I've been using a Minolta Dimage Dual film scanner for 4 years now, but as my photoshop skills improve, I notice the weaknesses more. Slides scanned can be underexposed, and when I turn up the brightness using levels or curves, I find too much noise. There is also a lot of noise in areas of sky etc. Most frustrating is the lack of shadow detail and the my pictures are too contrasty. Do I need a better scanner? I have been looking at the Nikon V ED, Nikon LS5000 or Minolta Elite 5400, but I wonder whether these will improve things or not. Anyone have any ideas?