[Leica] Another Kodachrome

[digiratidoc at gmail.com (James Laird)]

Tim,

>From the B&H website for LaserSoft Imaging SilverFast Ai 6.6 Scanner 
>Software:

Kodachrome

Kodachrome Scans without Bluecast, Dust and Scratches with SilverFast
    By implementing improved Kodachrome routines into SilverFast
Version 6.6 it's finally possible to achieve high quality scans of
Kodachrome slides with the highest possible dynamic range: color
calibrated and free of bluecast, dust, and scratches

Kodachrome ICC Profiles & Scanner Calibration
    Anyone working with Kodachrome scans without properly adjusting
the scanner to the special film material knows the problem of the
nasty bluecast. Some scanner manufacturer's software may have a
Kodachrome mode for selection, which usually isn't very helpful,
because a device specific calibration is lacking. It needs a color
calibration with a Kodachrome target to avoid the bluecast problem
completely. Unfortunately Kodak has stopped producing Kodachrome Q60
targets in 1999.

    Therefore we have implemented generic Kodachrome ICC-profiles for
many supported film scanners in SilverFast 6.6. This is a good
starting basis. For really true color results it needs a scanner
calibration. For this purpose LaserSoft Imaging offers special
Kodachrome targets

Kodachromes with Maximum Dynamic Range
    It is a considerable challenge to scan a Kodachrome slide without
sacrificing some of the film's inherent dynamic range. This is because
Kodachrome's dynamic range reaches up to 3.8D - which is a grayscale
range of 6300 shades and equals a contrast range of 1:6300!

    Fortunately SilverFast Multi-Exposure can handle the enormous
dynamic range with film scanners. This assures reproducing the deepest
shades inside Kodachromes successfully

Kodachromes without Dust and Scratches - SRD and iSRD
    Because its film material is very different than normal color
films, ordinary dust and scratch removal tools (like ICE) fail with
Kodachromes. SilverFast uses a combination of advanced dust and
scratch removal functions, SRD and iSRD, on several layers and masks
in order to guarantee dust and scratch free Kodachrome scans

>> snip

By utilization of iSRD & SRD and several layers & masks it is even
possible to remove dust and scratches from very challenging film
material like Kodachrome or B/W-film reliably. This isn't achievable
with similar systems from other manufacturers

Sounds good if it works. Tina?

Jim

On Tue, May 11, 2010 at 9:46 AM, Tim Gray <tgray at 125px.com> wrote:
> On May 11, 2010 at 09:39 AM -0500, James Laird wrote:
>>
>> What would scare me away would the support issue. Film scanner are
>> getting to be like Kodachrome, a thing of the past. Who know how long
>> Silverfast will be around. And will they keep updating it for the
>> latest OS?
>
> They seem to update their software pretty frequently. ?They officially
> support OS X 10.6 for the Nikons for example, which is better than can be
> said for Nikon itself.
>
> By the way, if I were hypothetically interested in Silverfast, which 
> version
> do people suggest? ?That's the other thing that is off putting to me. ?6
> different versions with obtuse nomenclature.
>
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