Is Vue Scan really the best software out there?

[Gilo25]

I have an Epson V700 Perfection scanner which I have been using for a couple of years with the Epson software which comes with the item. I am generally satisfied (although not overwhelmed) with the results, but I keep hearing that Vue Scan is the best software for any scanner and would significantly improve the rsults. Before making the investment (both in trems of money and time to learn Vue Scan) I would like to have your opinion on whether there would indeed be a significant improvement in the quality of the scans if one uses Vue Scan.
Thanks to all

 

[kully]

I bought Vuescan for my LS-50 and used it with that and my V700. I sold the LS-50 and only use Epson scan with the V700 - Vuescan may be better, but I cannot tell the difference between it and the Epson software.

Having said that, I don't pixel peep, just make prints upto A3 size.

If you want to improve your scans from your V700, make sure your holder feet are in the correct position (off, 0 or +) and may be invest in some 'better scanning' holders with the ANR glass.

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

I;ve tried vuescan on my Epson 4990 and my Konica MInolta scanners. It might be my incompetence but I didn't see a difference. part from that the ui is far form userfriendly.
I do use colorperfect in PS to convert the negatives scanned as linear positves back to positives. Colorperfect gets me almost everytime good colors right away.

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema

 

[Gilo25]

Kully, many thanks. What is the off,0 or +? I don't see any settings on the holders provided.

 

[Thardy]

A few years ago I bought Vue Scan to use with my Minolta scanner and it made a world of difference in the scanner's usability compared to the software that came with the scanner.

 

[kully]

Take a holder in your hands, turn it over and you will see little feet (you should have also got a little plastic bag with spare ones). These feet can be placed one way or the other or removed. Do a scan with all the feet off, all the feet facing one way and all the feet facing the other way and see which one is the sharpest - use that setting for that holder.

It's just a simple way to calibrate for manufacturing tolerances, made a big difference for me.

 

[sepiareverb]

A few years ago I bought Vue Scan to use with my Minolta scanner and it made a world of difference in the scanner's usability compared to the software that came with the scanner.

+1. I think all scanner interfaces suck, but Vuescan is certainly miles better than what Minolta had on offer. I still use the Epson software with my V700.

 

[Bobfrance]

I found I preferred the Silverfast software for my Epson Perfection 4870.

 

[Ronald M]

Got a new computer and the original Km5400 would not install. So I tried Vuescan for color neg. The colors were horrid, the curves crossed, which basically made the scans unusable and uncorrectable. There appears to be so sophisticated color control in the software.

Then I found some updated KM 5400 software on line, installed and I am back to beautiful scans.

My opinion of of Silverfast is that it overcomplicated. It may work, but it is very expensive and full of crazy icons making it hard to use. I can read and do not need symbols.

I don`t expect perfect scans either. All I attempt is good color and proper density.
PS does everything else for me so it is not like I am expecting a lot.

 

[RayPA]

I don't know if it's the "best" software, but it works and it's stable—which is more than I can say for some other OEM software. Vuescan can feel kludgy to some, and I've seen where it frustrates the h*ll out of some people. I like it a lot. I use it with my KM Dimage Scan Elite 5400 and my V700. You can test it first. The download is initially a trial version until you pay (and get the key).




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[johnamazement]

I prefer VueScan to any other scanner software I've used (Minolta, Epson, Silverfast) because you can get it to output the raw data as it comes out of the scanner (as dng or tiff) and then reprocess the files through VueScan at a later date to get a final image; or—what I do—take the raw file straight into Photoshop or ACR and work from there. Then it's you setting the conversion parameters instead of the software. I thought I was blowing a lot of highlights in my photos until I realised it was the software.

Now the workflow is longer and, as others have said, the VueScan interface isn't very pretty and takes some time to get used to (although you can store presets which speeds things up), but I know I'm seeing all the information in the negative that the scanner is. It's a bit like shooting RAW vs jpg in digital.

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

I prefer VueScan to any other scanner software I've used (Minolta, Epson, Silverfast) because you can get it to output the raw data as it comes out of the scanner (as dng or tiff) and then reprocess the files through VueScan at a later date to get a final image; or—what I do—take the raw file straight into Photoshop or ACR and work from there. Then it's you setting the conversion parameters instead of the software. I thought I was blowing a lot of highlights in my photos until I realised it was the software.

Isn't the linear data from the Minolta software also some sort of raw data?
that's what I scan in before importing it into colorperfect in PS.

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema

 

[thegman]

I think VueScan is pretty nice, I use with a V700 and Canon FS4000US, works great with both. Silverfast looks good, but I never really got to grips with it.

 

[johnamazement]

Isn't the linear data from the Minolta software also some sort of raw data?

It certainly sounds like the same thing but I don't think the Minolta software for my scanner has that option.

 

[OlympusRF]

I've tried and compare by scanning the same in bothe the vuescan and the epson V300 software, and usually the epson software is better.
In some few conditions i like more the colors in the vuescan, but when i compare them both in full size, the vuescan seems a lot worst

 

[Haigh]

I have a V700 and I used Vuescan for a while but I could not see the difference between The Epson software and Vuescan. I use the Epson software because it is user friendly, at least for me.

 

[VF101]

I've done a comparison of vuescan, silverfast and epson software here. Vuescan gave me the worst results, silverfast was good on color negatives, but bad with b&w. So I'll stay with the Epson software.
But I still have to test the three programms with slides, because I'm not impressed with the results I get from Epson. Perhaps vueacans shines with slide film ...

 

[Gilo25]

Thanks all for your feedback, much appreciated.

 

[AFenvy]

I tested Vuescan on my Nikon LS-2000 scanner against the default Nikon Scan software. I didn't like that it did not provide nearly as much control over the scanner. The results spoke for themselves: Vuescan had extreme color casts, more visible grain, and nowhere near the dynamic range or sharpness of the Nikon Scan images. I have never been disappointed in the results I get from Nikon Scan.

 

[Zonan]

One area Vuescan has been lacking has been documentation. There's a new book from Sascha Steinhoff just out, The Vuescan Bible (Rocky Nook), which addresses this. Ed Hamrick, the Vuescan creator, apparently has assisted in this.