Scan Elite 5400 Epson 3170 question

[mark]

Well I am running on Windows XP and have wants from both my scanners. First
I have the Minolta Scan Elite 5400 35mm film scanner which has served me
very well. I have 2 complaints. First is speed. It is slow. Never a huge
issue till I started a huge job of scanning some old family negatives. The
second well not really complaint but concern is that Konica Minolta just got
out of the business which means their scanning software is not going to be
updated. Sooner or later there will be some issues (and there may already
be some) with the operating system when the hardware would work just fine.

Second the 5400 taught me just how great and how much time digital ice saves
The 3170 doesn't have it and I tend to avoid using it because of it now.

Would Silver Fast or Vue Scan or some other software be any faster with the
5400, and still be usable with the 3170 adding digital ice? I also could
potentially replace the 3170 with a 4870 that would come with digital ice
and has Silver Fast SE 6. Could that be used with the 5400 and would it
likely speed things up any with the Minolta?

Thanks for your help.

 

[-]

Would Silver Fast or Vue Scan or some other software be any faster with

the 5400, and still be usable with the 3170 adding digital ice?

Unfortunately, no software is going to add ICE to any scanner that doesn't
already have it because ICE is a hardware based system.

Silverfast is scanner specific, so you will need to buy a version for each
scanner model. Vuescan can be used with many scanner models and does not
require a separate purchase for each scanner.

Doug

 

[Wilfred]

Unfortunately, no software is going to add ICE to any scanner that doesn't
already have it because ICE is a hardware based system.

VueScan (for most scanners) and Silverfast (for some scanners) can
actually use the IR channel produced by the ICE hardware to remove dust
and scratches. The difference is in the software: VueScan, Silverfast
and ICE all use different algorithms. ICE's algorithm is often said to
be the best, but with VueScan and Silverfast you can get good results
with some scanners - your mileage may vary.