Re: opinions re. VueScan?
Re: opinions re. VueScan?
- Subject: Re: opinions re. VueScan?
- From: "Ernst Dinkla" <email@hidden>
- Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2003 17:23:12 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: "Armand Rosenberg" <email@hidden>
To: <email@hidden>
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 10:46 PM
Subject: opinions re. VueScan?
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>
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At first VueScan's interface seemed quite barren (appropriate
for the
>
low price and Swiss Army nature). Then again, I can name plenty
of
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software out there with fancier graphics (and fancier prices)
but
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much more limited ability -- some of which I unhappily own. But
as I
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played with the VueScan demo, I quickly got excited. That
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simple-looking interface is actually quite functional and
logical
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(read: user-friendly) -- a big plus in my book. And, amazingly,
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capabilities that I always knew my scanner had and which
Polaroid had
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suppressed in software (for many years and multiple versions of
both
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their PS plugin and Insight app) were suddenly available to me,
plus
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some extras I didn't even know about.
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Here's why VueScan amazed me: it seems that I can FINALLY pull
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high-bit scans -- something I've been begging Polaroid for
years to
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implement on this scanner. (With Polaroid's sw, the high-bit
scans
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were reduced to 8 bits/channel internally so the user had no
access
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to high-bit data -- and I don't think even Silverfast ever
supported
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this feature on this particular scanner, but I could be wrong
there
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-- anyway, Silverfast is much more expensive.) But wait,
there's even
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more: I can now do multiple-scan averaging. And I can use a
dust spot
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removal system based on IR data which sounds somewhat
equivalent to
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Digital ICE (though I'm sure it's not quite the same). And the
scans
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are fast -- the files show up in PS7 much faster than they ever
did
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with Polaroid's sw. And it'll scan in background... (And it'll
do
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batch scans -- not that my Polaroid really supports this since
it
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can't move the film holder to the next frame, but I could scan
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different corners of each frame into different files I if I
wanted
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to...)
I doubt there's infrared hardware/firmware in the scanner for
dust selection.
If it has been in scanner then Polaroid must have made use of
that hardware feature or Microtek if it is one of the scanners
that's actually made by Microtek. Vuescan shows all those
features for all scanners but they just don't work if the
hardware isn't there. Polaroid has a free dust and scratch
removal program that works independently. Not at ICE level
though.
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As if all this amazing stuff weren't enough, I then stumbled
across
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the built-in ICC profiling component. I was floored at this
point.
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Since I only have the demo version right now, I couldn't try
it, but
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it seems this $80 piece of sw (that does ALL of the above!) can
also
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create profiles for scanners, printers... and NEGATIVE FILM!
(all
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based on scanning appropriate IT8 targets, apparently). I
re-read
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this part of the User Guide about a dozen times, but it seems
that is
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indeed the claim. Profiles? And for negative film?? Huh???
You will need IT8 targets. Wolf Faust can deliver you a good set
for a nice price.
The colour negative estimations of Vuescan itself are really
good. You can't make "profiles" for neg film AFAIK.
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The only nit I have to pick is that the VueScan preview window
does
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not quite match the preview in PS7, though it's close... I
don't know
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if VueScan uses the monitor profile for its preview (which can
be as
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large as your whole screen, BTW -- very nice). But the scan
histogram
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on a high-bit file looks great, unlike the clipped histograms
(at 8
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bits/ch also) that I was used to with Polacolor Insight... so
it
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should be possible to adjust the file after scanning, usually,
even
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if the preview is a bit off.
Monitor profile is possible too. But I use Prove It on the PC.
The license of Vuescan Pro covers 4 copies running on different
systems, hundreds of scanner models, 3 operating systems and
support for a year which probably means 50 updates. That's not
what you get with Silverfast.
Ernst
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