Digitizing Your Photos, Slides, and Negatives - Beginning Photo Retouching and Restoration Using GIMP - page 32

Figure 2-11. Cleaning this negative with a lint-free cloth makes a huge difference
Using the Auto-Settings
Normally, I don't use the scanner's automated features. I prefer to capture the image as close to original as
possible.
However, some of the auto-settings can be expedient when scanning large quantities of slides or
negatives and time is limited. I find the most useful are the color-correction and exposure-correction
features. The dyes in slides often fade and change over time, and the images have often been shot at the
wrong exposure. Figure 2-12 illustrates the improvement made in a 126 color slide taken in the 1960s. The
image isn't perfect, but it is a far cry from what it was.