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Pros
I am satisfied with its quality performance. I hope it will continue its excellent performance.
That fantastic feeling when a cold, flat map is turned into a 3D display where you can do whatever you want. Very precise coordinates and altitude.
Customer support is fantastic. Basic features are relatively easy to use and advanced features have interesting applications that I look forward to learning and utilizing.
I truly recommend surfer to anyone who would like a much more streamlined GIS software that produces beautiful maps and it's cheaper than other top notch GIS programs.
Cons
It can be difficult for a beginner to navigate surfer.
It is a bit hard to master it for novice users due to its deep learning cure.
Fairly large learning curve, earlier versions missed some key functions.
As many of the GIS softwares it can be difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it you shouldn't have any issues, just beware that there are not that many tutorials online.
Showing Most Helpful
Showing 25 of 27 reviews
"Good option for fast data processing and generation of associated three-dimensional maps. "
Overall: Almost all aspects of the map can be customized, so the final presentation is practically what I want, with few format restrictions. The most recent versions have incorporated improvements that allow me: Develop 3D views to visualize data in real 3D, with the ability to walk on the surface and fly through the visualizations. Now I can process and visualize the data more quickly on the surface that I have created. I have also noticed that aspects related to data import formats have improved.
Pros: For the mapping and modeling of small areas, I prefer it before more complex software such as Arcgis, simply for convenience and faster results. Almost all aspects of the map can be customized, so the final presentation is exactly as the user intended.
Cons: I can not use it to model buildings and it also does not have video output format It does not allow me to do double visualization in the same interface, option that if they have other similar programs like the qGis, for example.
"Fantastic Mapping Software"
Overall: Surfer offers a wide range of functionality from creating very basic figures to complicated 3D visuals. I have had clients mention they were impressed with the mapping I have been able to produce for their properties.
Pros: The functionality of Surfer incredibly broad. I use Surfer as general mapping tool for site maps and contour figures but also for making 3D site models and visuals. Being able to incorporate LiDAR data into my visuals is a particularly helpful feature of Surfer. The figures I am able to produce with Surfer are visually appealing and allow me to present my data in an easily understandable way.
Cons: I have no complaints with this software.
Vendor Response
"Isovaloras"
Overall: It is good for basic stuff.
Pros: It is ideal to plot points in 3d. Easy to create isovaloras.
Cons: It needs more vision in 3D and calculation of areas.
Vendor Response
"Very useful for engineers and geoscientists "
Overall: I discovered surfer when I was in a physics lab . I had to represent electric fields line and I didn't know how to do that. That is when I found a tutorial using this software to make it possible. Then, when I started to see more advanced subjects at my school . I found out that geoscientist use it a lot, that is where I started exploring all of its awesome features. I made a gravimetric study of all my school for a project and Surfer was really helpful for presenting the results of that study.
Pros: with surfer we are able to create good quality 2D and 3D maps . It allows you to import an excel sheet and work based on that data. Also you can create different types of maps ( I have made gravimetric and topographic maps ).
Cons: It is hard to use some of the tools and is not easy to find some kind of tutorial on internet. I have only used in small areas because I've only made school projects.
Vendor Response
"Excellent for contouring maps."
Overall: I truly recommend surfer to anyone who would like a much more streamlined GIS software that produces beautiful maps and it's cheaper than other top notch GIS programs.
Pros: As a geoscientist you normally use lots of GIS softwares, and I can honestly tell that working with surfer for me produced the best results, it is a mix of easier than other GIS software with beautiful maps. Its correlation tools and color palettes allow you to create great contour maps to represent any type of geophysical, geological or geographical data, such as magnetic and gravimetric.
Cons: As many of the GIS softwares it can be difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it you shouldn't have any issues, just beware that there are not that many tutorials online.
"Great 2D and 3D mapping software"
Overall: Beautiful maps and representations with nice contouring and excellent interpolation methods
Pros: What I like the most about surfer is how detailed their maps can be, while working with gravimetric data or magnetic surfer's interpolations end up with beautiful and detailed maps whose outputs are much better than most mapping software. Plus is worth noting that it has excellent compatibility with excel which is a must since almost all data for mapping comes from excel databases.
Cons: It can be a bit non intuitive, so getting the hang of it can be a little bit overwhelming, but it's not a great issue compared to the benefits the software provides
"A good choice to scientists "
Overall: I like it, but when I need a powerful functions I need user other program.
Pros: Too easy interface with beginner user. Many options of math functions and import/export formats.
Cons: The too easy interface, turns the program some limited to high-end users due do not offers a personable options.
Vendor Response
"Great Surface Mapping app"
Overall: I am using Surfer to create geographical profiles for pile foundations.
Pros: Surface is the best surface mapping app to create geographical profile of an area. It can include depths in different colour schemes which makes the presentation of details much easy. Surfer files can be saved as pdfs and can be converted onto autocad files. Time taken for creating a file is easy and software is also user friendly.
Cons: With so many details, sometimes app produces very complicated and dense mappings which are barely readable.
Vendor Response
"Easiest Software for Topography detailing"
Overall: zi have used the Surfer to produce bed rock profiles for a pile construction site. Based on the bore hole details I have produced these drawings which made presentations very easy and understandable.
Pros: Surfer is the easiest and simplest software to produce a geographical representation in 2-D format. Colour codes can be used to represent different depths while contours can be made to mark the similar depth levels. Easily understandable and output can be export as pdf files.
Cons: Scaling needs to be improved. Software is a very basic product and not much advanced techniques such as 3-D detailing is not available.
Vendor Response
"Great visualization software with many applications"
Overall: Golden Software is used by my company to create artifact density contour maps for use in our analysis and also publication in technical reports.
Pros: Ability to create visually appealing contour maps, high degree of customization, wide range of applications
Cons: Fairly large learning curve, earlier versions missed some key functions
"Buen programa para realizar mapas de resolución vectorial y espacial"
Overall: Realice varios proyectos universitarios cuando realice mis practicas preprofesionales. El instituto realizaba mapas de topografía y batimetría con visualización en 3d.
Pros: Siempre resulto fácil integrar diferentes archivos de varios formatos poco reconocidos como formato grd, dlf o gdg que son raros que poder trabajar con diferentes dispositivos. Además permite realizar mapas muy favorables gráficamente 3d con excelentes opciones para visualizar las isolíneas.
Cons: Tiene un costo muy elevado considerando que muchas opciones que pose se tiene en otros programa como arcmap o Arcgis. Con programa numérico con Matlab o r que permite hacer gráficos y a pesar que es una ventaja la variación de compatibilidad de archivos mas sin embargo se pueden utilizar convertidores para hacerlos compatibles con otros programa de GIS.
Vendor Response
"Surfeur partout"
Overall: Son expérience global est que, j'ai assez de logiciels, mais si je veux vraiment très vite, j'utilisais Surfer, puisqu'il est très rapide, facile à manipuler et léger.
Pros: La facilité avec laquelle tu peux très les cartes, il donne de très bonnes images que les entreprises ont besoin. Facile à installer également, très facile à apprendre.
Cons: Pour moi particulièrement je ne trouve pas un point négatif, vraiment c'est un logiciel que je recommande suivant aux gens qui demande mon avis. Mais néanmoins, son interaction avec les autres logiciels, certes ça existe déjà, mais s'il y lieu d'augmenter, sa va vraiment booster encore son utilisation. Merci
Vendor Response
"Good optimization"
Pros: Surfer has greatly helped me optimize articles for my website. I easily rank in search engines giving me more traffic. I highly recommend you to start using surfer for your content needs.
Cons: It can be difficult for a beginner to navigate surfer. Please consider this.
"easy and powerful after many years"
Overall: easy to use with high efficiency and powerfull, the customer service support is a plus
Pros: the possibility that the software offer is so wide with any type of geographic, geophysical and geotechnical data, the limits is imposed only by the user which always discover how powerful is the software and solid on the geostatistical parameter management
Cons: sometime i had issue in the integration and communication between surfer and voxler which are still from Golden Software, but the customer assistance is so clear and fast to reply that after several years i never be blocked in my reporting production
"Sans doute le plus simple et ergonomique des SIG"
Overall: J'ai
Pros: J'ai particulièrement apprécié l'ergonomie du logiciel.
Cons: Le manque d'option de personnalisation, les échelles parfois ratés (à cause d'une mauvaise reconnaissance du SCR et de l'ellipsoïde par le logiciel).
"Surfer"
Overall: I mostly use Surfer for contouring maps in my academic projects, but it is a multi application tool for a Geologist and can be used for ground water search, oil and gas discovery, mining etc. I also love it for it for the fact that it rarely crashes.
Pros: Surfer is an excellent software for geological operations and is highly customizable in regard of visualization. It helps you to easily map surface features and create contouring maps bot in 2D and 3D. It gives you the liberty to control almost all parameters of a map. It is also useful in surface and subsurface geological analysis and data evaluation for Hydrocarbon Prospecting, hydrogeology, Geotechnical Investigation and mining. It has a lot of other tools to carryout various specific tasks like generating 3D images, creating cross sectional view or volume or cut and fill calculation. Also it generates extremely accurate maps on the basis on input data. Apart from these, their customer support is very active and helpful. Also the price tag is quite low in comparison to its competitors and that too for a life time use rather than yearly subscription.
Cons: It is a bit hard to master it for novice users due to its deep learning cure. Also they should integrate support for other languages especially python.
Vendor Response
"Excellent tool for content analysis and optimization "
Overall: : Previously I have used many other tools but this tool gives more quality data than others. It gives much more detail. I am pleased with its unique data and features. For content editing its performance is outstanding. For ranking, it works very well by analyzing the content of a page. Comparatively, it is cheaper. I am satisfied with its quality performance. I hope it will continue its excellent performance.
Pros: It is a SERP analyzer. It helps to get data on average word count, keyword density, and frequency. By using this software we get data on hidden content, page speed. It is a great content editor. It helps to optimize by analyzing the content structure of the first page results. We get information about word count, number of images and average count by using this software. As it is a keyword research tool, We can find new keywords with search volume. It has an NLP feature that helps to find the sentiment of search results.
Cons: I have no doubt its quality. It is a great performer. It will be more helpful if a basic keyword research tool provides more information.
"Features which makes Surfer to stand out."
Overall: My overall experience with Surfer has been great. It has incredible functionalities. I has helped me alot in my 3D representations with beautiful colors. Plotting and creating contour with Surfer is one of its features I like most.
Pros: One of the things i love about the software is its ability to make beautiful maps, the color management is great, and creating contour map on Surfer is one of the best thing everyone would want to see. Surfer is easy to use, it has the ability to manage geological, geophysical, etc.
Cons: The GUI is great. It ability to perform 2D and 3D and great visualization makes it stands out. I will recommend Surfer to anyone who would to produce beautiful maps and enjoy the great visualization of its capabilities.
"Great to work with "
Pros: Surfer offers a very easy interface, lots of samples while designing to make your work look very real.
Cons: I've experienced a couple of challenges while exploring files for use on other softwares.
Vendor Response
"Excellent software for groundwater modeling and contouring"
Overall: You won't find a better contouring suite.
Pros: Powerful suite of contouring software with many adjustments available for contour gridding methods (kriging, natural neighbor, minimum curvature, inverse distance, etc.). This software can handle most simple-to-complex contouring situations, as well as topographic relief and other XYZ data you may need to convert to visual formats. Support is also very helpful and knowledgeable when called on. Golden also offers very helpful web seminars.
Cons: There is a steep learning curve for this software. You will need to watch tutorials or take a few seminars.
Vendor Response
"Surfer SEO: Your perfect on-page optimization tool to rank higher in SERPS"
Overall: 1. Improving your site's visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). 2. Identifying the weaknesses of your site in comparison to those at the top of the SERPs. 3. Fixing these weaknesses to improve your site's ranking and visibility.
Pros: The tool offers an extensive analysis of a site, including a breakdown of how it compares to the top-ranking sites for specific keywords. This information can be helpful in identifying areas of improvement and developing a strategy for optimizing the site.
Cons: The least likable feature of Surfer SEO is the monthly subscription fee. While the tool is effective, many users may not be willing to pay a monthly fee in order to use it.
"Making the best plots in science"
Overall: I have been using Surfer for more than 15 years in oceanography and hydrology. The continuous updating of this software has provided the tools I need to face the ever-increasing demands of my work. I've tried similar software but none was up to the task as Surfer.
Pros: Surfer provides an absolutely amazing range of tools to process and plot all kinds of data. From topography, geology, oceanography and even astronomy, a wide range of scientific disciplines can rely on Surfer to create amazing plot and graphs.
Cons: Surfer offers a significant amount of tools, most of them with high freedom degrees in available options (e.g., formatting axis, kriging method options, etc.). A significant degree of complexity is obviously expected in the interface, and sometimes it is not intuitive for the user.
"When the maps come to life"
Overall: I dealt a lot with geophysics, and when I had to present my plan for fieldwork and profile positions to investors, and the problems that I would encounter, only with the surfer, I could convey to them the complete situation. With ordinary maps, this did not work for me because the investors are mainly people who are not from this profession and do not have a clear picture of the issues of geophysical profiling
Pros: That fantastic feeling when a cold, flat map is turned into a 3D display where you can do whatever you want. Very precise coordinates and altitude. Of course, everything depends on how much data you supply to it; more points, better 3D display
Cons: I do not know. Sometimes I have the feeling that the tools are insufficiently used, and that the software offers a lot more than I use. Perhaps the constant work on all kinds of tutorials would be of great help
Vendor Response
"Surfer: A Softwaretool for Geographers"
Overall: With Surfer you can visualize and analyze data from multiple sources as Surfer is able to import a huge range of file-formats. Of course all Industry-standards like shape-file and xlsx ' to name only two ' are supported. Surfer also provides numerous interpolation methods to grid regularly or irregularly spaced data. With Surfer you can generate a lot of different high-quality map-types in a minimum of time. As a geographer I especially like 3D-maps. You can make two different kinds: 3D wireframes and 3D-Surface maps. You can even georeference rastermaps with just a few mouseclicks and add them to your 3D-map or add various features (e.g. rivers, boundaries') from vectorfiles. Surfers list of export formats is impressive: Various raster and vector formats, Google Earth KML/KMZ or PDF to name just the most popular. For presentation beside using for example png-files in powerpoint exporting from Surfer as html-imagemap-file comes handy. A nice to have in the future would be the possibility to use animation via threejs or something similar. Overall Surfer is an extremely well-designed Sofwaretool!
Pros: Extremly powerful and good support (documentation and free support from staff at goldensoftware)
Cons: I would like to have animation export, e.g. like fly over
Vendor Response
"Nothing quite like it."
Overall: Once you get the hang of it, using this is a breeze.
Pros: Surfer is a fantastic program for geological activities and has a lot of visualization customization options. It makes it simple to map out surface features and produce contour maps in both 2D and 3D. It allows you to have practically complete control over a map's parameters. Additionally, it helps with data interpretation and surface and subsurface geological analysis for mining, hydrogeology, geotechnical investigation, and hydrocarbon prospecting. It contains a ton of additional tools to perform a variety of specialized jobs, such as making cross sections, 3D views, or volume or cut and fill calculations.
Cons: Due to its deep learning method, it is exceedingly challenging for beginners to master. Needs more awareness about the product.