The next one in the range is about £80 more and features infrared scanning for the dust removal this model has dust removal but without the infrared pass so obviously its not as accurate but I never used it much on my v500 so didn’t want to spend the extra £80. This is the cheapest version that Plustek sell. The best thing that this scanner/software does is multi exposure scanning … yes it takes quite a while but the results are worth it also the Negafix option gives you a great starting point with the colours as it features a ton of film profiles that you choose when you begin scanning.Īll in all I bought this scanner to hopefully get better scans which It really does but I am not going to scan all my images with it as the workflow is pretty time consuming rather I am scanning my rolls with the epson 1st then re scanning the frames that I may want to process further or especially if I want to print an image as the amount of detail that it captures is way more than the v500 for sure. I then tried to scan flat like I was used to and that was poor also so I then decided to check out the web for some instruction and to be fair the silverfast website really helped big time. My 1st scans were pretty awful, I clicked and tweaked away at every option and got nowhere fast. There are so many options that unless you enjoy scanning this is not for you.
Well before that just a quick word on the Silverfast software … It comes complete with a nice little bag that holds the scanner/film-slide holders and leads The supplied software is Silverfast SE Plus 8 which I must admit has a damn steep learning curve compared to the Epson Scan software. The film holder is not the easiest thing to use if you have curly film as it is a pain to position and then close the top flap without actually handling the film surface so gloves are a must.Īlso as a side note ….
#USE PLUSTEK SCANNER MANUAL#
This is a totally manual scanner in the sense that you can only scan one frame at a time, no batch scanning and no motorised loading you just have to push the holder to the next frame but it stops in position with a nice positive click so you know that the frame is aligned correctly.
Its a nice compact unit and feels pretty solid but the film holders are just as flimsy as my epson ones.
#USE PLUSTEK SCANNER UPGRADE#
I was debating wether to upgrade my flatbed to an Epson v800 (I may have to as I am now looking to scan 4×5) but came across a review of the Plustek 8100 and saw that it was only £150 here in the uk so decided to jump in and give it a go. This workflow seems to yield the best results for me. I try to scan as flat as I can capturing as much of the Highlight/Shadow detail as possible by adjusting the individual RGB channels then do all the heavy lifting in Adobe Lightroom. I usually use an Epson v500 flatbed scanner and the bundled epson software.
I have never been totally happy with any of my own scans, not that there has been anything wrong with them really but they never seem as good as when I get stuff done in the lab.
#USE PLUSTEK SCANNER FULL#
Quick disclaimer … this is not a full in depth techy review its just my personal impression after a few weeks playing about with this scanner.