In many ways, LaserSoft Imaging's SilverFast Ai Studio 8 ($299 to $449, depending on the scanner model) is the Photoshop of scan utilities. I mean that in both a good and a bad way. The bad part is that although it's not hard to muddle through with SilverFast without knowing how to use it well, it's hard to master. The good part is that it's among the best known, most widely used, and most capable programs in its category for a good reason: Once you learn how to use it, it will give you excellent results. SilverFast lets you wring the best possible photo scan quality out of whatever photo scanner you use it with. SilverFast's main competitor is the, another utility with lots of sophisticated features and the ability to work with any number of scanners.

Oct 23, 2014 The SilverFast Ai Studio 8 scan utility is pricey and has a steep learning curve, version SilverFast SE 8. Its intelligent image automatic simplifies. Buy LaserSoft Imaging SilverFast Ai Studio 8 Scanner Software for Epson Perfection V600 Photo features For Epson Perfection V600 Photo, Auto IT8 Calibration.

However, for both programs, the real competition is the proprietary scan utilities and drivers that manufacturers supply with their scanners for no extra cost. What makes SilverFast worth considering is that it promises to give you better-quality scans from the same scanners. What makes it worth paying for is that it delivers on its promise. Jvc Digital Camera Pc810 Driver. Shades of Silver LaserSoft Imaging sells an assortment of SilverFast versions, including some variations on its older version 6, and three levels of SilverFast 8, which is what I review here.

All three of the SilverFast 8 variations come in different versions for different scanner models, so you have to get the right version for the scanner you have. All three also use the same program file for any one scanner, with the license key unlocking the appropriate features for the program level. That makes upgrading easy, since you only need to enter a new license key. The least expensive variation, with the fewest features, is SilverFast SE 8 ($49). Even with this version, you get an impressive set of sophisticated tools, including controls for manual and automatic color correction, sharpening the image, and dust and scratch removal, complete with support for a hardware-based option using an infrared scan for models that offers it. The program can also save scans in LaserSoft Imaging's 48HDR format, which retains all the information in the standard scan with visible light, and 64-bit HDRI format, which adds the information from the IR scan.

Either format lets you post-process the image in LaserSoft Imaging SilverFast HDR, a companion program for SilverFast (which I did not look at as part of this review). The next step up is SilverFast SE Plus ($119, but $79 to upgrade from the standalone SE level and $99 to upgrade from the bundled SE version). Among the additional features in SE Plus is an option for scanning Kodachrome slides, which tend to show a bluish tint in scans, and a multi-exposure option, which is potentially useful for scanning transparencies (i.e., slides, film strips, and negatives). If you turn on the multi-exposure tool, SilverFast will take the scanner through two scans with different exposures and combine the results in one image. The result effectively increases the scanner's dynamic range (meaning how many shades of gray it can see), so the scan will show more detail based on shading.

This is not particularly useful for scanning photographic prints, but it can make a big difference with film, which has a much greater dynamic range. The second scan adds significant time for scanning each image, however, and it doesn't always give you better quality. Inuyasha Final Act English Dub Torrent Download more. The most notable addition in SilverFast is a color-calibration feature using a standard IT8 calibration target, which you'll have to buy separately. Calibrating is supremely easy. Put the target in the scanner, click on the color calibration tool, and wait a moment for it to scan and calibrate.

That's all it takes to get scans with better color fidelity. Using the Program As useful as all of the SilverFast tools are, expect to invest a lot of time experimenting with each one to fully understand the effect it has on the scan. Silent Hunter 3 Merchant Fleet Mod here. To make things easier, you can see the effect on the preview scan when you change settings and easily undo it if necessary.