Epson V500 or V600

[Stuart John]

Here's a v500 scan for you...

 

[freax]

Hi Stuart,

Your scan was made with Better Scanning glass insert or without ?
I use TriX and the images are unfocused and I'm thinking to buy these inserts.
It helps ? Do you have a test image with and without inserts ?

Thanks.

 

[Sam N]

I had the V500 for a short while and I have a Scan Dual III. I now rarely use the Scan Dual and almost always reach for my DSLR + macro lens + lightbox setup. I did a comparison of the V500 vs the DSLR setup (for 35mm negatives) and they were basically equal in terms of quality. The DSLR setup, however is MUCH MUCH faster and also makes it easier to deal with dust (with B&W at least).

If you're a DSLR-owner, I think camera scanning is the way to go for all but the most demanding applications.

 

[charjohncarter]

I had the V500 for a short while and I have a Scan Dual III. I now rarely use the Scan Dual and almost always reach for my DSLR + macro lens + lightbox setup. I did a comparison of the V500 vs the DSLR setup (for 35mm negatives) and they were basically equal in terms of quality. The DSLR setup, however is MUCH MUCH faster and also makes it easier to deal with dust (with B&W at least).

If you're a DSLR-owner, I think camera scanning is the way to go for all but the most demanding applications.

I used Camera Scanning for the last 3-4 years and it was excellent for B&W. I now have a V500 and have, like you say, equal results. Color is slightly better with the V500, that is not image quality but ease of final color adjustment.

Like everything there are things you like and don't like about every process.

 

[katgut@earthlink.net]

I've found that success with the V500 varies with the film type. High-contrast low-grain B&W films work best, such as Plus-X. I get good scans with little contrast boost. However, color films are very flat, with poor color. For 35mm, a better scanner is needed for 11x14, but it all depends on the photo. You may or may not notice a lack of sharpness unless a side-by-side evaluation is conducted. Then you will see that the V500 cannot resolve the smallest details and grain.

 

[Stuart John]

Just use the stock epson holders and the Epson scan software. I use enough unsharpmask to make the image sharp.