Gamma of these samples is not around 1.8 as specified in the protocol used for these tests . Stefan Vogt comments that he set gamma to 1.3. If I apply a gamma correction of around 0.8 the quality is transformed. The overall impression becomes one of excellent, accurate colour and even tonal distribution. Contrast is perhaps a fraction high, but the excellent midtone separation gives a punchy scan which is comfortably superior to the LS1000 and most, if not all other desktop models reviewed here.
Slight warmth is seen in skin tones, which look a little pinker than in the slide.
Most people will probably find this more acceptable than the typically 'colder' rendition produced by the Nikons. Although neither are completely faithful, the Plus is closer to the Howtek reference. Utterly consistent evenness of illumination and colour temperature across the frame. The greyscale shows some slight compression at both the highlight and shadow end. Whilst the latter is unavoidable with current CCD's, the highlight values are worth the trade-off for the lively midtones.