Silverfast on a Mac

[alanps]

Just about to take the plunge and buy some decent scanning software for my Epson 3170 scanner. Will be running this on a Mac OSX.

Main purpose is to scan b/w negatives (some color also) - any one here had experience or recommendations? Particularly Silverfast - I tried contacting them to get info on configurations etc but no response, makes me a little nervous....

Thanks in advance
Alan

[Kirk Gittings]

Response can take a couple of days, but they will get back to you. PM Ted Harris with your question. He runs all Macs. I run both but SF only from PCs.

[Gordon Moat]

It is fairly easy to download a demo version, and give it a run. All the functions will work in the demo, though the word "Silverfast" will be ghosted over the image. If you decide to purchase, all you would need to do is enter the serial number they mail to you . . . no re-install necessary.

Also, quite often people find that the SE or SE-Plus versions are quite good enough. While you don't get all the features like in AI and AI Studio, it is still fairly powerful software.

The QuickTime videos explaining the various controls and functions are highly recommended. It can be sometimes difficult to figure out what control does what, or even how some of them work. There is a learning curve to getting the most out of SilverFast, but it is not difficult to learn.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography (http://www.gordonmoat.com)

[SamReeves]

I did Silverfast with OS9 up until a couple of years ago. No problems with OS 9, but I read they would not support Intel Macs on OS X. Therefore I ditched Silverfast and went with Vuescan. No complaints from me, as Vuescan does a nice job on Kodachrome.

[Kirk Gittings]

According to the website, Silverfast is fully compatible with Tiger and in the process of being updated scanner by scanner for Leopard.

http://www.silverfast.com/show/leopard/en.html

[alanps]

Just a note to say THANKS! - I mean seriously on any other discussion forum it would take days if not weeks to get decent responses. I posted this, popped off to get a spot of lunch and..........

Truly amazing - and much appreciated - this is a great forum

Alan

[Tyler Boley]

been running Silverfast on OSX for years, no problems.
Tyler

[uniB]

Yep, I've been using the demo today on OSX Leopard and it's fine

[Jeffrey Sipress]

I find that the extra expense for software is not necessary to get better results with BW negs. I use the stock scanner driver for BW negs and get fine results. No color worries, which is 90% of the battle.

[Ted Harris]

Silverfast runs fine on Tiger and I will give it a try on Leopard next week. I know it has been upgraded to Leopard fir both Ai and Studio.

I will be running it on the new Microtek M1 which is shipping Monday in the Pro version with the Silverfast bundle so I should have results late next week or early the week after.

[Kirk Gittings]

the new Microtek M1 which is shipping Monday

Who doesn't believes in miracles?

[neil poulsen]

Normally, I don't have a problem running Silverfast AI on my Powerbook with Tiger. But, it's seemed to hit a snag, lately; the scanner doesn't appear to communicate with the software.

Don't know what problem has occurred, but I suspect that, as soon as I reformat the drive, the problem will be fixed. I reformat once and a while anyway, to sort of clean out the system.

[Henry Ambrose]

I use Silverfast and like it. But I'm not so sure I'd buy it if I had a 3170. I'd put the money into a new scanner. Not that your scanner is bad but you could step up your quality with a new scanner. I think you can get all you're going to get out of your B&W negatives with the Epson software that comes with the scanner. I use Silverfast for color and think its worthwhile. For mostly B&W work I'd spend the money on new hardware.

[alanps]

The epson software continually crashes - support is terrible - and it won't scan color negs - hence getting better software is my priority.

For my purposes the 3170 is good enough - I am simply making a record of all my past work.

Best
Alan