Hi all.
I quite recently bought an Epson perfection v850 and i'm trying to decide which software to use for scanning 48bit raw images for tweaking (reflective scanning of objects, not film scanning).
I have been using silverfast se plus 8 which came with the scanner, and my raw scans are very dark and i discovered i need to get additional software to make use of them properly.
What would you recommend i do?
The easiest and very fast way to copy slides is with the nikon d850 and the relevant slide copying attachment and a led studio light. Scanners are way too slow for this. Results are excellent and if one has difficult slides simply do them HDR. Topaz sharpenAI also is great for fixing soft slides. Shoot with the emulsion side to the camera and then reverse the slide in Lightroom for absolutely accurate focus.
SilverFast HDR studio has compared to SilverFast HDR some additional features like the automatic color optimization AACO, the support of the JPEG 2000 format, the function-extended soft masking USMPlus, the CloneTool and the printing tool PrinTao.
I posted elsewhere, my biggest beef with the v600 is the 300 second timeout. I can't see anyway to increase that and it's a PITA since using silverfast to optimize post processing often takes longer than that after the pre-scan. I've sent Epson a question about that but not holding my breath.
Whereas if we talk about Silverfast then it offers different type of package such as for SilverFast HDR to HDR studio upgrade, you have to pay $199, for SilverFast HDR to HDR studio Photoproof pay $679, for SilverFast Ai 6.x to HDR studio ( for upgrade) pay $399, for full version pay $499.
I downloaded several RAW files from DPR's tests of various Nikon and Fuji cameras, and tried it myself.
Interestingly, I found the Fuji X-Trans RAW files benefited tremendously from super resolution, much more so than the Bayer RAW files.
I was going to post comparisons in a thread, but wasn't sure if DPR would consider it copyright infringement of their studio scene photos, so did not.
But I suggest Fuji owners check it out.