What is your favorite scanning software?

What is your favorite scanning software?

  • Vuescan

    Votes: 168 50.8%

  • Silverfast

    Votes: 67 20.2%

  • Epson Scan

    Votes: 65 19.6%

  • Other (please state)

    Votes: 31 9.4%
  • Total voters
    331
I'll start...I don't like any of them, but if I had to choose one, it'd be Silverfast. I like the film profiles. I haven't played with Vuescan much, but I'm considering it.
 
Vuescan. I have a Nikon 8000ED scanner. There are three choices for scan software:

• Nikon Scan 4 came with it, but it is buggy and often crashes, and it is EXCRUCIATINGLY slow on Intel Macs.

• Silverfast. It costs over $500 for the Nikon 8000ED. No thanks.

• Vuescan. I have had it ten years with free upgrades for life. It never crashes, scans fast, gives great image quality, and was very reasonably priced. Only downside is the poor interface, but once you learn it, it gives incredible scans.
 
Silverfast. I've also used ScanWizard Pro, a software packaged with my Microtek Scanmaker i900. Downloaded trial version of Vuescan--wasn't impressed. Silverfast gives me the most control and best results of all of them.
 
Nikon Scan came with my CS9000. My first few months with the program was an exercise in frustration.

Now I understand it and it works very well. I have tried Vuescan and find it easy to use but not very versatile.
 
I think I'll have to say Epson scan (although I no longer use Epsons) because I love its simplicity and the fact that most functions and terminology mirror PhotoShop's. I detest the way that both Silverfast and Vuescan are just so different. PS is a 'standard' of sorts. Even proprietary software I used in the 80s and 90s for drum scanners were more 'consistent' and PhotoShop-like (even before it was released :)

I'd like to give Vuescan the vote for its continuing support of most scanners. Customer support is pretty non-existent IMO (well I've had no replies to numerous emails or tweets). Still it deserves its support.

Silverfast is fiddly and inconsistent but ultimately can deliver exceptional results.

That's my 2c.
 
Vuescan. Silverfast seems good, but I never got the hang of it. Epson Scan came with my V700 and whilst I got great results once, it never really seemed to work after that. Vuescan worked perfectly with my Canon FS4000, and the V700.
 
Vuescan. It's capable and it works on Linux - both very important pluses. Having said that, I tend to avoid scanning colour negatives since I find getting the final colours right to be an utter pain in the bum.
 
They all suck. I use EpsonScan as it has been the least buggy of the ones I've tried. But is it really necessary to design a software that uses multiple windows for something that should be in one? Click in the window, click the button in the window, click into the next window, click the button in that window, click back to the first window, click to scan. click "Yes, really, I meant to click that"...

And then separate windows for adjustments?
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Vuescan. . . .

• Vuescan. I have had it ten years with free upgrades for life. It never crashes, scans fast, gives great image quality, and was very reasonably priced. Only downside is the poor interface, but once you learn it, it gives incredible scans.
Click to expand...

Chris: I have just started using Vuescan with Nikon scanners. Care to share your preferred method for scanning BW negs (e.g. Tri-x)? Any benefit to scanning as a 16-bit color negative and then gradually subtracting information until you have what you like?

Ben Marks
 
I use them all. Epson scan is good for what it does and is simple to use; perhaps a little noisy with colour but very good for a freebie included with hardware. Vuescan is great but too complex for casual users, has excellent output and DNG to Photoshop capability. Vuescan works with all your scanners the ones you own, will own and is free upgrades forever, meaning if you are serious at scanning is a huge plus point.
Silverfast is an amazing piece of software too, probably gives as good or better results as Vuescan especially with the wonderful canned profiles which for me give easier results especially with harder to scan emulsions. the learning curve is steep with Silverfast and Vuescan but Silverfast is more logical and marginally better especially with respect to noise in the blue channel.
It's biggest drawback is compared to Vuescan is being tied to one scanner and it's cost so despite being a better program is harder to recommend.

For me is can be summed up thus:

Epson Scan—for beginners and occasional scans, very capable

Vuescan—for those with time to learn and master, who may have more than one scanner or upgrade and want to keep the software.

Silverfast—an excellent software capable of peerless results with difficult to scan films but expensive and tied to one scanner.

I use Silverfast for scan to print, but Epson scan for everyday web scans, Vuescan on my Minolta Dimage when I scan 35mm.
 
I bought silverfast for a Reflecta Crystalscan 7200 for mac. The software reminded me of something designed in the early 80's, but it did work, although it was always a bit tempermental.

When Apple bought out OS Lion suddenly the silverfast software would not work due to Apple's change of architecture. Now Apple release developers version of software months in advance, but silverfast never bothered to contact customers to advise there may be an issue with compatibility. I had only had the software for about 6 months and it took Silverfast about another 8 months to state they were releasing a new version of software that would work with the 7200.

So having paid a considable sum of money for the original version, I had 8 months of a non-working scanner.

Silverfast then had the cheek to ask for €20 for the upgrade to the new version. I downloaded the trial, and guess what... It did not work!!

I would not buy from Silverfast ever again... Rubbish company and rubbish service.
 
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