Don't be fooled by Lasersoft's website

[Ralf R. Radermacher]

Years ago, I've bought Silverfast for the Epson 2450. Went through a
succession of costly upgrades up to 6 Ai. Then, I got an Epson 3200
which worked with the same SF version.

Now, I was thinking about replacing my 3200 with the new 4990. Just to
be sure my expensive Silverfast software would also work with the new
scanner, I went to their website to download the current version for the
4990. A pop-up window asked for my serial number and then the download
started without any problems.

Bingo, I thought, it'll also work with the 4990.

Guess what. Once the 4990 has been bought and hooked up, Silverfast
won't accept my serial number anymore. The same number that got me the
current verion, last night. Bummer! Lasersoft just confirmed on the
phone that this is correct, or so they think.

I should have known better after years of falling for their false
promises. "Full colour-corrected 48 bit output with Nikon scanners",
they said. I went ahead and bought the upgrade to SF5.5 Ai. "Not with
the LS-30", they said, though only after long and extensive prodding by
a number of people.

Fool me once... fool me twice.... Boy, do I feel stupid.

Be warned!

Ralf

 

[Don]

Bingo, I thought, it'll also work with the 4990.

Guess what. Once the 4990 has been bought and hooked up, Silverfast
won't accept my serial number anymore. The same number that got me the
current verion, last night. Bummer! Lasersoft just confirmed on the
phone that this is correct, or so they think.

The worrying part is "or so they think". Shouldn't they know?

On an aside, that's what happens when they "atomize" their software to
only work with certain scanners, and then only on a Friday, but only
if it's a full moon, etc, etc...

Lasersoft are a German company, I believe, so you can really give it
to them full blast in native German! ;o)

I had a similar problem with Canon and their printers and Nikon and
their digicams. They both limit *free* software downloads depending on
the serial number which identifies where the hardware was sold. So my
digicam and printer I bought in Europe forced me to download driver
and firmware upgrades only from their European sites. Perverse!

Don.

 

[winhag]

The only thing I find attractive about Silverfast is the fact that
it allows you to scan negs without losing highlights or shadows which
Nikonscan does not. However, there's no way I will pay the ~$300 just
for that. I am surprised in this world where digi-cams are coming
on and film is going away that they can still command that kind of
price.

Also, the fact that they make the price of Silverfast proportional to
the price of the scanner stinks!

 

[hpowen]

The only thing I find attractive about Silverfast is the fact that
it allows you to scan negs without losing highlights or shadows which
Nikonscan does not.

I think you need to explore NikonScan further. If you disable color
management and auto exposure, you can scan quite well with it.

 

[UrbanVoyeur]

Years ago, I've bought Silverfast for the Epson 2450. Went through a
succession of costly upgrades up to 6 Ai. Then, I got an Epson 3200
which worked with the same SF version.

Now, I was thinking about replacing my 3200 with the new 4990. Just to
be sure my expensive Silverfast software would also work with the new
scanner, I went to their website to download the current version for the
4990. A pop-up window asked for my serial number and then the download
started without any problems.

Bingo, I thought, it'll also work with the 4990.

Guess what. Once the 4990 has been bought and hooked up, Silverfast
won't accept my serial number anymore. The same number that got me the
current verion, last night. Bummer! Lasersoft just confirmed on the
phone that this is correct, or so they think.

I should have known better after years of falling for their false
promises. "Full colour-corrected 48 bit output with Nikon scanners",
they said. I went ahead and bought the upgrade to SF5.5 Ai. "Not with
the LS-30", they said, though only after long and extensive prodding by
a number of people.

Fool me once... fool me twice.... Boy, do I feel stupid.

Be warned!

Ralf

AFAIK, the LS-30 is not capable of 48 bit scans- only the higher LS
4000/5000. As I understand it (and this flew around the Silverfast
message boards for a while), the any extra bits on the LS-30 would have
been interpolated and Silverfast chose not to.

Now maybe I'm simple minded or just easy to please, but I've been using
Silverfast for over 5 years on 3 different scanners (a flat bed, an 2
film scanners) and I haven't encountered any problems upgrading or
downloading.

I did learn that I would have to pay extra for the Studio version, but
that's about it.

Is Silverfast expensive? Yes, without a doubt.

Did I have to pay for each upgrade on each scanner? Yes (that's the way
they price it)

Has it performed well and saved me a ton of time? Yes
(though it was a little bumpy with my flat bed for a while)

Would I recommend it? Yes
- if you can afford it & don't mind the upgrade fees
- if you need easy calibration and number of other features
- if you do a lot of scanning
- if you want a better interface than Vuescan

Do I scream at them every time I have to pay for an upgrade? Yes
- But I also scream at Adobe (twice - once for photoshop and once for
premiere), Pinnacle, Microsoft, and a host of others companies large and
small.

Are there less expensive alternatives? Absolutely
- But silverfast is stable, consistent and goes well with my work flow,
- It is also (for me) easy to use and delivers what I want in very few
steps.
- I can get the same result from Vuescan with slightly more work or from
NikonScan/MinoltaScan/UmaxScan with a LOT more work. I choose the path
of least resistance.

 

[Tom Ellliott]

I got my Epson Perfection 2450 used at Goodwill for $20.00! Downloaded the
free software from Epsons US site. BINGO! It works great. I am real happy
with the scans of color/B&W trans/negs. I usually scan in RGB for eveything
to hold the hi-lights, especially with the silver based B&W negs. It sure
beats the previous way I scanned negs/slides.
Here is how I used to do it and the reason I keep this page available is for
those of use who cannot afford film/slide scanners.
http://www.tom-elliott-photography.com/hp-scanner.html
For paying jobs I use Kodak Photo CD Pro.
Have fun and make pictures,
Yours,
Tom

 

[Ralf R. Radermacher]

AFAIK, the LS-30 is not capable of 48 bit scans- only the higher LS
4000/5000. As I understand it (and this flew around the Silverfast
message boards for a while), the any extra bits on the LS-30 would have
been interpolated and Silverfast chose not to.

Not completely. The LS-30 delivered 10 bits per channel. They could at
least have used these and passed them on to Photoshop as others (e.g.
Vuescan) did. But since Silverfast in those days was nothing but an
expensive front-end for the same old Nikon MAID libraries, they never
got beyond eight bit with the LS-30. Still, their ad said "full
colour-corrected 48 bit output with Nikon scanners".

Anyway, the really annoying thing was the amount of prodding it took
until they eventually had a third party (Ian Lyons) come clean about
this in their support forum.

Ralf

 

[Neil Gould]

Now maybe I'm simple minded or just easy to please, but I've been
using Silverfast for over 5 years on 3 different scanners (a flat
bed, an 2 film scanners) and I haven't encountered any problems
upgrading or downloading.

Perhaps you can answer a question for me. I have Silverfast AI 6, which
shipped with a 120tf scanner. I also have a flatbed ArtixScan on the same
system, but have no interest in using Silverfast with that scanner.
Unfortunately, when Silverfast is launched, it defaults to the flatbed
unless the flatbed is turned off. This is a very impractical solution, as
it forces a re-boot of the system to use the flatbed. Do you know of any
way to force Silverfast to ignore the flatbed and launch only for the
120tf?

Regards,

Neil

 

[UrbanVoyeur]

Perhaps you can answer a question for me. I have Silverfast AI 6, which
shipped with a 120tf scanner. I also have a flatbed ArtixScan on the same
system, but have no interest in using Silverfast with that scanner.
Unfortunately, when Silverfast is launched, it defaults to the flatbed
unless the flatbed is turned off. This is a very impractical solution, as
it forces a re-boot of the system to use the flatbed. Do you know of any
way to force Silverfast to ignore the flatbed and launch only for the
120tf?

No I don't - I've never had that problem. The silverfast versions I have
only recognize the scanner each was designed for. Do you have the
latest version of Silverfast?

Have you posted this question on their message boards?

 

[Don]

The only thing I find attractive about Silverfast is the fact that
it allows you to scan negs without losing highlights or shadows which
Nikonscan does not.

You need to turn AutoExposure off. Then there will be no clipping in
NikonScan.

AutoExposure in NikonScan is a misnomer, really, because it does two
things. First it does the actual auto exposure, and then it "does you
a favor" but boosting contrast. It is in this second stage that it may
clip.

Speaking of which, make sure the clipping is off! That will also
eliminate clipping within the margin of error. Namely, auto exposure
is determined from the preview (limited resolution) so it's to be
expected that once a full resolution scan is done there will be some
variation.

However, there's no way I will pay the ~$300 just
for that. I am surprised in this world where digi-cams are coming
on and film is going away that they can still command that kind of
price.

Also, the fact that they make the price of Silverfast proportional to
the price of the scanner stinks!

Both of those are, in part, a function of the German "business model".
Within Germany companies (traditionally) really only know only two
business models: monopoly and cartel. Free market confuses them.
What's more it confuses the consumer too and they have been well
trained by the said companies to treat freedom of choice with
suspicion. Also, it is the company that "knows best" and it was
considered impertinent for a consumer to dare question it. But that's
slowly fading...

Things have changed quite a lot over the last decade, and there are
many smaller, agile companies, but it's an uphill battle.

I still remember arguing with my German friends at a computer meet
about the vicious German phone monopoly (Microsoft is a benign
philanthropist by comparison). Back then it was cheaper to make a
phone call from Canada to Germany, than to make a long distance call
within Germany. Also, my Germany friends just flatly refused to
believe that local calls in North America were free.

Don.

 

[Neil Gould]

[...] Do you know of any way to force Silverfast to
ignore the flatbed and launch only for the 120tf?

No I don't - I've never had that problem. The silverfast versions I
have only recognize the scanner each was designed for. Do you have
the latest version of Silverfast?

Have you posted this question on their message boards?

Thanks for the response.

I was expecting that Silverfast would only recognize the scanner for which
it was installed, but that is apparently not the case. Since it does
recognize both scanners, I would expect that given the above the UI would
provide some way to select which version to launch, but that also is
apparently not the case. As someone else in the newsgroup who rants
against another product because of unexpected glitches puts it, it makes
me wonder what other problems I'll have to deal with.

I don't know whether Ai 6 is the "latest version", nor have I posted this
question on their message boards. I thought I'd try you first! ;-)

Thanks for trying, though!

Neil

 

[winhag]

regarding negatives, I have tried everything upside down and inside
out. There are always cases
where clipping occurs. Unfortunate, because otherwise Nikonscan has
alot going for it.
The only way I have successfully scanned in those problematic cases is
to scan the
negative as a positive and do the inversion myself. When Nikonscan is
told it is scanning as a positive it
assumes much more dynamic range and the clipping issue generally goes
away.
In Silverfast, you have greater control of scan dynamic range, it
allows you to broaden the dynamic
range window if you will so this problem does not occur. Interestingly
enough, The stock Epson driver
for the 3200 also allows you to do this. For some reason Nikon (and
Minolta for that matter) do not.
They decide what the max dynamic range of the data they will pass on to
the user is. Playing with 'analog gain'
sometimes helps, but many times it merely shifts the problem
(auto-exposure or not).

 

[ThomasH]

Years ago, I've bought Silverfast for the Epson 2450. Went through a
succession of costly upgrades up to 6 Ai. Then, I got an Epson 3200
which worked with the same SF version.

Now, I was thinking about replacing my 3200 with the new 4990. Just to
be sure my expensive Silverfast software would also work with the new
scanner, I went to their website to download the current version for the
4990. A pop-up window asked for my serial number and then the download
started without any problems.

Bingo, I thought, it'll also work with the 4990.

Guess what. Once the 4990 has been bought and hooked up, Silverfast
won't accept my serial number anymore. The same number that got me the
current verion, last night. Bummer! Lasersoft just confirmed on the
phone that this is correct, or so they think.

I concur with your observations. This license policy is the
very reason that I never took Silverfast.

Apparently they wanted to receive additional high fees for each
supported scanner *and* even for additional adapters, such as
Nikon SA30 roll film adapter. I understand that making of such
very functional software has its cost, but especially in the
software business revenue will be made by fining the proper balance
between the number of sold licenses and the margin of profit.

The reason for this paradox is that cost of making a copy
of a program is negligible compares to the high cost of its
authoring and testing. Thus the winners on software market
achieve success usually by bringing their product to the man
in vast numbers. Lasersoft with its Silverfast failed to
grasp this concept. Their prices are completely our of this
world and surely dampened number of sold licenses.

Thomas