{"id":245,"date":"2026-03-16T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dustmagic.io\/blog\/5-4-troubleshooting-bad-results-2\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:20:09","slug":"5-4-troubleshooting-bad-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dustmagic.io\/blog\/5-4-troubleshooting-bad-results\/","title":{"rendered":"5.4 Troubleshooting Bad Results"},"content":{"rendered":"
Symptom-first troubleshooting. Find the description that matches what you’re seeing, work down the fix list.<\/p>\n
Real Dust Is Being Missed<\/h2>\n
\n
Confirm Film Type<\/strong> matches the image (Slides for positives, Negatives for inverted scans). Wrong setting = the detector looks for the opposite tonal sign.<\/li>\n
Switch profile to Balanced<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
Nudge Sensitivity<\/strong> to the right.<\/li>\n
If dust is sitting over detailed areas (foliage, fabric, hair), lower Texture Penalty<\/strong> in Advanced Settings.<\/li>\n
For very sharp DSLR scans, disable Focus-Based Filtering<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
For thin linear marks, enable Scratch Detection<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
False Positives \u2014 Image Features Being Flagged<\/h2>\n
\n
Switch back to Conservative<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
Nudge Sensitivity<\/strong> to the left.<\/li>\n
Raise Texture Penalty<\/strong> for foliage, fabric, brickwork.<\/li>\n
Raise Minimum Contrast<\/strong> if false positives appear on smooth skies or skin.<\/li>\n
Lower Largest Defect<\/strong> if real image features (eyes, buttons, signs) are being flagged.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Faint Dust on Old Slides Isn’t Caught<\/h2>\n
\n
Lower Minimum Contrast<\/strong> in Advanced Settings \u2014 old contamination often has very low contrast against the dye.<\/li>\n
Confirm Film Type is Slides.<\/li>\n
Try Balanced profile.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Inpainting Looks Soft or Smudged<\/h2>\n
\n
Check Detection Resolution \u2014 if it was lowered for tuning, raise it back to the scan’s native resolution before processing.<\/li>\n
Lower Largest Defect<\/strong> \u2014 large detection regions inpaint less precisely.<\/li>\n
For specific frames, use the Brush tool to refine the mask manually, then Export This Image<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Detection Is Slow While Tuning<\/h2>\n
\n
Lower Detection Resolution<\/strong> in the Processing section while tuning. Output is always saved at full resolution \u2014 only the detection pass uses the lower res.<\/li>\n
Raise it back before clicking Process Batch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Scratch Detection Catches Fibres I Want to Keep<\/h2>\n
\n
Raise Min Length<\/strong> in Scratch Detection \u2014 short threads stop being treated as scratches.<\/li>\n
If short fibres are real defects you do want removed, leave Min Length and instead lower the standard Max Fibre Width<\/strong> so they’re caught by the dust detector.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Dust Visible on the Filmstrip Thumbnails Isn’t Detected on the Big Image<\/h2>\n
\n
The thumbnails update from the last detection on each frame. Press D<\/kbd> to re-detect the current image.<\/li>\n
Make sure you haven’t accidentally excluded the image (X<\/kbd>) \u2014 the red cross icon appears in the filmstrip when an image is excluded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Output Folder Is Empty After Process Batch<\/h2>\n
\n
Check cleaned\/<\/code> inside the source folder \u2014 that’s the default output location.<\/li>\n
If you ran on a network drive, latency may be slowing the writes; let it complete.<\/li>\n
Make sure the source folder is writable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Still Stuck<\/h2>\n
Open Help \u2192 Report a Problem<\/strong>. The “Improve detection quality” option sends a quick automatic report (no email needed). For bugs, “Report a bug” creates a zip you can email to support.<\/p>\n\nThe Report a Problem dialog has three tracks for different kinds of issue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Next Steps<\/h2>\n
\n
Settings reference \u2014 2.3: All Settings Explained<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
Symptom-first troubleshooting for DustMagic \u2014 find what you’re seeing, work down the fix list. Covers misses, false positives, and softness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-series-5-advanced-topics"],"yoast_head":"\n
5.4 Troubleshooting Bad Results - Dust Magic 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\/5-4-troubleshooting-bad-results\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5.4 Troubleshooting Bad Results - Dust Magic Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Symptom-first troubleshooting for DustMagic \u2014 find what you're seeing, work down the fix list. 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