Choice of software to use with V700 for old slides

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I have an Epson V700 which I have (after a little hassle) now got
working satisfactorily on my Linux system and on Windows XP. My main
project with this is to scan a number of old colour slides which I
took in the early 1960s and which are now beginning to fade badly.

The slides are mostly 35mm (i.e. 24x36) but there are also a few 45x45
ones. I know the V700 isn't the ultimate scanner for 35mm slides but
it's certainly adequate for these slides I think.

So to the point of this posting, what software do others recommend for
this project? I've played with quite a few different programs since I
bought the V700 a few months ago and thus I have some ideas but I've
not come to any really definite conclusions and would appreciate some
help.

The programs I have tried so far (and my thoughts about them) are:-

vuescan - This seems to do provide all the control I want but it's
a little difficult to use in places. E.g. the histogram controls
are difficult to use in the way suggested by the scanning tips web
site at http://www.scantips.com/.

xsane - This is one of the 'front end' programs for the Linux sane
scanner software. It has all the controls one could want and
works well with the V700, the interface is easier to use and
understand than vuescan's (for me anyway) but on the other hand it
doesn't seem to have so much in the way of automated fixes for
common slide faults.
 
I have an Epson V700 which I have (after a little hassle) now got
working satisfactorily on my Linux system and on Windows XP. My main
project with this is to scan a number of old colour slides which I
took in the early 1960s and which are now beginning to fade badly.

The slides are mostly 35mm (i.e. 24x36) but there are also a few 45x45
ones. I know the V700 isn't the ultimate scanner for 35mm slides but
it's certainly adequate for these slides I think.

So to the point of this posting, what software do others recommend for
this project? I've played with quite a few different programs since I
bought the V700 a few months ago and thus I have some ideas but I've
not come to any really definite conclusions and would appreciate some
help.

The programs I have tried so far (and my thoughts about them) are:-

vuescan - This seems to do provide all the control I want but it's
a little difficult to use in places. E.g. the histogram controls
are difficult to use in the way suggested by the scanning tips web
site at http://www.scantips.com/.

xsane - This is one of the 'front end' programs for the Linux sane
scanner software. It has all the controls one could want and
works well with the V700, the interface is easier to use and
understand than vuescan's (for me anyway) but on the other hand it
doesn't seem to have so much in the way of automated fixes for
common slide faults.
Click to expand...
Ooops, I meant to postpone that and continue....

xscanimage and iscan - these are two other Linux sane frontends,
neither seems as good as xsane so, unless I'm missing something,
I'm discounting them.

Epson XP software - this is the Epson software that comes with the
scanner, I found it quite easy to use and manipulated some badly
faded slides with it quite successfully. Are there any major
downsides to using this?

silverfast - I haven't tried this at all but there's a copy that
comes with the V700 (I think it's a full version, not SE). Is it
worth trying this?


Finally would I be better off scanning 'raw', or at least capturing as
much as the scanner can get off the slide and then doing the
manipulation in another program - the Gimp in Linux or Photoshop (I do
have Photoshop).

All things being equal I'd prefer to stay in Linux, it's a much more
fmailiar environment for me but if the programs in XP are better then
I'll go there.
 
Ooops, I meant to postpone that and continue....

xscanimage and iscan - these are two other Linux sane frontends,
neither seems as good as xsane so, unless I'm missing something,
I'm discounting them.

Epson XP software - this is the Epson software that comes with the
scanner, I found it quite easy to use and manipulated some badly
faded slides with it quite successfully. Are there any major
downsides to using this?

silverfast - I haven't tried this at all but there's a copy that
comes with the V700 (I think it's a full version, not SE). Is it
worth trying this?


Finally would I be better off scanning 'raw', or at least capturing as
much as the scanner can get off the slide and then doing the
manipulation in another program - the Gimp in Linux or Photoshop (I do
have Photoshop).

All things being equal I'd prefer to stay in Linux, it's a much more
fmailiar environment for me but if the programs in XP are better then
I'll go there.
Click to expand...

Epson scan is not bad, especially now it has Digital Ice. The controls
in the Pro level do what I want them to in repeatable fashion. I don't
like any of the other levels of the software. I don't do negatives much
and there doesn't seem to be curves to handle each different orange
backing.

Tom
 
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