LaserSoft adds KODACHROME support for Nikon LS9000!

[JustRight]

Hi there,

For those of you lucky enough to have an LS9000, SilverFast now provides support for KODACHROME and the special ICE 4 'Professional' support built into the LS9000.

From the release notes for SilverFast 6.4.3r9

General: It's now possible to choose Kodachrome instead of the normal Positive setting in the Pos./Neg. popup. With the LS9000 this will enable the use of the DIGITAL ICE Professional Technology as a part of the ICE4 Technology, which is targeted to scan KODACHROME images with ICE. Additionally it's now possible to choose a special input ICC profile in the Options dialog, that will only get used when Kodachrome is selected (this options is only shown in the Options dialog, if Kodachrome is selected).

This is great news for those of us that have large Kodachrome collections and want to use SilverFast. To get the very best results I strongly recommend that anyone wanting to scan Kodachrome with SilverFast also obtain a genuine Kodak Q60 calibration target and profile their scanner with it. With a good ICC profile and this new Kodachrome support in SilverFast we will be able to get the very best out of our Kodachrome transparencies.

Once again a big thank you to all the development and support staff at LaserSoft that listened to my suggestions and pleading on this issue


Best Regards,
Trevor White

[Tomaz Klinc]

How does SF Ai's Kodachrome setting mix with Ektachrome IT8 calibration?

[JustRight]

How does SF Ai's Kodachrome setting mix with Ektachrome IT8 calibration?

Hi Tomaz,

The simple answer is, not well. But that is as it has always been. As I found myself, trying to get a good scan out of Kodachrome using the calibration from an E6 (Ektachrome) target is almost pointless.

What LaserSoft have implemented here is the ability for SilverFast to be able to make use of the new Digital ICE 4 'Professional' features provided on the LS9000. This allows the LS9000 to use a lower power version of Digital ICE that is specifically tuned for Kodachrome. The results on Kodachrome are excellent with this feature enabled.

For colour management there is simply no subsitute for calibrating the scanner to a genuine Kodak Q60 K3 (Kodachrome) target. I obtained one from B&H Video in New York and after performing the IT8 calibration the quality and accuracy of the scans was very impressive. Trying to scan Kodachrome with E6 calibration data just does not give good results.

However I noticed that after installing the 6.4.3r9 update SilverFast now offers a number of additional ICC profiles for selection. Many of these are the special profiles provided with Nikon Scan 4.2.x, and one of those is the K3 profile for the LS9000, which I think SilverFast selects as an initial default when you choose Kodachrome as the film type. If you cannot get hold of a Kodak Q60 K3 target, then the "LS9000_K v4.0.0.3000" supplied profile would almost certainly yield better results than using an E6 based profile.

SilverFast and the LS9000 make great partners, especially now that LaserSoft have enabled the special Digital ICE mode for the hardware.

Best Regards,
Trevor White

[munchello]

It is confusing, misleading and disappointing that the Kodakchrome improvement is listed as a "general" improvement in the version history. The statement implies that it is an improvement for all scanners and that LS-9000 users will benefit by being able to use hardware/firmware based dust and scratch removal (DI4). Clearly, this is the least of the benefits of a profiled/custom preset optimized scanning mode for Kodakchrome.

It would be nice if Lasersoft updated all drivers for film scanners to include the Kodakchrome film choice and loaded a K3 profile for that scanner automatically when the choice is made. In addition, the General Settings, CMS, and Special settings could be automatically optimized when Kodakchrome is chosen as the film type. Even the gamma setting could be automatically changed to better suit scanning pigmented film with a higher residual silver content.

At the very least, I hope Lasersoft will K3 profile the supported film scanners and add the Kodakchrome film choice. It would take 1 person a day to make the profiles and then the usual feature update workflow to add it to all appropriate scanners.

Pretty please?