Hello, Just started using NLP and have a few questions to help clarify some uncertainties.
Scanner - Nikon Coolscan V ED
Software - Vuescan
3800 DPI
NLP - 2.1v
As of now my process is > Preview first strip in vuescan, select single frame and lock exposure. Scan at 3800dpi as dng with suggested settings. Change profile to 2.1 and WB boarder in lightroom or auto WB as sometimes it says something along the line of ‘cannot wb, select darker part of image’. Crop image and active NLP. Edit…
I only have the scanner for a week or so as I am borrowing it off a friend and want to get the best RAW results I can. The one thing I don’t understand is the lock exposure step when using Vuescan. Why is it ok to lock exposure on one image and not change it for the whole roll even though some photos have very different lighting? I understand that its more connected to the negative side of things rather than the actual exposure or each frame, or so I think at least. IF someone can explain the reasoning that would be great 
Also, I am using the Nikon Coolscan V ED and if anyone has some tips suggestions to get the best results please share. I find that some images have strong grain, and this is even the case when I’ve rescanned old negs that have already be scanned by professional labs which show a very fine grain on the same image. I read that these Nikon scanners tend to amplify the grain due to the light diodes they use but is there anyway to reduce it before applying grain reduction software?
I have tried doing 1-8 multi pass and I notice that the more passes the finer the grain is. Is the multi pass helping or is it that the neg or scanner is moving slightly and smoothening the image?
On the colour tab of VueScan I have it set to None with all default options. Are the options below best for my scanner and NLP?
Any other tips with my set up would be appreciated thanks
Cheers
E
