>> This is certainly up to Ed Hamrick, but my long time >> understanding has been that the aim was to create a >> scanned image file that gave the maximum image data >> for adjustment in an image editor.
I totally agree with this. I like Vuescan mainly because it seems to give me much better results with minimum intervention - hugely helpful when batchscanning (as I'm doing now). If I want to adjust levels I can do so within Photoshop or whatever later on when I actually use the image. However, as with all these UI decisions, making it an option would please all of the people, all of the time. ;-) Mark