To see product details, add this item to your cart.
FREE Returns
Return this item for free
Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
Learn more about free returns. How to return the item? - Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Plustek Estore
To see product details, add this item to your cart.
Ships from: Billion Star Inc. Sold by: Billion Star Inc.
Other Sellers on Amazon
- 5 VIDEOS
Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- To view this video download Flash Player
Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE , 35mm Film & Slide Scanner. 7200 dpi / 48-bit Output. Integrated Infrared Dust/Scratch Removal. Bundle Silverfast SE Plus 9 , Support Mac and PC.
Return this item for free
Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
Learn more about free returns.- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Return this item for free
Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
Learn more about free returns.- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Purchase options and add-ons
Media Type | Negatives, Slide, Photo |
Scanner Type | Photo |
Brand | plustek |
Connectivity Technology | USB |
Product Dimensions | 4.72"D x 10.71"W x 4.69"H |
Resolution | 7200 |
Item Weight | 1600 Grams |
Minimum System Requirements | Windows 7 |
About this item
- Built-in infrared channel can detect dust and scratches on the surface of the original negatives and slides. It is highly useful for defect removal without retouching the images.
- 7200 x 7200 dpi (69 Megapixels) for 35mm Negative film and mounted slides. 48-bit input, 24/48-bit output
- Up to 3.6 Dynamic Range Enhanced Multi-Exposure Function for improved image quality 64-bit hardware and software support
- Powerful software include - bundles with Plustek QuickScan and LaserSoft Imaging Silverfast SE Plus
- Support Windows 7/ 8/ 10/11 and Mac OS 10.7 to 14.x , user can download driver from Plustek website
- PlustekOpticFilm 8200i SE Film & Slide Scanner Converter + 35mm Negative Film Stripe kit x 4This bundle contains 5 items
- PlustekOpticFilm 8200i SE Film & Slide Scanner Converter + 35mm Negative Film Stripe kit x 2This bundle contains 3 items
Frequently bought together
Similar items that may ship from close to you
- Kodak Slide N SCAN Film and Slide Scanner with Large 5” LCD Screen, Convert Color & B&W Negatives & Slides 35mm, 126, 110 Film Negatives & Slides to High Resolution 22MP JPEG Digital PhotosFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2
- Plustek OpticFilm 8300i Ai Film Scanner - Converts 35mm Film & Slide into Digital, Bundle SilverFast Ai Studio 9 + QuickScan Plus, Include Advanced IT8 Calibration Target (3 Slide)FREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2
- Plustek OpticFilm 8200i AI - 35mm Film & Slides Scanner. IT 8 Calibration Target + SilverFast Ai Studio 9, 7200 dpi Resolution 64Bit HDRi , Mac/PCFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2
- Plustek OpticFilm 135i - Automatic Film & Slide Scanner, Batch converts 35mm Slides & Film Negatives, Support 3rd Party Editing Software Export, Max. 7200 dpiFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2
- Epson Perfection V850 Pro scannerAmazon's Choicein Flatbed ScannersFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2
WARNING:
Important information
Visible screen diagonal
1" / 1 cm
Product Description
Plustek OpticFilm 35mm film and slide scanner – High resolution, high quality digital images from your film and slides
The OpticFilm 8200i SE is a high-performance 35mm film and slide scanner that outputs brilliant digital images from analog film. It’s ideal for digitizing slides, color film and black and white film.
It’s the perfect scanner for professional and amature film photographers, and people that simply want to convert their old film and slides to digital format.
The OpticFilm 8200i SE uses a CCD sensor with 7200dpi high-resolution, specifically designed for film scanning, with 48-bit color bit depth that captures all the details from the original film. The scanner’s infrared channel removes dust and scratches eliminated the need for extensive post-processing correction.
Extraordinary enlargements from photo film
|
|
|
---|---|---|
State of the art imaging systemThe Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE is designed with state-of-the-art illumination and optical systems. It uses a high-sensitivity color CCD sensor and LED illumination to ensure optimal image quality. The built-in infrared channel detects dust and scratches on the film surface and automatically removes them. |
7200 DPI High ResolutionThis dedicated 35mm film scanner features true 7200 dpi optical resolution that ensures sharp and vivid images. Output files up to 68.9 megapixels are similar to those created by a full frame digital-SLR camera. You can create high-quality enlargement prints up to 36” x 24”. |
High Dynamic RangeDynamic range is the range of recordable light from darkest to lightest on the exposed film that a scanner can read. With a dynamic range of up to 3.6 D, you will rediscover how beautiful and natural the highlights and shadows are in analog photography. |
iSRD - Infrared Dust and Scratch Removal
Slides and negatives always have small dust particles and tiny scratches on them, even when handled very carefully.
The OpticFilm 8200i scanner has an infrared channel that finds all the the dust and scratches on the film surface. Infrared light has a very wide wave-length, which allows it to pass through film emulsion of negatives and slides without resistance, as opposed to scratches and dust particles that reflect it. SilverFast iSRD utilizes this behavior as follows.
The image is scanned two times - the first is the regular scan and the second is the additional infrared scan that captures defects like dust and scratches only. Then the calculative dust and scratch removal takes effect, only where the infrared channel has detected any defects without losing any important details.
In conclusion, OpticFilm 8200i Series can automatically remove the dust and scratches from the scanned image.
Dust and scratches are removed during the scanning process eliminating the need for post-process removal of dust and scratches.
(PS: The scanner's infrared rays cannot permeate through the silver halide layer, so it not works for B/W negatives scanning.)
Professional-grade software for scanning and optimizing scanned images
The Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE scanner is bundled with SilverFast SE Plus 9.
SilverFast software is designed for both professionals and beginners for digitizing their analog images. Its intelligent automatic functions make it much easier to get brilliant results and exceed your expectations.
For Example:
- SilverFast NegaFix with over 120 profiles for negative film ensures best results when converting negatives into brilliant scanned images.
- SilverFast iSRDx feature is perfect for correcting dust and scratches on slides and color negatives without sharpness loss.
- SilverFast Multi-Exposure reveals more shadow details and creates less image noise.
SilverFast software is available for both Mac and Windows platforms and also includes a native Adobe Photoshop plug-in.
How to install Silverfast Software
1. There is a silverfast 9 paper card with the serial number of the scanner on the front and the location of the Silverfast account activation website on the back attached in the box. Please use it to activate your silverfast 9.
2. Please go to the SilverFast’s account activation website to select your scanner model name and apply the unlocked serial number by typing the OpticFilm 8200i hardware serial number.
3. If you already have a MySilverFast account, please click “Login in here” inside red box to login with your silverfast account and password. Then please check your email box to receive the activation link.
4. If you don’t have a MySilverFast account, please fill out the form inside blue box to set up a MySilverFast account. Then click the “Register” button at the bottom of the webpage to activate your account. Then please check your email box to receive the activation link.
With SilverFast SE Plus 9 | With SilverFast SE Plus 9 | With SilverFast Ai Studio 9 | With SilverFast Ai Studio 9 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Customer Reviews |
3.9 out of 5 stars
180
|
4.1 out of 5 stars
745
|
4.1 out of 5 stars
286
|
4.2 out of 5 stars
124
|
Multi-Exposure | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Nega-Fix - True-color negative to positive conversion | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Kodachrome | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
AACO - Auto Adaptive Contrast Optimization | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
SRDx - software based dust and scratch removal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
iSRD - infrared based dust and scratch removal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
HDRi - 64bit RAW data format incl | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Auto IT8 Color Calibration | Basic - 1-slide | Advanced - 3-slide | ||
Expert Mode | ✓ | ✓ | ||
16Bit Histogram | ✓ | ✓ |
Compare with similar items
This Item Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE , 35mm Film & Slide Scanner. 7200 dpi / 48-bit Output. Integrated Infrared Dust/Scratch Removal. Bundle Silverfast SE Plus 9 , Support Mac and PC. | Recommendations | dummy | dummy | dummy | dummy | |
Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | |
Price | $399.00$399.00 | $539.00$539.00 | -10% $179.99$179.99 List: $199.99 | $119.99$119.99 | $349.99$349.99 | -9% $199.00$199.00 List: $219.00 |
Delivery | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2 | Get it Apr 1 - 4 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 2 |
Customer Ratings | ||||||
Colour balance | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.5 |
Picture quality | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
Easy to use | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.7 |
Value for money | — | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.7 |
Tech Support | 3.6 | 4.0 | — | — | 3.3 | 4.2 |
Sold By | Plustek Estore | Plustek Estore | DBROTH | ShopTronics | Amazon.com | Plustek Inc. |
scanner type | Photo | Film | Film | Photo, Film | Receipt | Document, Film, Business Card, Photo |
sheet capacity | — | — | 1 | 8 | 10 | 1 |
connectivity tech | USB | USB | USB, HDMI | USB, HDMI | USB | USB |
optical sensor tech | — | CCD | CMOS | CCD | CCD | CCD |
media type | Slide, Photo, Negatives | Slide | Negatives, Slide | Negatives | Slide, Photo, Negatives, Receipt | USB |
resolution | 7200 | 7200 | 22 Megapixels | 300 | 9600 | 600 |
From the brand
Looking for specific info?
Product information
Product Dimensions | 4.72 x 10.71 x 4.69 inches |
---|---|
Item Weight | 3.53 pounds |
ASIN | B008ASJ2Z8 |
Item model number | 8200I SE |
Customer Reviews |
4.1 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #87,903 in Office Products (See Top 100 in Office Products) #51 in Slide & Negative Scanners |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Date First Available | August 6, 2012 |
Manufacturer | Plustek |
Warranty & Support
Feedback
Videos
Videos for this product
1:35
Click to play video
Plustek OpticFilm - Your First Scan
Plustek Estore
Videos for this product
0:53
Click to play video
Plustek OpticFilm - Removing Dust and Scratches
Plustek Estore
Videos for this product
2:10
Click to play video
Mac OS installation tutorial video
Plustek Estore
Videos for this product
0:24
Click to play video
Plustek OpticFilm -SilverFast Software Reset
Plustek Estore
Videos for this product
2:33
Click to play video
Windows 7/8/10 installation tutorial video
Plustek Estore
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the performance of the scanner. They say the hardware works well and provides high-quality results. Customers also appreciate the value, scratch removal, and settings. However, some customers have mixed opinions on the quality, software, ease of use, and image quality of the product.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the performance of the scanner. They say that the hardware works well, provides high-quality results, and that it lives up to its specifications. Customers also mention that the scanner works quickly and easily, with no glitches.
"...The results of the two scans are averaged, and the results are generally noticeably better than single scans...." Read more
"The device scans very well, and it lives up to its specifications. Except that four months later, the device won't be recognized by Windows10...." Read more
"...This scanner does a great job!..." Read more
"...No glitches whatsoever. Smooth install using SilverFast 8.0 software on both Mac OS 12 (Monterey), Mac OS 10 (El Capitan) and Windows OS 10 Pro...." Read more
Customers like the value of the scanner. They say it's worth the money, provides amazing quality for an affordable price, and is well worth all their time. It's a fairly fast and inexpensive slide scanner that digitizes large batches of photos and slides. Customers also find it to be an invaluable tool for unearthing their own past and preserving special projects.
"...I have found this scanner to be an invaluable tool for unearthing my own past, and I recommend it highly to anyone with the time and inclination to..." Read more
"...100 on top of the scanner, it saves a lot of time and I feel is worth the investment...." Read more
"...product line, this particular scanner provides just enough to help preserve quality memories." Read more
"...surface defects, Thus, my final product was much improved and worth the expense...." Read more
Customers are impressed with the infrared dust and scratch removal. They say it works well to virtually eliminate scratches and dust marks from both negatives and slides. They also mention that the IR pass identifies dust so it can be compensated for during the scan.
"...It has an infrared scanning option that detects and removes scratches and dust from the image. It really works!..." Read more
"...The Plustek's infrared dust/scratch removal is very helpful, but not perfect...." Read more
"...The way it cleans up dust and imperfections is brilliant...." Read more
"...less than astonishing, particularly the ability to virtually eliminate scratches and dust marks form both negatives and slides...." Read more
Customers like the settings of the scanner. They mention that it has many possible settings, the left-hand panel provides a clear overview of all the selected settings, and the average settings are probably fine. They like the output options, all the important and useful file formats are there, and that the software has a lot of options for enhancement. They appreciate the control over PPI and color correction, and say that the DPI for the scan is adjustable.
"...Control over PPI and color correction is a major plus with this system as well...." Read more
"...DPI for the scan is adjustable. An IR pass identifies dust so it can be compensated for during the scan and provide very clean images." Read more
"...I like the output options, all the important and useful file formats are there...." Read more
"...and like the way the left-hand panel provides a clear overview of all the selected settings...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the quality of the scanner. Some mention that it's well built and provides high quality scans, while others say that it works OK, but the scans were relatively poor quality and it takes a long time to scan a roll.
"...done a few hundred slides and negatives with this unit and the quality of the scans and the ease of use are really great...." Read more
"...You will get surprisingly good results quickly and with little effort, but if you want to get the most out of your data, you will need to learn to..." Read more
"...My only criticism of the scanner is that it's kind of slow...." Read more
"...The hardware is a workhorse that has not failed...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the ease of use of the scanner. Some mention that it's easy to set up and use, with user-friendly software. However, others say that the software is not all that intuitive, and is ultra-complicated. They also say the instructions are not very clear, and the learning curve is small.
"...with this unit and the quality of the scans and the ease of use are really great...." Read more
"...supplied installation instructions are a bit confusing, but installation went smoothly, and I was quickly prompted to download and install an update...." Read more
"...the fact that the Silverfast software bundled by plustek is ultra-complicated and counterintuitive in many respects..." Read more
"...It's easy to use and as powerful as you'd like in terms of image adjustments when scanning (and will work with your other installed scanners.)..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the software. Some mention that it's very powerful and interesting to use, while others say that it is challenging to install.
"...The supplied installation instructions are a bit confusing, but installation went smoothly, and I was quickly prompted to download and install an..." Read more
"...The SilverFast software is a nice bonus, but needs simpler documentation to use...." Read more
"...Just don't forget to turn on that tool. I'm not terribly thrilled with the Silverfast software though...." Read more
"It took me quite a while to realize that this scanner is technically completely outdated...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the image quality of the scanner. Some mention they are happy with the image resolution and clean images provided. They say it provides decent images with amazing detail and color. However, other customers say that the scanner produces very poor image quality, with fuzzy, garbled, and distorted images.
"The Plustek 8200i SE is everything advertised. It cleanly converts slides to digital images, allowing those old slide libraries to be viewed/shared..." Read more
"...It's kind of tough getting the right color correction or white balance from negatives that have shifted color over the years...." Read more
"...dust so it can be compensated for during the scan and provide very clean images." Read more
"...To my eye the scans look sharp and bright...." Read more
Reviews with images
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
1 - Set the scan dimensions you want, name (SilverFast automatically increments the name, it will not overwrite), ppi, etc. The Format is a bit odd as it sometimes looks like it is giving you less resolution at a larger size, but it really isn't. My suggestion is to start at 3600ppi, unless you know you will need higher or lower resolution. Of course the speed changes a lot when you change the ppi. You also choose the file format here. I would have liked to see PNG format, but the JPEG quality options make this better than it would normally be. The other options (TIFF, etc) will make very large files, which is ok for a few scans, otherwise it would just be too much data.
2 - Set the proper Transparency/Negative options for what you are scanning. I would suggest setting the Frame to fullscreen. You can crop later.
3 - Turn iSRD and SRDx on, but turn off the 1:1 (Exact Preview). If you want to verify your SRDx settings, you can turn on the 1:1 after Prescan, or leave 1:1 on if you really want to adjust the SRDx settings for each scan. But normally a good setting can be found for all scans ( I set the detection to 1 and Tile Size to 3) and save this step. Also, "Bright Defects" is normally used for negatives and "Dark Defects" is normally set for slides. If you can get rid of 90% of defects without harming the image, consider it close enough. I leave iSRD set to Automatic, and it does a really great job in most cases. NOTE: iSRD can't seem to be used for B&W negatives or crazy things can happen.
4 - Turn all the other options (Densitometer, Picture Settings, NegaFix, and Unsharp Masking) to Auto.
5 - Put the film or slide in the middle position in the scanner, and Push Prescan at the top and wait for the prescan image to show up (30 seconds or so) If this part takes longer than 30 seconds, the magnifying glass is likely set to 100%, which is useful for some things but generally not necessary for the Prescan. Push the magnifying glass to change to full view or turn off 1:1 display on SRDx or iSRD.
6 - Picture Settings and NegaFix can be useful, but *only* in the cases where part of the image is overblown in a spotlight or some area is too bright or too dark. In these cases you can adjust the Midtone, Contrast, Exposure, and Tolerance. This can normally not be fixed afterward, which is why you'd want to do it prior to scanning. Generally SilverFast does a good job with auto brightness and I have only used these other options on a few occasions.
7 - Push the Scan button to do the final scan. If iSRD and SRDx functions are being used, the scan will take about 3 minutes. Otherwise it will take only 30 seconds, but the results will almost always be worse.
It may seem like a lot but once you get going, you see that very few options need changing. It's mostly just the Prescan button, the Scan button, and sometimes the iSRD and SRDx buttons for dust/scratches. The results have been really impressive for both transparencies and negatives.
Note: There is also a Multi-Exposure button that is either on or off. The idea is that it does a second scan (adding to the overall scan time) to get some details that could be lost in the darker background. However, I have seen little to no effect, at least on what I am scanning. YMMV.
UPDATE REGARDING HDR:
SilverFast includes the ability to do some sort of HDR or High Dynamic Range. The idea being, it takes multiple scans in different ways (multiple passes at different brightness levels, hard to explain) to get all available light information and store it all in 1 file. SilverFast calls this HDR RAW or HDRi RAW.
An example would be a dark stage with a spotlight. Without HDR, there would simply be no way to get all the details in the spotlight, and also the details in the dark. If scanning time and disk space are not a concern, this is going to capture the most information from the scan, with 500MB per file.
I'm not really sure the advantage or difference between HDR and HDRi, or why they have both options, maybe to save time/filesize. If you're going the HDR route, I would suggest the 64bit HDRi for color and 32bit HDRi for B&W, which are the maximums. You will then have a file with all information capturable by this scanner.
Then the RAW TIFF files can be taken into Photoshop, and with the HDR Toning feature, you can literally extract the details from both the bright and dark areas, it is really amazing.
However, the other thing you may notice as a downside (other than filesize and scanning time) is that iSRD and SRDx functions are off. Meaning you get all available information from the scans, but that includes the scratches and imperfections as well. These will have to be manually cleaned after scanning, which is not too hard to do with the Photoshop "Healing" tool.
So if the original is in good shape, or has challenging lighting, and time/filesize are not issues, go with HDRi. If the original has lots of challenging damage, or you don't want to spend as much time scanning/cleaning after, go with the 7 steps above.
Installation and registration: I installed first on a Windows 8.1 machine, using the included disks. The supplied installation instructions are a bit confusing, but installation went smoothly, and I was quickly prompted to download and install an update. I also wanted to install the software on my Macbook Pro, and that was a little more complicated. First, I had to contact Silverfast for a download of the installation package, since my Mac doesn’t have an optical drive. But I also had to get a new serial number for the Mac installation. Silverfast allows you to use the software on multiple computers, but only with one scanner. Thus your software is tied to the scanner, and the tracking associated with this may seem a bit complex. Communication with Silverfast support was fast and efficient.
The software has a myriad of options. Learning to scan slides and negatives effectively takes some time and experimentation. You will get surprisingly good results quickly and with little effort, but if you want to get the most out of your data, you will need to learn to exploit the many features available to you. You will also need to learn how to properly handle and mount slides and negatives on provided brackets. Also you’ll want to check the film brand, type, and ISO and set it for those parameters or the closest alternatives in the scanning software.
As others have noted, many slides and negatives will have dust and scratches. You can try to clean them, and I would recommend using compressed air very carefully to remove visible particles before mounting the media. But this is where the 8200i really earns its keep. It has an infrared scanning option that detects and removes scratches and dust from the image. It really works! I’ve scanned images that on prescan looked horrible, but had no trace of dust or scratches when fully scanned with the IR. So experiment with this function early in your initial tests!
Another important feature is the ME option. Selecting ME instructs the scanner to do two passes at two different exposures. The results of the two scans are averaged, and the results are generally noticeably better than single scans. I almost always use this feature, though often the difference between an ME scan and a non-ME scan is subtle.
Each additional scan, the IR scan and the ME scan, adds time to the total scan time for each image. Increasing the resolution also increases scanning time. Because I’m interested mainly in viewing images on a monitor rather than in printing images, I usually set the resolution to 2400 ppi. Higher resolution will not be noticeable on today’s monitors. At this resolution, each tiff file is just over 20mb.
Problems? The scanner has gotten confused once or twice, for example, when I’ve hibernated my Windows machine with the scanner powered on and connected. I agree with other reviewers that the video-based help system takes some getting used to, but it is particularly useful when one first tries to gain familiarity with the software interface. But overall, the 8200i has exceeded my expectations.
Top reviews from other countries
- great scanner
- fast (according to scan resolution)
Cons:
- Plustek driver givers wrong color tint
- Silverfast builds on the Plustek driver, so the tint is there too.
Advice:
- buy the Plustek 8200i for the lowest price possible neglecting Silverfast's pricy 'upgrades'.
- use Vuescan software (their reversed engineered driver works flawlessly, indeed OMG)
Background:
- scanned 2 weeks fulltime using Plustek drivers and Silverfast, on two different machines, windows 10 & 11. => Green, blue or red haze in every picture!? Tried resetting, reinstalling, not touching any of the app's settings, still came out awful.
I sent a support ticket to Silverfast, with the above info + many more info and examples.
After literally 5mins the reply was please reset the software, which i stated done in my support ticket.
So done with silverfast!
Szkoda tylko, że nie ma profilu negatywów ORWO, które w Polsce królowały w dawnych czasach - ręcznie trzeba dobierać wszystkie parametry.
Skaner godny plecenia.
The "Plustek 8200I SE OpticFilm 8200iSE Film Scanner - Black" is a digitiser for 35mm colour and B&W films. SilverFast 8 SE for Windows is included although v9 is available. Carriers for 35mm strips (up to 6 frames) and four 2 x 2 mounted slides are included; those for formats such as half-frame 35mm, 126 and 110 are no longer available as optional extras. The scanner is about the size of two 1Kg bags of sugar placed end to end and quite lightweight. Space will be needed for the carriers' travel.
It initially appeared that its power supply was missing. A report was made to the seller, Fuzion, who immediately responded and offered to replace it until they discovered the hiding place which they had twice missed! Excellent service from a UK company.
Although the software is provided on CD for Mac and Windows, it can be downloaded or, when possible, copied to a flash drive via any computer with an optical drive. Silverfast should be installed first followed by the driver package. It is then possible to enter user details and the serial number from the CD case. Its many demo movies may be viewed pre-registration. Once fully installed, updates and upgrades are offered. Depending on the choices made, updates start at €49. Once registration is confirmed, there is an option within two months of purchase for a free like-for-like update (8 SE to 9 SE in this instance).
Controls are limited to a power button and two mode selectors on the front panel. Power input (UK and Euro adapters are provided) is at the rear as is its USB output. Other than the mode buttons, all other functions are controlled in software. Series 8200i includes infra-red capabilities to identify and locate dust on the surface of the film or slide; with their locations noted, they can be later collectively removed. The alternative is to digitally retouch spot-by-spot, or use a 'healing brush' or equivalent within a photo-editing package although potentially time-consuming.
Scanning a colour slide or negative is complex as there are numerous variables. There is a considerable learning curve needed to become familiar with the various settings and their effects for the best results. Although some scans may need minimal correction, others may need several changes to most settings; that takes time!
Silverfast can take-on much of the work but scans can be saved as TIFF files (equivalent to RAW format) to maximise the saved data and detail for later correction in graphics software if desired; if initially saved as a JPG file, some of the detail will be lost and only recoverable if re-scanned. Post-correction, the images can then be saved to relatively small JPG files and the TIFF deleted when no longer needed. TIFF files can be 70 Gb each if scanned at 7200 dpi although 2400 dpi is ideal for high quality A4s printed at 300 dpi and the TIFF files then smaller.
A faded slide can have a strong cast, often pink, blue or green. Changes to individual channels, curves, contrast and brightness with possible changes to black and white points may recover much of what was lost although it can take time as continuous reassessment and adjustment is likely. Experience may allow some settings to be roughly pre-set with expected approximation to ideals. While Silverfast offers a considerable variety of adjustability, most graphics software can do more with many supporting plug-ins for additional effects.
Silverfast supports numerous scanners, flatbeds included, but those supported each need a dedicated version of Silverfast that will need to be purchased and that can prove expensive when several are used. There is an alternative software that claims to offer several advantages, not least internal drivers for all supported models, a Linux version and its low price for a Pro version which alone supports any combination of slide and flatbed scanners for those who cannot install or use Silverfast.
A comparison chart for the versions of SilverFast 9 is available and lists all the new and improved functions where applicable. SE Plus may be a worthwhile and relatively inexpensive upgrade for many users while Ai offers considerably more but with the highest fee (up to €249!). Advanced users may gain considerable benefits if able to justify the greater outlay.
The software/hardware combination is very competent and capable if the owner or user is prepared to put in the effort. Familiarisation with the software controls and awareness of the changes to settings and their effects will pay dividends. The package is not cheap but can pay for itself by preserving slides and negatives that may otherwise be eventually and permanently lost. Irreplaceable family photos (snaps, school photos etc) will need a suitable photo scanner to preserve them; some include a version of Silverfast.