Hardware good, software disastrous

*) Apparently very good scanner hardware. At 7200 dpi I get pictures of 65-70 megapixels size, containing all the details of the slides (even the grain of the film!). If you were the uncompressed store, would the huge files. But if you can spend as JPEG, they are only as great as the detail of the image, it requires (eg 2-10 MB). When you open you realize then, however, that the whole thing is a bit slow, because then there is the full resolution in memory.

*) Are technically all of the preconditions for excellent scan results available (infrared and multiple (MultiExposure) scan).

Although these two points are the most important ever, there are on the other side a lot of points for criticism:

*) In the product description ever of 7200 dpi hardware resolution, the speech (on the carton). But if one scans with SilverFast, then the possible scan resolutions are divided into different areas, which is then given as 7200 dpi interpolated resolution. That's suspicious. However, I have made some test scans with 7200 dpi and 3600 dpi, and if you both extremely enlarged to the same size, then for example gradients with 7200 dpi are considerably softer than the so large one quarter resolution 3600 dpi. Also held by the JPEG compression the file size anyway within limits, so that scanning with the higher resolution has hardly any disadvantages.

*) SilverFast: This software is one of the worst products I have seen in recent years. Ultimately, I / I could not use (see below) it. For people who want to optimize a single image to the last detail in hours of work, while it comes with a plethora of features, but the user interface is so bad that you need months to get acquainted there. And if you want to scan thousands of slides, it's completely useless. Too bad about the money for the license which you have pay full price when buying.

*) Unfortunately, there is no magazine feed. One must always 4 mounted slides (or a strip of film with 5 pictures) insert by hand in a frame, which you can then insert. With several thousand slides a lot of work (but well, I knew that beforehand ;-)).

*) The inserting of the slides is basically simple, but the Mechnismus has its pitfalls: On the one hand slips when clamped (for which one needs much force) from light and then matscht with your finger on the slide. On the other hand, the slide is sometimes engaged not quite right, so a tall corner something (what one notices is not always the same). Scanning then goes though anyway, but the result is in this corner somewhat distorted (but still hot). Sometimes you will notice that only when looking at the scans. So you have to look very closely at pinching.

*) Since SilverFast is unusable remains only the 2nd bundled scanning software QuickScan. This is very simple, and therefore easy to use. That's why I use it exclusively. What it does, it can do everything just as well as SilverFast, however are almost all functions for image processing (and that's a good thing, because many interventions worsen the scans more than they improve it, as I find in the testing phase with SilverFast had). Can edit the scans indeed afterwards. Then you can make but in batch mode and does not have to wait long minutes for each image. However QuickScan has also bein few quirks:
-) After inserting a slide to start Quick Scan with the QuickScan button on the scanner. After a done "fast" prescan and you can see the image with a selection frame. The must then align after what you want to scan. Why this framework, however, does not automatically lie on the boundaries of the slides (which are normally significantly badge), is beyond me. So one must first adjust the 4 boundaries before each scan. Annoying because unnecessarily costly.
-) After starting the scan, a window will appear with the possibility of abandonment. If, for example, found that one frame (the one in the background still looks) has not placed optimally, then you can click Cancel while, but that will only take effect if more than 1% is displayed as scanned. Sometimes go by so agonizing 10-15 seconds that are simply vain. And even worse: After canceling the whole window will disappear (with the pre-scan) and one must first make by pressing a new prescan and re-create all margins (although perhaps only a margin would have been correct). Again angry.
-) Sometimes the scanner depends simply on. Error message "Scanning has failed." No info why. Only a terse message "Lichquelle returns to original position", what did not happen. No key can bring it back to life again. One must QuickScan kill with the Task Manager and the scanner off and on again. Then he goes again. Happened at about every 400th scanning.
-) Actually, it's even possible to scan from any application via TWAIN driver. Then you but unfortunately only a maximum of 600 dpi to choose from. Completely incomprehensible.
-) Sometimes (at about every 300th scanning) suddenly changes the setting of Dia ("transparency") to "Negative". One must therefore correct that a new pre-scan triggers on the you have to wait 10 seconds.

Despite all the criticism one can recommend the scanner already. You should only have no illusions about the software. Unfortunately, there are apparently few alternatives in this price range that just make good scans and do not have the deficiencies described.

My experience with Siverfast 8:
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After starting you get each time only one advertising window on which the tiny "start button" on the bottom of the screen is virtually invisible. The most important thing in this window is shown the smallest! The first time after starting, I thought it would be started the wrong program and have completed it again. If you have finally discovered the Start button and click it, then nothing happens when there is no scanner connected, or it is turned off. No error message. You try it then actually not again, because you do not know why it has not been started and is desperately looking for another program.

The left bar sometimes gets a slider, the one does not recognize it as such (much too small and is in the colorful clutter completely under). This one does not realize that yet visible settings have been shifted out of the visible area in advance. They are suddenly easy for no apparent reason away. Only if you (accidentally) provides that there is the slider, you can make them visible again. The instructions say to nothing.

The Workflow Wizard is horrible. On the one hand by his call without asking all the settings made laboriously reset. You notice this until later just happened and then also do not know the reason for the changed settings. While it is somewhere in the details of the instructions, but an info at startup's probably to be expected.

There is no mention that by clicking the comic assistants not simply "start", but that at the same time so that surrounded the work mode. It is pointed out in any way, how to get back * this Workflow Wizard can work then without *. This can be seen only Duch random if you again click on the icon and then all settings reappear.
As a first step, there are in the workflow Assitenten a setting "target". Since there are to choose from:
Archives
Expression
Image processing
Enamel
Color
Internet
Without automatic
Photoshop
Presentation
Quickfix
Repair
X-ray images
Black-And-White
Ohjemine! What a confused listing! Is not a Photoshop image editing? Where is then the difference between the two choices? What "color" and "black and white" as an objective mean? And what "Without automatic"? Where is because then scanned? And repair? Since there is a sub-item "Dust and Scratches". Why is that an "objective"? That really is a processing step. And what does "Quickfix"? The 2 sets of instructions confuse rather than to clarify this muddle.

As a final step in the workflow wizard the file format is selectable. But are suddenly only "TIFF", "PSC" and "JP2" to choose from. Where the other formats like "JPEG" etc. are because go? Totally confusing. The user is not clear why these formats are no longer suddenly selection.

In most settings, a red dot will show the activation and deactivation. This is not always and is anything but intuitive. Looks like (and is indeed) a part of the icon that normally are only more or less artistic gimmicks. To integrate important functions such as turning on and off in these icons to me is also not yet arrived.

After each start is always selected for the file type TIFF. Changes to this setting do not survive the reboot. Just why? One annoyance.

After I had finally had taken most obstacles (or so I thought) and a few slides in the desired mode scanned I wanted to deal with me again with some function in more detail, including with ISDR. And I found that the additional infrared scan the scan time more than doubled. So I wanted to undo. But how? It did not succeed.

The manual is a joke. They understood well only if you know the program has (or has even developed it). The program logic is explained in any way. For the complexity of the program it is also extremely superficial.

All in all you can probably only after the program extremely long training period halfway operate. Most of the questions must be answered with "trial and error" itself. An absolute disaster and a shame for the necessary functionality (which you unfortunately can not control).