Photographer Mark Segal is an expert in scanning technique and has recently written a tutorial entitled:
Scanning – The Old World Joins the New
Mark explores calibration, scanning with the EPSON V750 Pro and techniques for an integrated workflow between SilverFast and Adobe’s Lightroom. The tutorial is available as a free downloadable .pdf file, which can be read onscreen or printed out for reference. Mark has parsed his tutorial in five topics:
- SilverFast’s Auto-IT8 scanner calibration procedure
- SilverFast’s version of HDR in 64-bit mode
- SilverFast’s new hardware-based dust and scratch removal technology called iSRD
- Performance of the EPSON V750 Pro scanner
- An integrated workflow between SilverFast and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Mark’s conclusion on the iSRD feature: “Those who have large quantities of old transparencies and negatives to scan will find this feature-set to be not only very effective, but also a huge time-saver. As well, there is an added element of flexibility to this workflow, insofar as the infra-red channel remains with the saved HDR scan, so the user has the choice of using iSRD at scan time or any time thereafter.”
Read the complete review by Mark Segal here … (.pdf)
Just read about the automatic Hot-Folder system in SilverFast—that’s exactly what I’ve been missing for batch scanning my old negs. Setting up a watched folder so the software processes images on its own sounds way more efficient than my current click-every-single-file routine. Definitely going
I found it interesting that the article highlights an integrated workflow between SilverFast and Adobe Lightroom. This suggests that SilverFast isn’t just a standalone scanning tool, but is designed to work seamlessly with modern photo editing software, which would be really valuable for photographers who want to maintain a smooth pipeline from scanning physical images to post-processing them digitally.