Jarrito Posted April 8, 2014 Share #1 Posted April 8, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am considering purchasing the Plustek 8200 SE scanner which is now on sale for $300USD on B&H. I am curious, is there a general consensus when it comes to scanner software? Is one obviously better than the other? I currently own a copy of Vuescan but haven't used it in years and really don't want to spend * amount more to get the AI version of the Silverfast 8 software. I primarily shoot a lot of Tri-x 400 if that matters Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 8, 2014 Posted April 8, 2014 Hi Jarrito, Take a look here Vuescan vs SilverFast SE/AI Plus 8. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Stealth3kpl Posted April 8, 2014 Share #2 Posted April 8, 2014 Get an 8100 if you're mostly using B+W, and use Vuescan. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarrito Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted April 9, 2014 Do you use that setup yourself? Do you have any examples? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted April 9, 2014 Share #4 Posted April 9, 2014 If you have VueScan already, just update it (free) online and use it. It is great software. I also have a brand new copy of Silverfast that I will not even bother to load onto my computer. All software has a learning curve, but your VueScan is already paid for and is excellent. Re-learn to use it. It is a tool. The only weakness is the 'user''. BTW, it works equally well for colour. I use it for both. There are many tricks and techniques to successful scanning. Take the time to develop your skills with it, just as with your Leica. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth3kpl Posted April 9, 2014 Share #5 Posted April 9, 2014 Do you use that setup yourself? Do you have any examples? Yes, none of my b+w scans are with silverfast Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblitz Posted April 10, 2014 Share #6 Posted April 10, 2014 How much does the software matter if you are going to load the scan into capture one or aperture or photoshop or Lightroom or whatever? Not trying to be controversial here I really want to understand what difference there is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted April 10, 2014 Share #7 Posted April 10, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) How much does the software matter if you are going to load the scan into capture one or aperture or photoshop or Lightroom or whatever? Not trying to be controversial here I really want to understand what difference there is. Steve, I think it is best explained by comparing it to the sensor in your digital camera. How much does it matter that your camera sensor is excellent if you are only prepping for internet use? Very little IMO. OTOH, some of my images, both digital and analog, get enlarged to extreme dimensions. Mostly I don't know which one's until I have viewed them, so ALL have to be potentially be up to that standard. Regarding PS or Lightroom, it is always desirable to work with the best possible file for adjustments. (Not relevant for C1 or Aperture as they are RAW processors). VueScan, IMO, is a superior scanning software that gives good control over the captured file and maximizes the data to work with later in PS or similar. I hope this gives you a reasonable impression of the reasons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted April 10, 2014 Share #8 Posted April 10, 2014 How much does the software matter if you are going to load the scan into capture one or aperture or photoshop or Lightroom or whatever? Not trying to be controversial here I really want to understand what difference there is. Some software constantly battles against you in getting a scan suitable for importing to Lightroom/Photoshop etc. It tries to work too hard at making a good image straight out of the scanner when the best image for post processing B&W is a flat and boring scan. In this respect Vuescan just does what you tell it to do, and apart from a few initial settings doesn't really need adjusting from scan to scan. So set the White Point to 0% and the Black Point to 0% and everything in between is pure tone ready to be manipulated in Lightroom etc. Where Silverfast and Epson Scan work best are for those times when you just want an image to pop out of the scanner fully formed (or for quick general scanning). You can easily adjust histograms or Curves etc. add and reduce contrast, all sorts of things. It sounds a great idea. But it more or less locks those tones into the image and if you change your mind you have to scan it again. The 'flat and boring' approach behaves more like a RAW image does (not to be confused as saving the files as RAW) because you can keep going back to this master file and render it many different ways. I use the manufacturers software for general scanning and Vuescan for the serious stuff even though the output I want from Vuescan is simpler in terms of scanning manipulations (and the output does initially look horrible). This is because of the simplicity of use, when you get used to it, and the output does look better after it has been post processed. Even making a flat and boring scan in Silverfast doesn't match one from Vuescan for being boring, yet they are the best sort. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblitz Posted April 10, 2014 Share #9 Posted April 10, 2014 Thanks to both of you guys for the answer much appreciated. Will use Vuescan. Thanks again Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarrito Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share #10 Posted April 10, 2014 Thanks everyone for their responses! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelwj Posted April 15, 2014 Share #11 Posted April 15, 2014 I concur with everyone here. Vuescan is easy and does exactly what you want. It is easy and fast. I've coupled it with a Plustek 8100 for B&W work (all I do) and am very impressed with the results. I've said it before, but I wish I didn't waste my time trying to get a good scan using SilverFast, it thinks it knows what you want, and constantly battles you to get where you want to be. Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybob Posted April 16, 2014 Share #12 Posted April 16, 2014 I have reincorporated c-41 film into my workflow and have garnered excellent results going the Vuescan RAW scan input and ColorPerfect route. Each scan has a limited amount of fiddling about with what can be an overwhelming VS interface. Once you have your RAW scan procedure in place, it's semi-fast and lets me do the image correction in a program that's much better suited for it. SilverFast's "cross-grade" pricing when trying to move from an older scanner to a much better modern scanner is an overpriced joke as well. Say you had a Nikon LS 2000 Super Coolscan, that you were never happy with. You buy a Super Coolscan 4000 or 5000, or an Epson V750. Your old software will not and does not work with the new scanner. To upgrade the software is almost $450. That's ridiculous. I found myself in a situation just as I described, and while I'm happy with VS, I like to keep my options open. I contacted LaserSoft about this policy, and they immediately sent me a code for 20% off, (bringing the cross grade down to only $360), but that's still way too much for doing something I'm already getting great results with using VS. The super affordable Vuescan works with whatever scanner you hook up, whenever you hook it up, however you connect it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted April 16, 2014 Share #13 Posted April 16, 2014 Totally agree with you. The really outrageous thing about Silverfast is how they set the price of their software according to the market value of the scanner: the software is exactly the same, but they simply ride on the manufacturing excellence of the scanner and up the price (dramatically) to match what you paid for the machine. I don't even know how they have the shame. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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