Silkypix Free Version

I tried the free Silkypix version a while back, but I couldn't get it to start - there was always an error popup. I gave up in the end without seeing what it looked like and purchased Bibble.

Revisiting this thread I gave Silkypix another try, it seems I can start the application if I go into the folder where it lives and run the executable manually, while the entry in 'Start programs' always gives the error.

It looks quite good, perhaps easier to navigate than Bibble, they both appear to have some interesting and different features. Bibble Lite is $70, so cheaper overall than full Silkypix. If the free Silkypix install had worked they might have got a sale !

what kind of error do you get? can you post this error?

Opening it from Start Programs gives:




If I ok that popup then I get another one that says it still failed.

If I go into the directory where SilkyPix is installed and double-click the file SILKYPIX_DS_3FREE_E.exe then it works fine.

Edited to add: when I get a chance I'll try reinstalling it.

You could've emailed Silkypix direct
From their FAQ: http://www.isl.co.jp/SILKYPIX/english/support/faqds20e.html#0012

You should also make sure you have administrative rights before installing the application.
Hope that helps
Matt

Well I installed the pay version last night and all seems to work very well. I will probably have a few questions, but I have already found Matt's guide very useful.

Certainly more options than the converter in PSE.

The weak dollar helping purchases like these at the moment !

I re-downloaded the free version, and the install says it was interrupted. The real executable works fine, so I made that a shortcut. I guess the part of the install where it sets up the entry in the 'start programs' list failed in some way.

Anyway, I compared a few pics in Silkypix and Bibble, and there seems to be nothing to choose between them on the ones I tried for colour or rendering of the picture, even at 100%. The Silkypix screen does make them look better in that it has the picture on a dark background, but exporting both to Photoshop shows the files the same. The main difference is that Bibble is a whole lot faster. I did find a comparison using Canon RAW files (so it may not apply strictly to the format of the Pentax and Samsung RAW files) but it does give an idea of the relative merits of the different ones:

http://www.sphoto.com/techinfo/rawconverters/rawconverters.htm