Negafix for Nikon? Will it EVER work properly? YES !!!

[bigtraveller]

TO Lasersoft.
Will Nikon users ever have a version of negafix which works as well as it appears to do so with other 35mm scanners? Neg Direct is not as good as v**s**n (IMHO).
I understand this is blamed on drivers in the Nikon scanners, but surely if v**s**n can do it better, Lasersoft are capable of much better performance?
If the answer is NO, then surely Lasersoft should state this in the sales literature and refund part of the price to existing users as they are not supplying what is advertised.
The profiles are poor and with neg direct you lose other options eg Under/Over exposure button.

[President_LSI]

NegaFix Enhancements for Nikon Film Scanners

We are already working on enhancing the negative mode (NegaFix) for Nikon film scanners. We will shortly release a QuickTime movie helping you to change or correct existings Nikon NegaFix profiles.
This should help users to adjust profiles to their individual needs. Negative is something which is very much depending on the existing negatives of the user. That is why there is no standard for negative film. For that reason nobody has a perfect solution for negatives. Partly the user will be able to sucessfully overcome the Nikon / SilverFast negative inconsistency by being able to adjust existing NegaFix profiles in the near future.

[poliwog]

Hello!

Will this work for the SE version as well? I have the demo, and it seems to be excellent except for the NegaFix issue. The inclusion of GANE and ICE in the SE version is a very welcome step, but the profile problem does need to be solved...

Les

[bigtraveller]

Lasersoft is excellent for slides but when it comes to negatives getting a good colour is a massive pain. Having good tone, sharpness etc is irrelevant when the colours are a huge headache.

[President_LSI]

Problems with SilverFast negative Film profiles

Please supply specific information which of the NegaFix profiles with which scanner you are having problems with, since not all customers experience those problems!

[bigtraveller]

Fuji Superia 100 and 200 for a start are problems. Nikon Coolscan IV. Can you honestly explain what the problem is that you are having with Nikon. If Nikon aren't helping you, potential purchasers should be aware of the problem and they could purchase another make eg canon or minolta. You can inform us to some degree. One can often read between the lines even if they are on a monitor!

I updated to SFE-6.0.1r27 (NikonM). Can I assume that this will also have updated the negafix profiles to your latest versions.

I know this query regarding profiles is something you are working on but can you not give a timescale. I think the idea of updating the profiles separately is excellent. Even better would be encouragement of individual users who have created/modified a profile to make it available to others. lasersoft could Give something back to those who support your users in this way. A better price on their upgrades or such.

I have watched these forums and it is a strong indication of approval that some people so passionately want the program to improve. The key is of course to be able to prioritise the suggestions. Let us vote - using our upgrade password as a way to give the vote to up to date users.

Finally I believe that you could grow your business immensely by selling a printer profiling solution. You must have the code for the film calibration! People would purchase a scanner with a strong package like the above. Remember what sold the Mac originally was Visicalc !!

Will your company still be about in 5 years.

I know I will be fully digital by then, possibly using my local lab for digital prints.

Thank you.

[HGW]

I can only subscribe to what BigTravellers says. There seems to be a fundamental problem for the "negative" cooperation between Nikon and SF ( 5 or 6 for that matter).
In addition there is now a real problem being properly supported by Laser Soft (See my posting 1/11)
Is there any way out, or should I go back to using Nikon native?
Thank you.
HGW

[HGW]

Caleb,
I am using now successfully SF latest version and Nikon LS-2000 with Negafix. Although rarely one of the canned profiles gives satisfaction, you can use all the tuning features of Negafix, once you have understood how they work. Support is still somewhat marginal.
Best way of tweaking the profles is the curve mode and using there highlight and shadow neutraling. However, you have to save your work in some dummy profile before leaving the dialogue, if not the changes you made are not applied!
Good luck
HGW

[cliff feller]

Is scanning Tri X with Negafix as a 48 bit the optimal workflow or should I scan raw RGB and use Channel mixer in Photoshop 7 to adjust for black and white ?

[President_LSI]

Better Results with NegaFix Profiles

For better results with NegaFix profiles, please check out these instructions: viewtopic.php?t=1947