Quote:
Originally Posted by D. Bergin
When I've used it for other projects it hasn't seemed to be too helpful for me, and doesn't do much more then the simpler dust removal program already does in a lot less time.
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That's my experience as well. No substantial difference between Digital-Ice and many of the dust/scratch removal functions built into (and automatically enabled) in many scanning programs. Useful in some situations perhaps, but certainly not the "magic fairy dust" cure-all that it's touted to be, and usually has the trade-off of a slightly-softer resulting image (as with every dust-removal fuction I've ever seen). In the cases where I really want to remove dust specks AND maintain sharpness, I have found it's better to just go in and do it manually. It may take longer, but so does painting a room with a roller and brush rather than a power sprayer. Sometimes the end result matters a little more than the time involved
And no, I don't think Digital-Ice is a looming spectre to be spoken of in hushed tones lest all auction houses should start employing it to "clean up" card scans. Anyone with an understanding of how it does what it does should be able to see its effects in a card scan, and a simple wave of the "clone" tool is far more effective in removing individual blemishes anyway. I think the example posted on Amazon in the Epson V700 write-up is an extreme example which turned out surprisingly well, and is not representative of typical results (and I suspect even it would show evidence of DI being used if a larger scan than the one posted were available). Bottom line: if a seller is determined to make a card look better than it really is, there are far more effective ways to do so than hitting the scan with a blanket Digital-Ice application.