New Plustek 7600i-Ai Film Scanner Review

Mark, it is great to see you here - answering the questions directly via forum is very helpful and much appreciated.

One question from me - does the Vuescan support exposure setting (hardware wise) with the Plustek scanners (I know it is possible with Epson and Microtek scanners)? It is a great way to make two different exposures (scans) and blend them in post processing - gives boost in dynamic range and decreases the noise in the same time (kind of HDR approach).
SilverFast tries to be smart and offers this feature but fails to blend the the scans properly and creates halos around high contrast edges (at least with Microtek F1)

EDIT: yes 120 version would be great !!!
 
Mark,

Many thanks for the reply and information. I am not a Plustek owner (yet), but you have clarified the majority of the areas in which I had questions or queries.

I suspect it will not be long before I have one of your little scanners on its way to me. All the best, and keep up the good work,

Damien


mdruziak said:
The OpticFilm 7400, 7600i SE and 7600i Ai all do multi-sampling and multi-exposure. There may be some confusion because the previous generation of the 7400, the OpticFilm 7200, did not do multi-sampling or multi-exposure.

iSRD will work with any of our scanners with an "i" after the model number.

Here is a detailed comparison between the SE and Ai Studio versions of the software: http://www.silverfast.com/comparison/en.html



The "driver" on the website is basically a small app that runs in the windows system tray using Windows WIA. It allows you to do a quick scan using the button on the scanner. The TWAIN implementation is provided through the SilverFast software bundle. If you lost your original CD, drop me a note markdruziak at plustek.com and I'll see what I can do.



The 7400 and 7600i scanners work fine with Vuescan from what I have been told by our support team. I know they run it in the lab on both Windows and Mac platforms.
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Matus said:
Mark, it is great to see you here - answering the questions directly via forum is very helpful and much appreciated.
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You are welcome. One thing that I want our customers to realize is that there are real people at Plustek that do real things... like visit photography forums :)

Matus said:
One question from me - does the Vuescan support exposure setting (hardware wise) with the Plustek scanners (I know it is possible with Epson and Microtek scanners)? It is a great way to make two different exposures (scans) and blend them in post processing - gives boost in dynamic range and decreases the noise in the same time (kind of HDR approach).
SilverFast tries to be smart and offers this feature but fails to blend the the scans properly and creates halos around high contrast edges (at least with Microtek F1)
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To be honest, I don't know. That question would be best answered by sending an email to Ed Hamrick at Vuscan. In my experience he has been very responsive. Have you tried SilverFast HDR Studio? I haven't tried this software yet but I had a very candid conversation with David Brooks of Shutterbug Magazine a few months ago and he thinks it is great.
 
Thanks for the kind words. I'm just trying to help!

If you have any questions/feature requests regarding Plustek scanners and VuScan, let me know because I have a conference call with the VuScan marketing director on 12/14.

Mark
 
Silverfast has not changed one bit. I went to the link to check the differences and was overwhelmed by icons, abreviatios, footnotes, so I can `t even read read the damn thing. Had Silverfast with my Epson 4780 which was just as bad. They are too lazy to use words and expect people to learn some foreign system. I took it out and just use Epson software. Scans are fine. I also get along with KM software for my KM5499.
Silverfast remains an unimaginable mystery with no logical human interface. They just don`t get it. I want to be a photographer, not a computer geek.

Silverfast, make some user friendly software. Perhaps I will try again someday. This also keeps me from buying the scanner too if the software takes 5 years to learn.

After all, I just expect it to get the density and color right and get it into photoshop.

Go study Nik software ir even Adobe to see what it takes. Maybe you could bring in some real people who would tell you what is needed.

I just want a manual system that does eposure & color balance and remembers the setting so it can repeat on the next frame. Or is that too much to ask?
 
Ronald M said:
Silverfast has not changed one bit. I went to the link to check the differences and was overwhelmed by icons, abreviatios, footnotes, so I can `t even read read the damn thing. Had Silverfast with my Epson 4780 which was just as bad. They are too lazy to use words and expect people to learn some foreign system. I took it out and just use Epson software. Scans are fine. I also get along with KM software for my KM5499.
Silverfast remains an unimaginable mystery with no logical human interface. They just don`t get it. I want to be a photographer, not a computer geek.

Silverfast, make some user friendly software. Perhaps I will try again someday. This also keeps me from buying the scanner too if the software takes 5 years to learn.

After all, I just expect it to get the density and color right and get it into photoshop.

Go study Nik software ir even Adobe to see what it takes. Maybe you could bring in some real people who would tell you what is needed.

I just want a manual system that does eposure & color balance and remembers the setting so it can repeat on the next frame. Or is that too much to ask?
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Ronald, not that I would call SilverFast perfect, but once you have learned a few basics it is straight forward. If you dont know what an icon means, rest the mouse pointer over it and wait for context help.

I prefer Silverfast over Vuescan.
 
berlincontemporary said:
Ronald, not that I would call SilverFast perfect, but once you have learned a few basics it is straight forward. If you dont know what an icon means, rest the mouse pointer over it and wait for context help.

I prefer Silverfast over Vuescan.
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Have to say after using both, I don't find either to be user-friendly. Both good, technical pieces of software, but both as user friendly as photoshop is to a novice.

Pity really, seeing as they are the only game in town.
 
I have a 7300 SE-Plus,
The multi-scanning helps reduce grain, I find using 8x a good setting, but not a fast scanner at that setting at 5000dpi (my normal setting, I adjust that DPI for about a 100mb file size.
the Ai software allows 16bit scanning, the SE-Plus allows 8bit scanning.
 
mdruziak said:
You are welcome. One thing that I want our customers to realize is that there are real people at Plustek that do real things... like visit photography forums :)
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Well, you may set a new standard of other photographic-manufacturers to follow then :)

Seriously, if Plustek wants to be a trend setter, get into 120 format.

I don't need to mention the market incentive in the form of miles of 120 rolls out there waiting to be scanned by Holga-users.

And the rest of us who use 120 with "real cameras" :rolleyes: would also welcome the scanner.
 
shadowfox said:
Well, you may set a new standard of other photographic-manufacturers to follow then :)

Seriously, if Plustek wants to be a trend setter, get into 120 format.

I don't need to mention the market incentive in the form of miles of 120 rolls out there waiting to be scanned by Holga-users.

And the rest of us who use 120 with "real cameras" :rolleyes: would also welcome the scanner.
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Funny you should mention Holga, I am just getting ready to pull the trigger on a Holga camera myself!!! So I may soon have a vested interest in 120 film scanning.

All of the comments on 120 have been noted and I am in a dialog with our product managers.

We do have one option for scanning 120 film and that is the ST64+. It the typical flatbed with transparency adapter. But it could be just the ticket for Holga users.

Mark
 
PKR said:
Hi Mark;

maybe you would help with a question..

Is it possible to wet scan with the Plustek models? My printer, who is a couple of states away, scans my Kodachrome and b+w work on a Creo or other high end flat bed, wet scanning. I usually make a quick scan here on a cheap flat bed, make a few corrections in PS or LR and send a file of my suggested corrections along with the film. He re-scans and prints. Much of my work, if not being printed bigger than 16 x 20 doesn't need the Creo scan, but a wet scan really makes a huge difference in the quality. If I could send a good scan, making most of the corrections here, I would save some time. The Creo is great, but beyond my needs and $ here. One of the Plustek models might solve a problem.

Thanks, p.
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I don't think it is, but let me ask our development team what they think. Give me a couple days to get back to you on this.

Mark
 
What is the difference between the 7500i Ai and the 7600i Ai? Just wondering because I have seen a 7500 for a good price!

Simon
 
sar-photo said:
What is the difference between the 7500i Ai and the 7600i Ai? Just wondering because I have seen a 7500 for a good price!

Simon
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The light source. The 7500 is the previous generation to the 7400/ 7600 models. Not sure if the Dmax is a little less too.

Of the 7400 & 7600 models, the 7600 has iSRD; infrared dust detection.
 
sar-photo said:
What is the difference between the 7500i Ai and the 7600i Ai? Just wondering because I have seen a 7500 for a good price!

Simon
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As Damian says regarding the differences. Image quality is pretty much the same between the two scanners.

But before you buy a 7500i, there are some good deals right now on 7600i's from some of the on-line resellers. Just make sure you do your pricing research.
 
mdruziak said:
We do have one option for scanning 120 film and that is the ST64+. It the typical flatbed with transparency adapter. But it could be just the ticket for Holga users.

Mark
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Mark,

If I was talking about flatbed scanners, I would have said so. There are a number of flatbed scanners that are capable of handling 120 format.

I don't consider using a flatbed to scan 120 ideal at all, you can't do it in one sitting, you have to keep reloading the holder, its painful.

A good dedicated 120 format scanner should give us higher quality and easier operation (don't have to mess with holders).

But there is only really *one* option out there for dedicated 120 format that is the super expensive Coolscan 9000. Sure there are the 8000 model or the Minolta out on ebay, but good luck finding enough of them to satisfy the Holga crowd.

Now, I do recognize that a new product doesn't just "happen" but I think if marketed properly, this could be a niche market that is worth pursuing for a company like Plustek.

Simply based on the number of those Holga users who want a *painless* way to get their shots online. Plus non-Holga users like myself who use the scanner as an alternative to making contact prints.
 
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You are aware that on Plustek 35mm scanners you still mess with holders, right? :) I wouldn't hold my breath for a scanner with automatic feed (especially 120), it will complicate the scanner and add to the cost tremendously.
 
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