SilverFast's automatic IT8 bar-coded calibration feature with the targets included in the Ai version make calibration a very quick, one button operation.The scanner's infrared scanning coupled with SilverFast's iSRD or VueScan's defect removal feature can identify and eliminate dust and scratches from color film automatically or manually.The SilverFast multi-exposure option for positive film improves shadow and highlight detail by exposing one pass for the shadow detail and a second pass for the highlight detail, effectively enhancing the density range of the hardware while minimizing noise.The SilverFast multiple sampling function reads the same spot up to four times, averaging the values to minimize image noise.Scans 35mm slides and 35mm six-frame filmstrips with included film holders.
In either configuration, the highlights of the Plustek scanner and LaserSoft software combination include:
The SE configuration includes SilverFast 6.6 SE Plus Multi-Exposure.Power LED, two task buttons, Power button with holder slots on the side. The hardware ships in two software configurations:īusiness End. That runs the gamut of quality and provided a robust real-life test for the OpticFilm and SilverFast scanning combination. We used the various combinations over a period of several weeks to scan not only our best Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides but also some color negatives from the 1970s that had been damaged in a flood. And VueScan does recognize the 7600i, providing archival scans and defect removal, too.
LaserSoft also offers an Archive Suite for more advanced options, which we cover in a companion piece to this article. In particular, that means defect removal of dust and scratches. So what was Plustek thinking when they developed their OpticFilm 7000 series of film scanners?Īnd to do it better, they partnered with LaserSoft to bundle a version of its SilverFast scanning software that does just what film scanning needs to do. And high-end all-in-one devices like the Canon MP980 can handle the odd color negative and 35mm slide scan, too. In part this is because flatbeds like the Epson V700/V750 and Microtek F1/M1 have risen to the occasion, producing film scans of excellent quality.