LaserSoft Imaging

Hi,

I have Windows 2000 with all updates, a Nikon LS-2000 film scanner, SilverFast 5.5 (not the absolute latest version from the updates section, but only .1 release behind - I just bought it from SilverFast) and have calibrated the scanner using the IT8 calibration utility from SilverFast with the target they sent.

The software installed fine, the calibration went fine and everything seems to work just fine but last night when I sat down to start getting to work, I ran a few scans using totally default settings save for selecting Kodak, Gold, ASA100 in the NegaFix window and the DigitalICE function.

What I ended up with were scans that were tinged green, almost like you would see out of a digital camera that wasn't told it was taking photos in a fluorescent light environment. Changing some basic settings made it a bit better, but the overall results were way off.

I then opened up the Nikon scan software and ran a default scan on the same images and I was totally surprised to find that those scans were almost perfect. Great light, the colors were correct and images that I was completely happy to view.

So while I know SilverFast provides great tools and options to tweak and adjust and make scans as close to perfect as possible, what would cause a default scan to appear green?

I did try selecting different film types in the NegaFix window as well as making some changes in other settings or clicking the AutoAdjust button a number of times and I also scanned other images on the same set of negatives with the same results.

End result, the Nikon software produced great scans with totally default settings and SilverFast was green with envy!

What am I missing? Why wouldn't a calibrated scanner (or even an uncalibrated one for that matter) produce such poor results "out of the box" with SilverFast?

By the way, I have had this scanner for a few years and have been using the Nikon Scan software since new and only recently decided to use SilverFast.

Thanks for the help,

Kevin

Dear Kevin,

negatives are a very unstable thing. There is no such thing as IT8-calibration for a negative. In the latest release we have just added the Option "Negative direct".

Once NegaFix will not render the best results you can try this option. We will be constantly updating and optimising our NegFix resources, so please look for the latest updates.

let us know how the Negtive-Direct mode performs for those greenish tint results.

best regards

Karl-Heinz Zahorsky
LaserSoft Imaging

Karl-Heinz,

Thanks for the advice. The colors are a bit different than that of the Nikon scan software, but the green tinge is now gone after using "negative direct" mode.

I see from some other posts that Nikon scanners seem to give SilverFast some trouble; is this something that you are going to be able to fix some time soon? Are there problems because of their LED scanning system? The Nikon LS-2000 is probably one of the best consumer scanners out there and it's always given me great results out of the box.

Thank you again for pointing me in the right direction.

Kevin

P.S. Please continue to add older negative types to your NegaFix software. I have been scanning my parent's old negatives and it seems back in the 40's and 50's they didn't standardize on any one type of film!