LaserSoft Imaging

Hi,

I am new to AI studio and I was looking at the set panels ib AI Studio for general and Color management etc. and it's all a bit mind boggeling.

Are there any setup options I should leave at default.. any that need to be changed? Are the auto scan mode or Scan pilot any good?

I will be scanning 35mm and 6X6 B&W negs and Velvia & Kodachrome transparancies for the highest-possible quality for printing on my Epson 3800.. :roll:

I am not suee if I should go with 48 bit HDR Color/Grayscale and edit later in CS3 or go with HDR Color/Grayscale and edit in AI Studio... Is ther any consenus as to which is better?

Is SRD better than ICE ? Can ICE or SRD even be used in Color/Gray HDR mode ormust all changes be made in CS3 or LightZone?

Is it best to scan using the AI studio plugin for Photoshop CS3 or use the stand-alone? Do you have to install the AI Studio into CS3?

For 6X6 I will be using the Nikon glass carrier for the 9000.

Dear hassiman,
as we tried to think had about them, most of the defaults should be fine as a starting point :-)

If you wish best Quality for your negs, you really will need to browse the manual and leave the scanpilot for good as it is helpful but doesn't give you full control.

Answering your ICE vs. SRD Question:
Normally ICE is superior to SRD as it uses the Infrared channel scan of your image to correct errors while SRD is a good but still software only based method.
Unluckily if you scan BW negs, those ( 99% ) are not usable with ICE ( or iSRD or FARE on other Scanners ) as those films block IR-light when there are image details as well !

So for most BW Fils: do not use IR-based Dust and Scratch removal functions, your image details tend to suffer, better invest more time ceaning the images beforehand and maybe later retouching the damages.

On the Nikon you should work in 38 Bit Color to already give your images a good look before scanning.
As long as you do not apply very strong USM settings or "mad" Color effects you should be at a "near archival Quality" with htose scans.
Just be very careful about not loosing tones by setting too dark white points or too bright dark points in the histogram dialog.
If you use the automatic as a starting point you'll be fine as the automatic is very careful not to throw away tones...

I know this is a lot of info, but best way of learning is to browse the manual or one of the books that have been written about silverfast and play with the options.

Greetings and best regards,

Nils Heidorn

i have heard that only the silver based B&W films have the issue with ICE. The chromagenic B&W films are supposed to be ok.

i have not tried either with ICE.