Two more days to test Nikon V

[Ivan]

Okay, I have two more days to evaluate the Nikon V before my return window
ends.
I'm impressed with the quality of the scans but I have some issues that I'm
concerned about.
The interface- The several windows used while making the scan are very
clunky, I have to keep opening up the tool pallet any time I click anywhere
other then on the pallet. Clicking on any window in the program will not
bring it to the fore. I have to click on every other window's minimize
button to find what I want underneath. All the cascading options in windows
don't seem to fix it.

The tool palette is very unintuitive. Is Vuescan any better?
The help files are thinly written

Mostly my complaints are with the software and interface. The scans are
mostly great especially considering I've mostly been scanning old film.

Any comments on the window tiling problem?
Ivan

 

[Don]

The interface- The several windows used while making the scan are very
clunky, I have to keep opening up the tool pallet any time I click anywhere
other then on the pallet. Clicking on any window in the program will not
bring it to the fore. I have to click on every other window's minimize
button to find what I want underneath. All the cascading options in windows
don't seem to fix it.

If it helps any, this is how my NikonScan is set up:

First of all I maximized the parent window. Next, I've got all my
pallets stacked in a column on the right, with minimum width. They
drop down as needed although since I do all my editing in Photoshop
afterwards I don't use many of them anyway.

The control area (slide, negative selection, etc) and the information
panel (image size, etc) are on the left with the main scan window
occupying the rest in-between, again as big as possible.

I moved the progress bar (little dialog box) to the lower left so its
out of the way.

This setup enables me to access all the tools easily as everything is
out in the open and there are no overlaps. The only window that does
open as "hidden" i.e. "behind" is if I were to open a saved file, but
I never do that anyway since I do all my editing in Photoshop.

The tool palette is very unintuitive. Is Vuescan any better?

Much, much worse! One the biggest shortcomings of VueScan is the lack
of a user interface. Two immediate problems spring to mind, options
are all over the place and because of that they tend to interact in
unpredictable ways.

Not to mention that after each change the whole screen redraws so
subsequent clicks are lost. You can turn this off though if you can
find the checkbox in all that mess... ;o)

Don.

 

[Bart van der Wolf]

Okay, I have two more days to evaluate the Nikon V before my return window
ends.
I'm impressed with the quality of the scans but I have some issues that I'm
concerned about.

If I were you, I'd let the quality of the scans determine if you like
the scanner. All (current) Nikon scanners use the same software, so
the difference is only in the hardware and associated features.

The tool palette is very unintuitive. Is Vuescan any better?

Different, it has a different interface, no Windows but Tabs you can't
'lose'. It has a learning curve, like all specialized programs, but
once you understand it it offers lot's of control and workflow
benefits. Depending on your situation, you can use the same software
to drive all of your (supported) scanners if you have more than one
brand/type (film scanner, document scanner, etc.), so no need to learn
anything new once you master it.

The help files are thinly written

Yes, but they are very informative and to the point, but they tend to
read a bit like a legal document (every word is carefully chosen, and
hardly a syllable is superfluous) ;-)

Mostly my complaints are with the software and interface. The scans are
mostly great especially considering I've mostly been scanning old film.

Any comments on the window tiling problem?

If you don't maximize the windows, you should be able to position them
so they remain in sight.

Bart