Testimonials

...... it is with considerable excitement and pleasure that I have been working my way methodically through your newly-available comprehensive users' manual, the SilverFast 8 Handbook, by Mark Segal. I do not hesitate in declaring that right along with ME, I find this to be the SINGLE BEST PROGRAM ENHANCEMENT I have experienced in all my years as a SF user! ......it has served to unlock for me, at long last, the mysteries of many aspects of the program that I have never used because I didn't know how to approach them. The presentation and organization over the 380 pages is absolutely exemplary: this book is a model of what such a manual should be. I am particularly impressed with the inclusion of the all the suggested alternate workflows involving various combinations of SF, SF HDR, Lightroom, and Photoshop.

Although the book was written in close collaboration with LaserSoft, makers of SilverFast (of itself a positive sign), it's no hagiography. Where the author feels that SilverFast is not going to give you best results, he makes no excuse for providing alternative solutions in Photoshop and Lightroom. However, with his exhaustive - but never exhausting - exposition of SilverFast's vast feature set, he reveals and clarifies areas of the application which I've either never used or never been comfortable with.

Many of us have large legacy slide (or negative) collections that we periodically select slides from and scan. Unfortunately, along with the advances in computer hardware and operating systems has come the obsolescence and discontinued support for manufacturer?s scanning software. .............Unless you have a legacy computer dedicated to scanning (and who wants to do that), SilverFast is here to save the day, and fortunately, my friend and colleague Mark D Segal has recently published the definitive guide to scanning slides and prints with SilverFast. Mark's E-Book provides production-quality workflows that incorporate SilverFast 8, SilverFast HDR, and Adobe?s Lightroom and Photoshop applications.

I want to tell you how INCREDIBLY impressed I am with your e-book on scanning, ....... I've done some technical writing of sorts for software, and I know how extremely difficult it is to explain details in a way that makes total sense, without mistakes. I have never in my life seen a book explaining how to use software that is as helpful as yours. And it's not remotely just the information on the software that's impressive, it's all the details on what actually matters and the different options in workflow, explaining all the considerations, etc., and showing actual images demonstrating the differences..........It's easy to understand, covers a myriad of details, in-depth treatment of software features, and has fantastic coverage of workflow, something for which I really needed exactly that sort of treatment.

One area where Silverfast has long held the aces is in colour correction. This has been even further improved in version 8. Features like the multi-point neutral pipette, and the global and selective colour correction tools would take far too long to cover here (for that I recommend Mark Segal?s excellent book), ...............

As a new user to SilverFast 8 I was lost trying to figure out how to use it, so I bought your book and read it cover to cover (actually on my iPad). Then, I tried to apply what knowledge I was able to absorb. Although I had problems in the beginning, I was able to start achieving the results I hoped for with negative and slide scans. SilverFast is a wonderful product!.................... I have little experience working with digital photography, so I found so much of your information useful in learning how to get the best from my scanner........