An apparatus for viewing a surface comprising: an examining instrument, the examining instrument having an imaging path through which the surface is observed; a Xenon light source, the light source illuminating the surface; an imager, the imager detecting light reflected from the surface, and generating image signals; a camera control unit, the CCU processing the image signals; and a controller associated with the imager and CCU, the controller processing the image signals representative of light reflected from the surface, the controller including software executing on the controller, the software executing on the controller decrementing or incrementing the intensity of the light source output via at least two steps, wherein the intensity of the at least two steps is incremented or decremented by a predetermined percentage of the maximum light source output intensity, characterized in that the controller is adapted to detect a potential safety issue and, if a potential safety issue is detected to increment or decrement the output intensity of the light source via the software executing on the controller, the software executing on the controller incrementing the output intensity of the light source with a specified step ΔP scan, from P scan,min to P max, where P scan,min is less than P max, and P max is the maximum allowed light source output intensity, the controller further adapted to compute, during the incrementing, a correlation-metric indicative of a correlation between a measured achromatic image brightness (Luma meas) and the output intensity and to set the output intensity to a safe level, if a correlation between the measured achromatic image brightness and the incrementing output level is not detected. an examining instrument, the examining instrument having an imaging path through which the surface is observed; a Xenon light source, the light source illuminating the surface; an imager, the imager detecting light reflected from the surface, and generating image signals; a camera control unit, the CCU processing the image signals; and a controller associated with the imager and CCU, the controller processing the image signals representative of light reflected from the surface, the controller including software executing on the controller, the software executing on the controller decrementing or incrementing the intensity of the light source output via at least two steps, wherein the intensity of the at least two steps is incremented or decremented by a predetermined percentage of the maximum light source output intensity, characterized in that the controller is adapted to detect a potential safety issue and, if a potential safety issue is detected to increment or decrement the output intensity of the light source via the software executing on the controller, the software executing on the controller incrementing the output intensity of the light source with a specified step ΔP scan, from P scan,min to P max, where P scan,min is less than P max, and P max is the maximum allowed light source output intensity, the controller further adapted to compute, during the incrementing, a correlation-metric indicative of a correlation between a measured achromatic image brightness (Luma meas) and the output intensity and to set the output intensity to a safe level, if a correlation between the measured achromatic image brightness and the incrementing output level is not detected.