as I noticed light bleed in high-contrast areas of my photos and, sure enough, I managed to somehow scratch the back of one of my lenses.
You don’t have to worry about such a thing with your scanner, it being enclosed and all. Like I said, all scanners eventually develop dust and dirt build-up over time, and must be cleaned for optimal performance.