Brief Silverfast 6v5 review

[redrebel]

Since there was no demo available (the website didn't work properly) I bought the upgrade for my Silverfast Ai Studio using the Canon 9950F.

I am using it for a few days now and my findings are as follows:
1) Negafix now has a "CCR" option that performs color cast removal. It seems to work a little, but it's no replacement for Photoshop white balance and color correction

2) There is an option that performs "auto framing". This doesn't seem to work at all when scanning negatives. It frames an entire negative strip as if it was one image

For the rest there is no visual change in the layout and options of the program and I can not discover any improvement in image quality.

So my advice is to save the money :-? When asking money for an update I expect a signaficant improvement in either image quality or functionality which is not the case with the 6.5 version.

[antoine.brisebard]

@ redrebel: + 1!

additionally, LS changed their update hint from:

Welcome to our download area!

On this site you will get updates for your SilverFast versions. Within version 6 you are allowed to download all updates for free after having registered your serial number on our website.

to:

Welcome to our download area!

On this site you will get updates for your SilverFast versions. Up to version 6.4.4r7 you are allowed to download all updates for free after having registered your serial number on our website.

they changed it after having charged me for an interim update.

some will call that behaviour tricky; i call that shoddy, to say at least.

antoine

[jkrolick]

I had trouble downloading also. They said their servers were experiencing higher than anticipated demand. Anyway, my review of the upgrade is on hold because the main feature, multi-exposure, does not work for my installation of the Epson 4870 AI Studio version. Technical support only repeated the basic instructions for use ( which I had read and was following) and suggested I download an updated version in which the multi-exposure function still did not work. Helpful tech support is not a strong point of this company apparently.

Have any Epson 4870 users been able to use the mutli-exposure function with Photoshop CS (latest) in a windows XP environment?

[MikeD56]

jkrolick

I have a 4870 and ME worked in standalone. It does not work under PS. I just went back and check the standalone version and now ME is stuck on 4 and will not change. I should say if import is launched in 32 bit mode it does not show as an option. If launched in std, not 32, it is stuck on 4ME and doesn't allow changing the button. Worked fine yesterday in standalone???????

On the Nikon IV ED it has never worked for me. It gets stuck on 4ME and can not be changed.

This is a buggy option at best.