Is it possible that I am doing something wrong, or could this be a limitation of the scanner and software? I am relatively new to scanning and I'm experiencing issues with preserving highlights. I use an Epson V850 Pro scanner along with Silverfast 8.8 software to scan 4x5 Tri X negatives in 16-bit grayscale. Many of my negatives have high contrast with highlights that contain just enough detail on the negative and print well in the darkroom, resulting in strong prints.

My usual process involves performing a pre-scan and then adjusting the histogram by pushing each side to its limits. However, I've noticed that the right-side slider in the histogram can't be adjusted adequately to bring down the highlights. This leads to them being overexposed. Although I can reduce the highlights in post-processing using Affinity software after scanning, this often results in a flat, light grey tone that doesn't look very appealing.

Any insights or suggestions on whether I'm missing a step or if this is a limitation of the scanner and software would be greatly appreciated.