SHAUN  I got this software bundled with the Epson V750 scanner. The first thing that I did was to update it, so have not experienced any of the problems that other users on this forum have. As far as the software goes, it is excellent. I tried another scanner software that I found on MacUpdate, but there was no competition. The U.I. is maybe "dated" but when scanning negatives and slides I am more interested in the results of my scans than the interface of the software. The software is very complete with functions to get the best end result. The Quicktime videos are an extra for the first time user too. All in all I am extremely impressed with Silverfast. For info, version 6.6.1r6 is out.  
(Version 6.6.1r5)

CALIVNREVIS  I have not been able to get this software to run after I updated to snow leopard. I have contacted their support several times and have done everything they say to do, and still no luck. They keep asking me to send a "SF_Logfile" when there is no such file on my computer! They ignored the fact that I told them the software won't launch and thus I have no "SF_Logfile". I have paid a lot of money for their "AI Studio upgrade and It won't start and support won't answer emails after a certain point, they just send automated emails that don't do any good. Oh and their telephone support is only available 1 and half hours a day!

Support by Phone only between 3:00 p.m - 5:30 p.m. ET (Monday-Friday)

what is that all about???   
(Version 6.6.1r4a)

FIRE_DRAGON  I (and many of my colleagues ) have been using SilveFast for multiple Epson scanners over the years.

We are photojournalists for high quality publications and many of our agency members still use film or have a large archive of film.

For people with a high standard in scanning SilverFast has been the standard. No other software is able to utilize and enhance the power of scanners as effectively as SilverFast.

I did not experience any of the bugs or support problems that other users in this thread described. The Lasersoft team has responded in a timely fashion to all of our sometimes very complex support requests.   
(Version 6.6.1r4a)

TIMOTHYGRAYPHOTO  I am a bit confused by the overwhelmingly negative comments regarding this product. My extensive experience with the Silverfast product line over the past several years has been nothing short of amazing.

A bit about my background and workflow...

As a professional photographer, fine art printer, and educator, I work primarily with medium format film (6x7) scanned with an Epson Perfection V750-M Pro flatbed scanner with custom cut ANR glass, using Silverfast Ai Studio 6.6.1.r3 to produce a 64-bit HDRi "raw" scan which is then adjusted/refined using Silverfast HDR Studio 6.6.1r3. The final images are then output, in-house, to an Epson Stylus Pro 7800 wide format archival pigment printer. I regularly produce and exhibit 24"x30" prints using this method, and my work in in private galleries and corporate collections.

Needless to say, my standards are VERY high, and I simply would not be able to produce comparable results that met the needs of my gallery representatives and clients with anything other than Silverfast.

The quality of the scan, the flexibility of the new 64-bit HDRi format, and the level of control offered by this product are unmatched, and I have used many scanner and software combinations over the years, including Vuescan and Flexcolor (for Imacon), and the results just don't hold a candle to what I get from Silverfast.

Two standout features for me are 64-bit HDRi and iSRD.

Being able to scan the full dynamic range of the film, plus the infrared channel for later processing in HDR Studio is, hands down, the single most important innovation in scanning software in the past 10 years.

I was never happy with Digital ICE; it is painfully slow, doesn't allow me to adjust the settings, and the overall result is less than stellar. That's not the case with iSRD, which is fast, really fast, and effectively targets the defects without affecting image quality.  
(Version 6.6.1r4a)

MISTERSQUID  I'm going to chime in on this one, too. I have the 6.6.1rb SilverFast software for the Epson Expression 10000. The cost of admission for this piece of software was over $300 and it was very buggy in Leopard 10.5.4 through 10.5.8. It stopped working over Firewire in Snow Leopard though, as another poster has commented, Apple's bundled Image Capture can see my scanner plain as day.

My advice is to stay away from SilverFast. Their foundation is aged and creaking and the only hope is that another company will see the gap and step in.  
(Version 6.6.1r2)

GUYCARMELI  I have been a SF user since 2005. I am a professional designer and photographer and used to use SF for my work on a daily basis.

When I purchased a new Mac Pro workstation last year I had to upgrade SF to version 6.6 in order for it to work with Leopard and Intel. Since then it has not worked. Every time I launch it, whether through the PS plugin or standalone, it gives me a "scanner not found" error, and either quits or I have to force quit it together with PS losing my work. Apple's Image Capture and Epson's Epson Scan find the scanner immediately. Ironically, using Windows XP via Boot Camp with the same version of SF works fine as well.

I am a veteran Mac user with good technical background. I keep my workstation up to date, and check it for problems regularly. I can see clearly that this version of SF is problematic, but support only replies with general solutions like reseting, re-installing, checking permissions, etc. I have been very specific in my description of the problem numerous times but I do not get professional and specific responses. I use many other products, and I have worked myself in software companies for many years; I can see clearly when I am dealing with a low quality product. Even when it did work in prior versions, the software seemed outdated and buggy. While the scan technology produced great results, the usability was awful. The interface is amateurish and belongs to the early 90's.

I have tried to post my problem in their forum twice but the post did not appear.

I cannot find anywhere on their site a customer service address, so I sent my request to sales, after giving up on the support team, but I did not get a response from them as well.

I currently do not want any explanations or support assistance - just my money back. I am infuriated and disappointed from this attitude, and surprised by the lack of professionalism. I've never experienced such apathy and disrespect from a "respected" company.  
(Version 6.6.1r1a )

RPPHOTO  Well, I rarely review something that's just bad, but I spent $179 to upgrade to the newest Silverfast (although my estimate before checkout was more like $119; I had put various serial numbers in to see which version would give me the best price, and apparently the checkout process "cached" the one with the highest price. I didn't notice until it was too late since I never viewed the receipt. Actually, I'm using the more advanced version than the one listed here. Anyway, after a few days of experimenting I was finally able to get the stand-alone to see the scanner. VueScan Pro and the Epson software see the scanner without a flaw and without exception, and scan easily. The Silverfast Photoshop plug-in in CS4 still does not work; Photoshop freezes completely and I'm forced to force-quit everything. The stand-alone software in the newest Leopard is a living nightmare. It sees the scaner intermittently, even after following Silverfast's trouble shooting tips. I've tried FireWire and USB with direct computer connections. I'm using the Epson 700. If I'm extremely lucky I can get two or three scans out before everything goes haywire, windows freeze, options vanish, sometimes it won't even launch. Trying to use this software is a real joke, it's costing me thousands of dollars in lost time, not to mention extreme frustration. The implied features of this software are fantastic; it's too bad the SilverFast software engineers are too inept to make them workable. This is a company of thieves and liars.  
(Version 6.6.1r1a )

MICKSMAC  This is horrible beyond description, but I will try. Bear in mind that I only tried the demo version (although supposedly, all features are enabled). I tried it with an Epson 2400 Perfection Photo scanner.

First - it crashes constantly under Leopard (10.5.5 anyway). It is a carbon application, and is launched from a "launcher" application, so your dock ends up filled with 3 or so icons. Some windows spontaneously lose their contents intermittently - buttons and checkboxes disappear.

Second - there seems to be no way, when scanning slides and negatives, to auto-select the multiple frames of the film strip or slide holder. This means you have to manually mask each photo individually and scan it! And then, the zoom-in button doesn't work,. so you have to mask based on a tiny, frame-sized image.

Third - it doesn't default to sensible scan resolutions. Who the hell would want to scan negatives at 150 dpi?? You have to select "other" then use a slider to get maximum scanner resolution. And even then thete is no guidance as to whether you are getting true optical versus interpolated resolution.

Fourth - some of the buttons just don't work (eg. histograms). Maybe these are disabled in demo mode, but this is not documented.

Fifth - no uninstall. I had to use "Pacifist" to pull apart the .PKG files to find where it put all its files, in order to manually remove it from my system.

I'd value the developer's response to the above, so I'm not going to rate it, to be fair. I suggest that anyone evaluate with your own scanner very very carefully. Persoanlly I cannot believe they can ask so much money for this producy when it simply doesn't work at all with my Epson scanner.  
(Version 6.6r2)