Why does the Epson V700 scanner cost more than the new V800?

<p>I'm in the market for a great scanner within the $500 range that I can use to scan my 120 film. Please note that I am trying to scan without the holders using ANR glass on top of the film so that I can get the entire rebate edge/border of the film in the scan - so the holder quality is not of concern to me. I found some shops that are selling the discontinued V700 for about $150-200 more than the newer V800 which is supposed to be slightly faster. Can anyone explain this?</p>

<p>No, but if you're not concerned about the holders then you may as well get the much cheaper V500 or V550. The quality of the scans is the same. Also be aware that the true resolution of these scanners is 2800dpi at best. You can get excellent medium format scans but 35mm scans are poor (too poor to print large anyway). </p>

<p>There are cases where sellers sell discontinued equipment to people who "must have that," perhaps as specified in some contract or standard. Or they may just be looking for "suckers."<br>

You can buy the V700/V750 film holders new for $25 each on eBay. So get the V800 and buy the holder.<br>

You could also buy the Better Scanning "Variable Height Mounting Station" and scan all the way to the edge of the film, and get really sharp scans because you can adjust focus. I have one and I'm very happy with it.<br>

I bought a V800/V850 35mm film holder with ANR plastic, and I'm happy with it. Can get the film grain pretty sharp. But most 35mm scanning still goes in the Nikon Coolscan V.</p>

 

<p>You did not say what formats you would be scanning. If you want the rebates then go with the lomo holders as they will hold the film much flatter and they are cheaper than the AN glass. also less surface areas to keep clean. they come in 110 through 120. As mentioned if you are only going to use 35mm or 120 then you may as well go with the V500, 550 or 600.<br>

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=747853&gclid=CLfYgaiM3cYCFYeRHwoduWIPVg&is=REG&m=Y&Q=&A=details</p>

<p>@Les Sarile: Thank you for that, I had read somewhere that the older models had different optics so I didn't want to settle for anything other than the V700 that I know a lot of my favorite photographers use. I may just buy the V800 if the scan quality is at least the same as the V700.</p>

<p>@Larry Dresser: The first line of my first post I stated I'd be scanning 120 film (medium format, 6x7). I found <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/747857-REG/Lomography_399_DigitaLIZA_120_Scanning_Mask.html">the 120 version of the lomography holder</a> you linked and it's weird because the description says "allows scanning of full negative strip" yet the reviews say it doesn't allow you to scan the border so I don't think this is going to work. </p>

<p>@John Shriver: Ive been looking at the Better Scanning website and even emailed the guy though he said he doesn't make anything that does what I want. He did however link me to <a href="http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/insert.html">this</a> and <a href="http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/vb_mfholder.html">this</a> which, while not compatible with a V700, is still a workaround that other customers have used. I don't understand right away how these two work to allow me to the full rebate edge but I guess it's a start. For the "Variable Height Mounting Station" - how do you scan all the way to the edge of the film? Have you done this before for 120 and does it really get you all of it? Here is an example of what I'm looking to do: <a href="http://payload168.cargocollective.com/1/6/214161/5677599/LURVE_BURBERRY_905.jpg">click here <br /></a></p>

<p> </p>

<p>I use the V700 and I have for years. It is a fine machine.</p>

<p>You can cut the masks for the "large format" Better Scanning film holders to any size you want. You then hold the film to the anti-Newton-ring glass with Scotch Magic tape. But you may have to put some of the tape in the area you want to scan. (Note that some folks Photoshop in that film rebate, it may not really be from the frame in question!)<br>

The scan you linked to was probably drum-scanned, using wet-mounting. The V750 came with a wet-mounting system, it's an extra-cost option for the V800 and V850. That lets you scan to the edge of the film. The film goes on a glass plate, is flooded with some mounting fluid, and then a sheet of Mylar (polyester film) goes on top. The surface tension of the mounting fluid holds everything flat without any tape.</p>

<p>@John Shriver: I may just end up cutting it so that I can scan the whole frame. What tool is used to get a clean cut that wont damage the film once the modification is made to the holder? I only need to scan the rebate edges of one frame at a time so I dont mind taping the other frames to hold it in place. When you refer to the "large format" film holders are you talking about this one: http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/mstation.html - is this the one that comes with two masks so that I can create my own template? Lastly, why do we need a holder if some people just sit the negative on top of printing paper?</p>

<p><br /> Example 1:<br /> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/HoLJgJT.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Example 2 (ANR glass on top of negative directly against bed, no paper):</p>

<p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/qT06fCU.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="1200" /></p>

<p>Is there any focus issues when doing something like this, i.e. cutting out your own template with paper or putting the negative directly on the glass?</p>

<p>Mostly Dust areas to clean. The V700-750-800-850 all have dual lenses for focus the Lower numbers don't. </p>

 

<p>I've had good results with my V700 and 120 using betterscanning.com 120 holder and ANG glass. The combination holds the film flat, unlike the Epson holder, and allows "infinite" height adjustment via little screws. A fiddly job, but when finished the scans are sharp corner to corner.<br>

Some of my 35mm screens have been excellent, some not. If the film has a lengthwise curl there are problems..... I should probably get ANG strips for those holders, too.</p>

<p>I don't get it: why should you have to worry about height adjustment? Aren't these CCD scanners, and don't CCD scanners have a generous DOF?</p>

<p>Don't know about dof , but do know that the performance improves notably at optimum height after testing with Betterscan and with the film flat. Which seems to imply limited dof.</p>