![]() I can pick up any scanner and software and get good to excellent scans at the start. This exercise took about 18 hours spread out over a few days. Once through all controls singularly I adjusted them in pairs then in three. Once I found the limit of that control I did the same with the next. Next I went to manual mode and started making scans at 600dpi changing one editing variable 10% and repeating until I got delectable distortion and compared each setting scan to the reference auto scan. I took a sharp correctly exposed negative and scanned it on default settings at 600 dpi and saved it as my reference. I learned to scan on a Microtek 8700 Pro with Silverfast AI 6. The other controls are similar/equivalent to Levels or Curves in PS. These are the Zero and 255 settings on a histogram. The most critical correction settings are the White and Black points. I could be overvaluing this difference, and if there are others who disagree, I'd like to hear. The reason I take the time in SF to come close regarding dynamic range and value placement is that all editing after that is digital on top of digital (I know, RAW is not destructive) so in the first conversion from CT to Digital, I want to get as close as I can. I save to TIF, which allows opening in Raw and making adjustments, then PShop to finalize editing, things like adjustment layers, masking, things I can't do in SF or Raw. It's a quick adjustment from neg to neg, with the other aspects of the frame (saving location, size, resolution, etc) staying the same. I use the Histogram and Curves control only to get me as close as possible to the final image. One comment I would make - you are converting an image from an analog (true continuous tone) to a digital (stepped) image. I agree, though, that much of the automation you won't want, but as someone suggested, you might try some of the time saving options, like the dust and scratch removal, just to convince yourself that they are not for you. I have used German software products for decades though, and so I didn't have quite the reaction. I, too, was initially put off by the seeming unnecessary complexity of it's workings and controls, but perhaps without quite the level of hostility you might have. I use SF with a V850 Pro almost exclusively for B&W neg scanning. After that for each new image, select pressman from the top of the window, adjust the scanning borders, take a quick peek at the histogram, and then click scan. Hopefully a useful hint: Run the Pilot program only once for each film type when starting scanning, After doing this, remove all modules you don't want. ![]() Once I figures out that most of the features promoted for this were unnecessary, I was able to deactivate the un-needed modules and now have a fast efficient workflow. The workflow seemed overly complicated and slow and the documentation was nearly useless. I export as an 8/24 bit TIFF which I later edit with PhotoShop and Lightroom. There are a lot of things you CAN change in SilverFast, but don't need to. Export as aTIFF file, and do your final editing in whatever program you choose. With a little effort and practice, you can scan negatives as TIFF files with proper inversion and mask removal, but few other changes. It seems that the bundled version is crippleware to some extent with useful features turned off. For an additional payment, you can but an upgrade which allows you to output as 16/48 bit TIFF files. ![]() The version of SilverFast usually bundled with scanners scans at 16-bit (28-bit color) and down converts to 8/24 bits on export. I have Capture One, Photoshop, Lightroom and Affinity photo for that. Is it possible? I have been googling for a blog post or something that offers a sane, modern scanning workflow with Silverfast without mentioning "special toolbars", "expert mode" and "image optimizations". Can I just click a single button and get a nice 16-bit TIFF or (even better) RAW file so I can edit it using modern software I already have? Are these adjustments mandatory to get optimal quality?īasically I am looking to minimize the amount of "Silverlight time" (ideally, just click a button to get 16 RAW files from the tray) but I do not want to sacrifice image quality. The only transformation I need from it is color inversion and orange mask removal. WTF they're for? Why do I need to "prescan"? Why does a scanning software need midtone, contrast and saturation settings? I want raw bits from the hardware saved directly to RAW. My fundamental problem with what I'm seeing is all these "editing" features. I've spent some time on reading the online manual and it promises to be a colossal pile of manure. ![]() For $2,400 including taxes it needs to be a massive improvement over my current DSLR workflow. OpticFilm 120 Pro is out and I am hesitating. ![]()
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