New Version 6.6.0r1 OUT, better support for Intel & Leop

[LSI_Heidorn]

Dear Mac OSX Users,
the new Version 6.6.0r1 introduces much more stable Nikon support on intel and Leopard Systems.

As you may know, Nikon did not upgrade their Drivers ( called "MAID" ) to work flawless on intel machines or with Leopard.

The Version that you can download now is a complete rewrite of the driver level, now we natively and directly support the most popular 35mm Nikon Scanners without having to use the Nikon drivers.

So the LS-5000, LS-4000, LS-2000, LS-40 ( IV ), and the LS-50 ( V ) now use iSRD instead of Ice and offer Multisampling (most in Hardware) and Multiexposure !!!!

All those scanners can Output 48 Bits now, that was restricted for the less expensive ones before when using the Nikon drivers.

The SF-210 & SF-200 Adapters are supported, as well as the SA-20 / SA-30 Filmstrip feeders.

And of course the good old MA-20 and MA-21 Slide Holders are supported as well...


Greetings & best regards,

Nils Heidorn

P.S. this is going to happen for the 8000 & 9000 as well, just give us some time !

[degrub]

Ok, great news for the Mac people and i appreciate the effort you guys went through the rewrite the drivers. Not trivial.

Will you maintain the ICE functions for the windows version or do i have to stop updating with the <6.6 version ?

[LSI_Heidorn]

Dear degrub,
the windows version still uses the MAID Drivers and will be continued as normal :-)
Unless we get into real trouble with the latest Microsoft Operating System that is...

Greetings,

Nils Heidorn

[SilverFastUser]

I think this is really good news for me. But I have a couple of questions first.

I'm getting ready to buy my first film scanner and can't decide between a Plustek 7500i SE and a Nikon CoolScan 5000. I'm concerned about issues with the old Nikon software running on Leopard. I really want the Nikon for the better imaging optics / led light / auto feeding, but the software issues were a deal killer pushing me towards the Plustek.

Does this update mean that I could buy a new Nikon 5000, buy the SilverFast software (which version would I need to get?) and be up and running on the iMac with Leopard? No need to install anything from Nikon (in particular Nikon Scan)?

Does all of the functionality that Nikon touts for the scanner exist in the SilverFast software? Sounds like Digital ICE is replaced by iSRD. But what about the other features from Nikon like Digital ROC (restoration of color), Digital GEM (grain equalization and management), and Digital DEE (Dynamic Exposure Extender)? I think these are all software items in Nikon Scan, but I'm not sure. Thoughts?

Does the SilverFast software support an "automated" scan of 35mm negatives (meaning will it control the advance of the negatives assuming a 6 frame negative in the holder)?

Do you have any benchmark time estimates with the Nikon and SilverFast combo?

Same questions if using the Plustek (except it doesn't have automatic advancement of the frames).

Any additional insight would be very appreciated. Thanks in advance to all that reply.

[degrub]

Are you planning to hand scan each image or do you want to batch them ?

How many images to scan ?

Slides or negs or both ?

Any Kodachrome or silver based B&W ?

The infrared dust removal techniques all have issues with silver left in the emulsion from processing for the above.

ICE dust removal apparently requires the Nikon libraries for licensing reasons. Personally, i prefer the ICE over iSRD, but it is better to start with a clean film .

The rest of the software can be applied after the intial scan if you want. Try the same software from ASF (kodak) . i think they still have free tryouts. Personally, i don't use anything but ICE out of the ICE4 package. The SF equivalents seem to work as well for ROC, GEM, DEE.

The flourescent light source in the Plustek will not be as stable as the LED source in the Nikon, but there are other benefits. Physical defects in the image may not be as apparent, grain may not be as apparent. Just make sure you get the IT8 version if you are scanning slides (not negs). It will get you closer to the original colors quicker. The Nikon led light is very "hard" and shows off all of the issues in the image. That being said, the optics in the Nikon may be slightly better than the Plustek, but i have not run a MTF test on the Plustek.

BTW, don't believe the 7200 ppi is the resolving capability of the scanner - it is just the number of pixels per inch it can generate. My CS5000, in reality only resolves about 2700-3000 ppi even though i can generate a lot more pixels. The Epson V700/750 flatbeds seem to hang around 2000 ppi or less resolving. Sharpening is a magic tool to create the appearance of resolving power.

Another thing to be aware of with the Nikons is the narrow depth of field for the focus. The film must be flat or held flat to get good edge to edge sharpness. i don't know how good the Plustek is at that or how wide it's DOF is.

regards,

[SilverFastUser]

Are you planning to hand scan each image or do you want to batch them ? I think I would rather batch some (35mm negatives that had been cut into strips of 5) and hand scan some (old family slides stored in boxes in parents closets for years). Thought the nikon would allow some "start and go do other stuff" scanning instead of every three minutes changing frames.

How many images to scan ? Probably around 3000 to 4000 film, another 1000 or so slides - not entirely sure yet, but those should be close.

Slides or negs or both ? Both

Any Kodachrome or silver based B&W ? Maybe a small amount - probably around 1% or so of the total.

I plan to print a select few images for framing, but most will get cropped and put into a photo book (8x10 or smaller).

From your response, it sounds like you use the Nikon? Do you think that the Plustek may work for getting good images - maybe not the best possible image (but probably need a drum scanner for that anyway) - but at least a good to high quality image for the sizes and use I'm planning? I had planned to scan at around 3600 to 4000 dpi (from what I've read, it seems like anything over that is a waste of disk space).

I'm trying to justify the price difference between the two and it keeps getting harder to do - $800 for a small incremental improvement in quality is a lot to swallow (time savings in scanning times - if huge - would make up for that)?

Thanks for the feedback.

[degrub]

Take a real hard look at the Epson V750 pro. 750 $ @ newegg, 720 $ @ epson

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/intera ... page_1.htm

i think that will save you the most time and get the basic image quality you are after.

Take a look here

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00OWAd

with a Dmax in the 3.3 range that is about the same as the Epson

The CS5000 runs about 3.6 - 3.7 which will let you pull out the darker part of a slide, but not much use for a neg.

If budget for the V750 is an issue, then the Plustek 7500i should give you similar results, just slower overall.

[turner]

I was very happy to see that Lasersoft placed a new version of Silverfast working now under MacOS 10.5 Leopard. Today I tried the new version but it is still not working under Leopard and Photoshop CS3. After 4 minutes working in the iSRD process Silverfast is stopping and that was it. I had to terminate Silverfast and Photoshop by force.
So I made the experience that marketing and a working software are two different things. Since more than 6 months I am no waiting for a working version of Silverfast for Leopard and Photoshop CS3. And than Lasersoft is coming with a version which solves no problem at all. And they call it "Silverfast Universal" but it is only a PPC-program.

[LSI_Heidorn]

Dear turner,
i answered you in the other thread, please try not to just copy paste the same message too often...

Again:
This suspiciously looks like a Leopard <-> CS3 Problem and not like a SilverFast <-> Nikon Problem but i could be wrong.
Please follow my advise in the other thread and kindly give feedback ( please in the other thread as that seems to be more appropriate ).

best regards,

Nils Heidorn