User manual

1 Introduction
Prior to acquiring my Reflecta DigitDia 5000 slide scanner, I read a certain amount about it, much
of it in German, and found that there are two common opinions, namely:
• The Instruction Manual supplied with the scanner is very minimal
• It is not really possible to obtain satisfactory scans using just the Cyberview driver supplied, a
much more powerful tool such as Silverfast is essential for good quality results.
My friend Martin, who lives in Germany, has shared some of his experiences with me, and also
directed me to the website of Josef Stark www.jostark.de, who has written a much more
comprehensive Cyberview Instruction Manual (in German) than the official version.
Everyone agrees that there is scope for much improvement in the official Cyberview Instruction
Manual. It describes the actual operation of the scanner adequately, but the description of
Cyberview itself leaves much to be desired. The only alternative to Cyberview is Silverfast, a
powerful Image Editor which includes its own driver for the DigitDia 5000. Josef Stark, hereafter
referred to as JS, and others, are of the opinion, that although Silverfast is good, because it is so
powerful, it requires considerable effort to master it, and that the reputation of Cyberview is due
more to the poor quality of the supplied documentation, than any deficiencies in the program itself,
i.e. it is easy to learn and can do more than it is given credit for.
Martin has both Silverfast and Cyberview, and has come round to this opinion.
I have seen some sample Silverfast documentation, and can see that it looks very comprehensive,
but because it has such a wealth of features, it does look difficult to master. I already have an
Image Editor (Uead Photoimpact), which is also very comprehensive with a lot of features I do not
really understand, so I hardly wanted to buy another program which does the same things.
This document is based to some extent on JS’s document, but is not a direct translation. As well as
giving instructions on the various features of Cyberbiew, it also includes some commentary based
on the experiences and opinions of myself and others.
There are two basic approaches to scanning:
• Experiment as much as possible with all the combinations of settings available in Cyberview (or
Silverfast, if you have it), in order to produce the “perfect” scan which requires no further
processing.
• Define only the basic settings in Cyberview (e.g. JPG files at 3600 dpi with ICE) and adjust the
results as necessary afterwards.
Actual practice is likely to be a combination of both methods. Reflecta Support, confirmed that the
“best” approach is define only basic settings in the driver and post-process after scanning.
The following general principles apply:
• Experimentation is necessary, to see what works best.
• Some type of Image Editor is essential.
The scanner is supplied with Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. I use Ulead Photoimpact; of
course there is Silverfast or the full Adobe Photoshop. The freeware program Irfan View offers
a wide range of functionality, and it has a batch mode, so the same adjustments can be applied
to multiple pictures in one operation. No doubt, there are many other programs available. In
this document, I use the generic term “Image Editor”. Many of the functions available in
Cyberview (before scanning) may be available in the Image Editor (after scanning).
This document is based on the Reflecta DigitDia 5000, which is very similar to its predecessor, the
4000.
Cyberview Page 3 of 33 Dec 2008