Scanning with Silverfast

March 22, 2011 ·

Mark Segal

By Mark Segal

This discussion is the digest of much reading and trial, error and head-scratching. Users new to Silverfast will find it hugely lessens an otherwise steep learning curve.

Unlike Vuescan, the same "version" of Silverfast is issued in an edition customized to each scanner model – and interestingly enough – at difference prices depending on the scanner. Hence there could be some differences between how Silverfast operates with my scanner versus others. As I only know it from the operational experience of my scanner, that information will have to suffice here, but your mileage may vary. For sake of brevity (but unfortunately it remains not too brief!) and practicality, this is a "do this, do that" discussion with little surrounding commentary, confined only to the subject matter of this article – colour negatives. Recall, there are no IT8 targets or ICC calibration possible for the scanner when using this medium; instead there is "Negafix", which con...

Mark has been making photographs for the past six decades and started adopting a digital workflow in 1999 first with scanning film, then going fully digital in 2004. He has worked with a considerable range of software, equipment and techniques over the years, accumulated substantial experience as an author, educator and communicator in several fields and is a frequent contributor to the Luminous-Landscape website. Mark developed a particular interest in film scanning and authored the ebook “Scanning Workflows with SilverFast 8, SilverFast HDR, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop” available on the SilverFast website. In his “other life” (the one that pays for the photography), Mark is a retiree from the World Bank Group and now a consultant in electric power development.

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