Silverfast SE Plus 6.6 vs Ai

[Slixtiesix]

Hi folks,
Im about to order the new Epson V600. I have worked with Silverfast Se in the past and would like to buy a Silverfast version for the Epson. First thought about the SE Plus version, but now I have seen that the Ai version is only 15 bucks more. The Se version does offer multi-exposure but from what Ive heard it is only 24bit, while the Ai is 48bit but does not have multi-exposure.
Im not a crack when it comes to scanning and would appreciate ease of use.
The scanner is intended for web use only and maybe small prints (if the quality is good enough...)
What should I do?
Regards, Benjamin

 

[mrred]

What should I do?

Serriously consider Vuescan pro. It's alot cheaper, faster, and does a better job. I have both (Ai Studio) and I never use Silverfast anymore.

And that *is* my opinion.

Epson and Silverfast:

One thing they won't tell you - if there is any other scanners plugged in (I also have a Plustek) the SF will fail to start. You have to shut off the other scanners to use the product. There are lots of startup problems with SF, do a Google search. Mine starts up about %20 of the time. They refused to give my money back and after a year, have yet to fix it. My Plustek version of Ai does not suffer from this, which was why I bought a matching Epson version in the first place.

 

[ctscanner]

I use both the Silverfast SE Plus, and the Vuescan Pro product. Here's my take on the two packages.

I use them pretty much interchangeably - usually it's a matter of running into a set of images that I cannot GET the results I want with the one I am using, so I switch, and oddly enough that usually works. The scanning adjustments are pretty effective on both - with possibly a slight edge to Silverfast IMO. That's a matter of ease of use.

Both offer a fairly large list of Film Profiles for both color and black and white material. Perhaps a slight edge to LSSE here with the number of black and white film types they offer.

My advice: Vuescan Pro is an outstanding bargain. You buy the package, and you are assured of free updates for life. LSSE is the more expensive of the two, and is only good for the scanner you buy it for, and it produces excellent results. That said - I would recommend you get them both. I have used them both for the last 8 years and been very happy with them.

Good luck with the new scanner.