Pricing discourages buying!

[shileyd]

Two days ago I purchased a brand new Minolta Scan Elite II for $307.00. Today I called LaserSoft sales, to obtain pricing information on Ai 6 for my new scanner. Cost of the software, $313.00. What's wrong with this picture?

The amazing thing is Ai 6 for my Epson 3200 only costs $228. If I took advantage of my bundled SE for an upgrade, I could get it for $199, but if I want the product for my new hardware, $313!!

Looks like LaserSoft is only interested in getting commercial business. At these prices, the average consumer can't afford the software. Even the sales number is not an 800 toll free number.

[degrub]

Yep, that is a problem with rapidly declining hardware prices that result from mass production and rapid development of hardware. Not too long ago, you needed at least several thousand US$ to get into this hobby with a decent scanner. Also, IMHO, in Europe, the traditional focus has been on the "quality" or craftmanship of the product and not the price, so the result has been that prices were typically higher and presumably the quality and service were better. COntrast this with the American and Asian model of producing things as rapidly and cheaply as possible and fixing flaws in subsequent versions if at all.

BTW, a fair number of "us" do this as a hobby and derive benefit from the extra control ( "value") that SF has traditionally offered over the scanning process. i originally bought SF for a scanner that the vendor's own software would not work acceptably on my computer. i have since purchased other versions. Another very usable product is v**s**n. It may meet your price point and functionality requirements better.

Frank

[shileyd]

Frank, I agree with everything you say, but their marketing strategy defies logic. They have development time for every scanner they support and over time every scanner they support will become obsolete. That means they have a finite amount of time to sell as many copies of that software as they can. With a more attractive price point they would reach many more customers and it wouldn't hurt future sales at all because the next generation of scanners will again require custom software.

[Peter Calvin]

Silverfast Ai is a bargain. Besides the superior quailty of the output (worth the price alone), using Silverfast with Epson and Nikon scanners has saved me countless hours in Photoshop correcting tone and color. The IT8 calibration is worth the price of admission. You can create profiles for different films (Kodak E-6, Kodachrome, Fujichrome, etc.) and the Expert Mode in Negafix lets you fine tune negative profiles. I built under and over exposure, as well as low and high contrast lighting profiles several C41 films.

It is not the price of the scanner you should think about, but the quality of the scan and the time saved with the improved workflow you'll get with Silverfast. In the end, its all about the image.

[shileyd]

Peter, you've merely reinforced my point. From your web-site I would assume that you make a living from photography. I do not. Consequently, you can justify a higher price than me. I am merely an amateur photographer that would like to be able to digitally capture a good number of my 35mm color negatives. My photos are good enough that I want the best combination of hardware and software I can afford, but I maintain there is something inherently wrong when software costs exceed hardware costs.

[sbosman]

'something inherently wrong when software costs exceed hardware costs'

What makes you think that software is cheaper to produce/maintain ???

Have you ever tried to write a software ?

[dpic]

The cost of producing software as opposed to hardware is rather off-point. The point is that the Ai software for a Minolta pro-sumer level scanner is over-priced for its market. The Minolta scanner was marketed toward people who did not have the desire or money to pay for a more expensive scanner. A professional's money is much better spent on a scanner with ICE technology (say, the Nikon as mentioned above). In other words, a professional looking to save valuable time is not buying a relatively inexpensive film scanner.

Therefore, don't expect someone who was looking to cut costs by purchasing the Minolta (or other scanners in its price range) to jump at the chance to pay for professional software for their pro-sumer level scanner.

I have SilverFast SE for my Epson, and I love it. Supposedly, SE will be available soon for my Dual Scan III. Until then, I cannot see spending nearly as much for scanning software as I did for the scanner. It has nothing to do with cost of producing software--as a consumer, I don't care about the development costs. I care about value. Simply, at $228 US SilverFast Ai is too expensive for my needs.

[Peter Calvin]

Silverfast SE is available now for your scanner (Mac or PC) for $49US, and with several new additions.