Anyone using Silverfast for scanning ?

[TravisM]

I have a Prime Film 3600 auto 35mm roll scanner. I never use it because the utility that came with it sucks lemons.

Nice little rig that will scan an entire roll of 35mm.

I was reading about Silverfast AE for about $48 as a replacement scan utility for this and many other scanners. Wondering if anyone is using it? If so do you like it?

[connealy]

I have the light version, Silverfast SE, which came bundled with my Epson 2450, and I use if for scanning medium format.  It is pretty versatile in regard to adjusting the scans and I think it does a pretty good job.

[Don Day]

I like what it can do--the latest SE versions even have a mode for capturing the extreme nuances of blocked-up highlights (there's a meaningless buzz name for that that I can't recall).  But I find that the workflow is very confusing to manage, even with (or because of) the popover wizard, and the default film profiles match nothing that I actually use.  Its a case in which the features I am looking for and the features they provide have very little in common, despite its technical sophistication. I'm still relying on the Epson scan interface, which I can at least understand, even if it is less capable in some respects.

[TravisM]

I do have an Epson scanner that I use for my film. But I like the Idea of just scanning a roll since that is how I get my color developed. No Prints.

This 3600 makes it easy but am not happy at all with the scan util.
I was just entertaining getting this or trading/selling the 3600. It gets no use as is.

[jake]

Looks like the drivers for this machine were fairly recently updated earlier this year. Perhaps that has increased the functionality a bit. Might check:

http://www.scanace.com/en/download.php

Doesn't look like the 3600 has a Digital ICE capability, which means that dust on color film is more of a pain in the a%%.

[wjgibson]

I have the SE, came with my  2450, but when my pc hard drive crashed and I  had to reinstall everything, I could not locate my Silverfast  serial number.  So I make do with the Epson  scanning software, which is so-so.

One more thing to remember to store carefully.  Sigh.

[xvvvz]

One thing you should check before buying SE (vs. Ai) is whether you can live without 48bit scanning (except for the HDR option).  Another thing is that I don't believe SE will let you set up to scan more than one frame at a time (it doesn't on the Epson).  That would really affect your roll scanning capabilities.  Definitely download the demo version and use it before buying to make sure you know exactly what you are getting.
 
Doug

[TravisM]

Ah good point. Will have to check on that.  As fo rthe updated drivers unless it was a total rebuild it's probably not gonna matter. Spent alot of dough on that thing and it just sits there laughing at me.