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