I am considering buying the Nikon LS-2000, partly because of its ability to average up to 16 scans of an individual slide in order to reduce noise in dark areas. Does anyone have any experience doing this, and is there an image sharpness loss when multiple scans are averaged, or do the averaged scans look just a sharp as an individual scan?

-- Bruce Boyce (bmboyce@snet.net), November 18, 1999

Answers

I don't often use the 4X or 16X modes. It increases the scan time, without providing all that much gain in image quality in most photos. I have not detected a reduction in sharpness. It can reduce noise, as you suggest. But the default setting is so good that I rarely change from it. It's a great scanner.

-- Steve (milwaukeechrome@aol.com), November 19, 1999.

The multiple scan (4x or 16x) will reduce noise and provides better detail in the shadow areas. If you have an overall dark scene, with a dark subject, or an underexposed picture, you can get more detail in the dark stuff. I don't use it very often, but under the above circumstances, it's a great feature.

-- Bill Cota (billcota@gte.net), November 19, 1999.