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Author Topic: What's up Lasersoft???  (Read 3903 times)

davidh202

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What's up Lasersoft???
« on: November 23, 2011, 02:21:46 pm »

Got an E mail today... to buy the "last of the Kodachrome IT8 Targets" at a quadrupled price of $195! -Was $50 a month or so ago.
I had considered the new Studio 8 program,mostly to work with my old Kodachromes, but they just put themselves over the line !!!

Nothing like price gouging, ey Lasersoft!
« Last Edit: November 23, 2011, 02:23:36 pm by davidh202 »
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RFPhotography

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Re: What's up Lasersoft???
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2011, 02:40:12 pm »

Supply and demand.  Supply is finitely limited.  Demand likely outstrips supply by a fair margin. 
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Mark D Segal

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Re: What's up Lasersoft???
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2011, 08:08:09 pm »

Got an E mail today... to buy the "last of the Kodachrome IT8 Targets" at a quadrupled price of $195! -Was $50 a month or so ago.
I had considered the new Studio 8 program,mostly to work with my old Kodachromes, but they just put themselves over the line !!!

Nothing like price gouging, ey Lasersoft!

David,

You may be aware that Kodachrome - both the film and the ability to process it are EXTINCT. I have no comment on the pricing of the targets, because that is a marketing decision of LaserSoft Imaging, but as you most likely know it is quite normal that the prices of scarce items in demand increase to balance the market. If they do balance the market at those prices, good for them, if they don't, perhaps less good for them. As for not buying the application because of this, I'd recommend you have a second thought about that. Firstly, they provide bespoke Kodachrome profiles for your scanner MODEL. Depending on the manufacturing consistency of your scanner, those profiles may well be very satisfactory. If you use a canned SilverFast profile and you find that with your particular scanner it has a systematic bias, you can create image processing presets in the application that correct for this systematically. OK, it's one more processing step, but once you set it up, a mouse-click and not the end of the world.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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degrub

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Re: What's up Lasersoft???
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2011, 10:59:21 pm »

B&H has them for 50 USD. from LS
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Mark D Segal

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Re: What's up Lasersoft???
« Reply #4 on: November 23, 2011, 11:24:09 pm »

I understand Mark but....
I have E mailed Lazersoft 3 times now since Version 8 was released and was assured that my scanner (Microtek i900) would be supported with full functionality. As of this date Version 8 is still not released for any of the Microteks. They have repeatedly been vague in their response to me and I am not very pleased now that they have upped the price on the targets and the upgrade to 6.6 even though I was previously  told they would offer a discount.
 V6.6 does not support Windows 64 bit the HDRI, ISRD, or Digital Ice features so what's the point of spending close to $650 for old software and a IT8 target?

David
     

David, I focus more on the technical side of application features and functionality, so my musings about the commercial side of it may be off-base, but for what it's worth, I think there are several issues bundled here which perhaps should be unpacked. Firstly, version 8 being very new, the truth is they are still rolling out and there are hundreds of scanner models out there, so they are obviously prioritizing probably based on a number of reasonable criteria. Unlike some other scanning software, this application has a great deal of under-the-hood customization to the scanner model. They do this customization from the bottom up with actual scanners and engineers who write code for them and test it. This takes time and costs money. I have no idea when your model will be provided for, but I think a reasonable expectation is that they are working on it and numerous others, so it should be rolled out just as soon as they can manage it - that's in their interest.

If you had version 6.6, look at the grade you have - is it SE, SE+, Ai or Ai Studio. Also look at what version of 8 you wish to change to: is it SE, SE+ or Ai Studio? My understanding is that the price to get from 6.6 to 8 differs depending on whether you are cross-grading to an equivalent version going from 6 to 8, or up-grading both the version and the grade. To use the target you need the grade that supports Auto IT8 profiling. As far as I understand it, the Kodachrome target is a separate purchase regardless, and if B&H still has them for 50 bucks, if you have any intention of getting a SilverFast version that supports Auto IT8 profiling for your scanner, obviously go for one of those targets while they last at that price. It's a bit of a crap-shoot to wait for your SF8 scanner version to be ready, then test the canned profile for adequacy, then find out whether B&H still has them at that time for this price.

Turning 
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
Author: "Scanning Workflows with SilverFast 8....."

degrub

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Re: What's up Lasersoft???
« Reply #5 on: November 24, 2011, 12:06:05 am »

i would talk with LSI Germany  to be sure of the upgrade cost from 6.6 to 8 if you plan to purchase 6.6 now. Just so there are no surprises when/if you decide to move to 8. Sometimes they can be flexible. You can also try working through the store to see what the upgrade might cost but sometimes that requires a serial number to get the right cost.

Frank
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Mark D Segal

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Re: What's up Lasersoft???
« Reply #6 on: November 24, 2011, 08:18:43 pm »

David,

Sending your media to a pro service, such as Scancafe for example, is definitely an option; they do a decent job. But you need to be mindful of the file formats they can provide and the resolution. You are trading off control and potential quality for convenience. I think that decision depends on how much stuff you want to scan, how much time you have on your hands, and how much interest you have in controlling the process to get the best possible quality out of it. If you have the time and want full control and top quality, it may be an idea to buy a decent film scanner bundled with SF8 and if it is not AI Studio grade, upgrade it; but may be best to hang on a while - once LSI releases SF8 for your current scanner, you can download the demo, try it and see whether it works well enough for your needs before investing more money apart from the upgrade.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
Author: "Scanning Workflows with SilverFast 8....."

degrub

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Re: What's up Lasersoft???
« Reply #7 on: November 24, 2011, 08:51:45 pm »

If you do not have the IT8 option in your current version of SF, you might check to see if you can get that option or if it requires a further upgrade at this point. Good scanning results are more from developing the skills than from the version of the software.

Have you checked with any local colleges that have photography or media courses ? you might be able to get time on a film scanner there - either by taking a class or other arrangements. A photography club might also have access to one.

i would practice with what you have already. GO through the scanned images and see which ones are really worth putting some effort into.

If you really get stuck on the software end, there are alternatives like  Vuescan. The Microtek software was buggy when i was using it years and years ago. i switched to SF and played with Vuescan for a while while i was deciding what to use. For what you seem to want to do, Vuescan may be acceptable. Ed supports IT8 based profiling, just make sure you get the calibration file for the target from the SF  website.

Frank

PS- 69 was the right price for the target at B&H, not 50.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2011, 09:18:38 pm by degrub »
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