Lightroom or Silverfast / VueScan?

[jodoform]

Hello,

I'm new here and starting right off with a question. Perhaps someone has some experience to help me along. I just got a film-scanner and wonder, what combination of software best to use.

I don't have a big archive to scan, basically I'm only processing only films whenever they drop out of processing, mostly black and white, but some colour will be coming soon too. Also, the scanner I have either lets me scan one or two frames before I need to change position or reload the film-holder. The whole process isn't really fast, but I'm not in a big hurry. With my digital camera I use mainly Lightroom.

At the moment I can the images at the maximum resolution of 3200 dpi into 16-bit Tiff-files with the software that came with the scanner (CyberView X5). Then I import the Tiff-files into Lightroom for further processing.

The question now is, would Silverfast or VueScan offer better results than the combination of the crappy Cyberview together with Lightroom? Is the quality of the 16-bit full resolution Tiff as good as it gets or can other programs get better base-data to work with?

I wouldn't mind investing into another program to scan, as long as I it gives me better results. With VueScan I had some trouble making it scan two frames at a time, Silverfast I haven't tried yet.

Thanks for your input,

Jo

 

[pschwart]

You can answer this question yourself -- download Vuescan and try it. There may be a demo available for Silverfast, too.

 

[jodoform]

You can answer this question yourself -- download Vuescan and try it. There may be a demo available for Silverfast, too.

Thanks for your reply.

Before posting my question I downloaded the VueScan demo (there's also one for Silverfast available) and tried to scan a few images with more or less the default settings. When I tried the same with Cyberview and corrected the images in Lightroom, the results didn't look that different to me. This now could be because the solutions are roughly equivalent, because my negatives weren't good examples to show differences, because I don't really know Vuescan well enough to make it do the great stuff or simply because I'm pretty new to this scanning stuff and don't really know where to look for problematic spots that show the differences in quality.

That's why I came here to hear from people with more experience whether my naive assumptions were correct or what areas I'm missing to consider due to lack of experience and knowledge.

Cheers,

Jo

 

[rbultman]

See this link for directions on using Vuescan. My scans improved after following them.

Ken Lee Gallery - Scanning Tips (with EPSON and VueScan Software)

-Rob

 

[pschwart]

- you want to compare the scans *before* correcting in LR. The corrections are only masking
issues with scan quality.
- you should turn off all auto corrections made by the scanning software and drive it manually.
This has a greater learning curve, but it is the only way to consistently get the best scan.

 

[artobest]

I find the intrusive watermarking renders Vuescan's trial scans virtually useless. I would recommend Silverfast except that it is ludicrously expensive. It really does bring out the best in a scanner though.

 

[jeffreyg]

I have used SilverFast since I originally got an Epson 4780 at least ten years ago and am now using the latest version of SF Studio with the same scanner and getting excellent results. I do medium and large (4x5) b&w negatives predominately. Obviously I have been pleased with that program and find the new version to be their best yet. There are numerous adjustments and a workflow guide although I prefer not using that guide which you can turn off. You can make most corrections/adjustments before scanning and tweak as desired in LR or PS or if satisfied print or save from SF. While it is not cheap it is IMOP a very good value.

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[jodoform]

Thanks for your input, that helps me along.

The watermarks in the VueScan demo are certainly annoying, but for most parts still allow pixel-peeping to compare results. After some more trials with black & white films, the results between Viewscan and Lightroom don't look that different to me. Certainly, VueScan simplifies the workflow for ready to consume images, but that's not my main area of focus. I think I really need to work on some colour-film to get a better impression.

Jeffrey, will SilverFast scan differently when the adjustments are done before scanning?

Jo

 

[jeffreyg]

Jo,

I may be misunderstanding your question. You can set the brand and type of film, resolution for the scan and other information then prescan. You can then make many of the adjustments you can make with PS or Lightroom before scanning or just scan as previewed. Scan as a Tiff and import into another program for tweaking. I believe they have some tutorials and examples on their website. Find by searching SilverFast or LaserSoft.

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