{"id":242,"date":"2026-03-19T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dustmagic.io\/blog\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T01:00:00","slug":"5-1-advanced-settings-configuration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dustmagic.io\/blog\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\/","title":{"rendered":"5.1 Advanced Settings Configuration"},"content":{"rendered":"

The four advanced controls that sit behind the \u25b6 Advanced Settings<\/strong> arrow in the right panel. Use these when the main sliders aren’t quite getting the result you need.<\/p>\n

\n\"Advanced
Advanced Settings expanded \u2014 four controls plus the Scratch Detection sub-section.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Minimum Contrast<\/h2>\n

How strong the dust signal must be against the surrounding image before DustMagic considers it a candidate.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Lower<\/strong> \u2014 catches faint contamination on old slides with low-contrast dust. Risk: false positives on subtle tonal gradients (skies, skin).<\/li>\n
  • Raise<\/strong> \u2014 suppresses false positives on smooth areas. Risk: missing genuinely faint dust.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Texture Penalty<\/h2>\n

    Suppresses detection in detailed areas \u2014 foliage, fabric, brickwork, hair.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Raise<\/strong> if textures are being flagged as dust.<\/li>\n
    • Lower<\/strong> if dust sitting over detailed areas isn’t being detected.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Focus-Based Filtering<\/h2>\n

      DustMagic separates dust from image content partly by using sharper edges \u2014 real dust sits on the film surface and has harder edges than image grain.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Leave on<\/strong> for typical scans.<\/li>\n
      • Turn off<\/strong> for very sharp setups (high-resolution macro DSLR scans with precise focus). When everything is uniformly sharp, the gap between dust edges and image edges narrows and this filter can suppress real dust.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Scratch Detection<\/h2>\n

        Finds thin linear marks \u2014 threads and hairs \u2014 that the standard dust detector may miss. Enable this for images with threads or hairs over skin or smooth backgrounds. It isn’t a scratch-repair tool: touch scratches up by hand with the Smart Brush.<\/p>\n

        Three sub-controls:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Sensitivity<\/strong> \u2014 how aggressively linear marks are detected.<\/li>\n
        • Min Length<\/strong> \u2014 shortest line to detect. Raise to ignore short fibers.<\/li>\n
        • Max Width<\/strong> \u2014 widest a mark can be before DustMagic treats it as a dust spot rather than a line.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Tuning Order<\/h2>\n

          When detection isn’t right, work outward from the main sliders:<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Sensitivity \u2014 first, on its own.<\/li>\n
          2. Texture Penalty \u2014 for false positives in detailed areas.<\/li>\n
          3. Focus-Based Filtering \u2014 toggle if dust is being missed on tack-sharp scans.<\/li>\n
          4. Minimum Contrast \u2014 last; raises and lowers tend to introduce trade-offs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Save Once You’re Happy<\/h2>\n

            Once you’ve found a working combination for a film stock or scanner setup, click Save Profile<\/strong> in the panel above. Loading the profile recalls all four advanced settings together.<\/p>\n

            Next Steps<\/h2>\n
              \n
            • Main settings reference \u2014 2.3: All Settings Explained<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
            • Save and recall recipes \u2014 4.4: Saving & Loading Custom Profiles<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
            • Diagnose a specific problem \u2014 5.4: Troubleshooting Bad Results<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              The four advanced controls \u2014 Minimum Contrast, Texture Penalty, Focus-Based Filtering, Scratch Detection \u2014 and when to reach for each.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-series-5-advanced-topics"],"yoast_head":"\n5.1 Advanced Settings Configuration - DustMagic Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dustmagic.io\/blog\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5.1 Advanced Settings Configuration - DustMagic Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The four advanced controls \u2014 Minimum Contrast, Texture Penalty, Focus-Based Filtering, Scratch Detection \u2014 and when to reach for each.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dustmagic.io\/blog\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DustMagic Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-19T10:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-05T01:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dustmagic.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/dustmagic-v110-advanced-settings-panel.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"812\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"DustMagic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"DustMagic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dustmagic.io\\\/blog\\\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dustmagic.io\\\/blog\\\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"DustMagic\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dustmagic.io\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/43278b67e6e6b75b2e3c7c7ddc8b5db1\"},\"headline\":\"5.1 Advanced Settings Configuration\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-19T10:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-05T01:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dustmagic.io\\\/blog\\\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":377,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dustmagic.io\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dustmagic.io\\\/blog\\\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dustmagic.io\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/dustmagic-v110-advanced-settings-panel.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Series 5: Advanced Topics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dustmagic.io\\\/blog\\\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dustmagic.io\\\/blog\\\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dustmagic.io\\\/blog\\\/5-1-advanced-settings-configuration\\\/\",\"name\":\"5.1 Advanced Settings Configuration - 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