Dust on negative scans

I'm scanning a bunch of negatives and find that the most time consuming element is spotting out the dust and scratches. Imperfections are most noticeable in large spaces that are mostly one color, such as the sky. Is there anything I can do in photoshop that will even out some or most of these imperfections, so that I don't have to do them all by hand? (My knowledge of photoshop is shamefully scattered and incomplete.) Thanks.

 

depending on the size and extent, there is a PS filter Filter>Noise>Dust and Scratches that works reasonably well.

 

What scanner are you using? Does it have dust and scratch removal support (i.e., ICE)?

--Steve

 

ICE worked very nicely with my 6000 slides ...
no postprocessing needed to remove dust or scratches.

so if you have a dedicated film scanner, then it should not be a problem.

 

I'm using an OpticFilm 7200, with Vuescan software. No ICE. I did a quick search and it seems that ICE is hardware-based, so I guess I'm out of luck? I will try the PS filter, though. Thanks for all the help.

 

When using the PS filter, use it on a separate layer and a mask. the filter can soften features like eyes and hair so all you need to do is mask out the filter over these areas.

Very quick and easy.

 

yes, true IC Eis hardware based as it requires a fourth light source in the scanner if i remember right.

but I also seem to remember that silverfast has some algorithm mimicing IC Ewithout hardware ...

 

I'm guessing that would be like the more typical dust removal algorithms. I don't think you can really mimic ICE in s/w beyond the fact that you are removing spots.

 

could well be, but supposedly one that works fairly well then.

of course software cannot produce the extra info which the hardware gives ...

 

Yeah, that's all I was getting at, which I guess wasn't really helpful to the thread. Knowing Silverfast, I'm sure it's really good.

 

Just buy an anti-static brush.

 

doesn't help with scratches or the like ..