Epson V600 vs V700 for 120 film

[lcd]

<p>I am using the Epson V600 to scan my 120 film negatives and slides. I am fairly satisfied with it, considering that I don't print larger than 8X10.<br>

I now have a chance to buy a used V700 complete with holders for about $350 dollars. <br>

Do you think I will see an actual improvement? Will I be able to get more out of my scans with the V700?<br>

I know this was probably discussed before but I was not able to find a direct answer/comparison.<br>

Thanks for the help.</p>

<p> </p>

[starvy]

<p>Luca,<br>

I think much depends on what you personally see as 'good'. My impression is that the V600 is the same as V500 where as the DMAX is higher in V700 and V750 and the last two would allow you to scan more, hence better batch scanning options. Whichever scanner you use I believe that you have to spend some time in getting used to the scanner's characteristics and how it behaves with your chosen software. <br>

I personally use a six year old 4490 and I believe that if I could afford to upgrade to a V700, it would definitely be worth it for me.</p>

[lcd]

<p>Thanks Starvy.<br>

My impression is that my negatives are much better than what I get from the scans. It is true that I use the Epson software and I don't do much more afterwards. I guess I could improve the scanning with a better workflow. On the other hand a better scanner could make it a little easier for me to achieve the results I want.<br>

I would appreciate additional comments on the topic.<br>

Thank you.</p>

<p> </p>

[szrimaging]

<p>Why don't you try a demo of Silverfast or VueScan? Pretty sure both offer demos, and you could try them right beside your current software using your current scanner and see if it helps. I believe both have functions for a bit more DR than the standard one.</p>

[John Seaman]

<p>I would stick with your V600. I don't have experience of either scanner in particular, however flatbed scanners tend to claim rather high resolution, for example my Epson 4870 claims to go to 4800 dots per inch. I've actually noticed little advantage in scanning medium format film at anything greater than 1200 dots per inch, and a big disadvantage in terms of huge file sizes at the highest resolutions. I use the Epson scanning software which seems to work fine.</p>

 

[lcd]

<p>That's very interesting John.<br>

I was also trying to keep it simple. I actually don't particularly like scanning. I do like to see the results of my pictures. I think after all I will just work it out with my current scanner and find a simple workflow to get nice prints.<br>

Thanks.</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>I do see an advantage in scanning beyond 1200 pixels/inch and whilst I agree that Epson habitually overstate the resolution of their flatbeds I believe ( as do others who've written on Photo.net) that th V700 turns out about 2000/2500 ppi. That said, whilst I have produced nice 12" sq prints , and some very nice images in large Blurb books, fact remains that above those sorts of sizes I'd rather get the film scanned on a film scanner. Better quality pixels, better Dmax. <br>

So, I'd think that you can get a little larger than your V600 will support, especially if (as I do) you use a 3rd party holder with adjustable height (which allows you to optimise focus) and AN glass to keep the film flat. But the degree of improvement is not unlimited if you're similarly demanding.</p>

[Mike Howard]

<p>Luca, I would highly recommend the 120 holder and ANR glass sold by betterscanning.com. I also have a V600, and think it is adequate for the task, but I saw a marked improvement using these items. They will only be right for you, however, if you do a fair amount of 120 scanning, as the cost is around $70 if I remember correctly. The 35mm ANR glass from them has also made a drastic improvement for me, especially with B&W negatives. <br /><br />Learning to scan is a big learning curve as well. Getting it "just right" and then repeating it is the key. I have also tried Vuescan, but it did not work enough better for me than using the Epson scan software, but others have seemed to have more success. <br /><br />My workflow for scans, whether 120 or 35mm is:<br />1. Scan TIF's, with minimal scanner software intervention, at 3200 dpi (I use light sharpening at scan.)<br /> 2. Using your editor of choice, adjust levels and sharpen for printing. This is trial and error until you learn your negative/scanner combination.<br /> 3. Output to hi-res jpeg.</p>

<p>I always keep my "raw" scans saved as well. You never know when you will learn a new "trick", and can go back and revisit without having to rescan (sometimes). Yeah, it's a lot of work, I know :)<br /><br />Looked it up, and I see the betterscanning holder and glass is $79.95. It's a worthwhile investment, in my opinion.</p>

[lcd]

<p>Yes David, I guess a little more resolution would not hurt. Unfortunately dedicated scanners for 120 are very expensive for now, and I am not sure I will see a big difference with the V700 considering the size I print. Thanks.<br>

I see that the third party holder could be already a good improvement, also considering that I very often have problems with film that curls and does not stay flat. The V600 holders are not really the best. Thanks for the good tips regarding the workflow Michael!<br>

I do have few more question for you, since we are using the same scanner:<br>

Was it difficult for you to determine the correct height for the adjustable holders?<br>

Will the Epson software still recognize the 6x6 frame size authomatically?<br>

Thanks. </p>

[Mike Howard]

<p>The height adjustment on mine worked just fine out of box. The adjustments are very easy, though. The betterscan holder allows you to scan up to 6x9, up to 4 frames at a time as from their website:<br /><br /> Scan up to <strong>4</strong> “645” frames, <strong>3</strong> “6x6”, <strong>2</strong> “6x7” or <strong>2</strong> “6x9” frames at once. Depending on the size of the gap between frames, some 6x7 users <strong><em>may</em></strong> be able to shift the film in the holder in order to then scan a third frame per strip.</p>

<p>The epson scan software will make the 3 frames all in one tiff file, all you have to do is take the one scan and "cut" it into three separate negatives. It's pretty easy.</p>

[lcd]

<p>I am definitely going to try the adjustable holders with the glass.<br>

It sounds it could be a very positive improvement for my scanning.<br>

Thank you!</p>

 

[Mike Howard]

<p>Here is a link to recently scanned 35mm film using the ANR glass. I can easily print these scans to 11x14. Understand these are low resolution on Flickr, they really pop full size:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhowardphoto/sets/72157632116519261/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhowardphoto/sets/72157632116519261/</a></p>

[lcd]

<p>Very nice!<br>

Maybe there is still hope for my Konica Auto S2.</p>

 

[AlanKlein]

<p>Michael: On your V600, have you done a comparison between the Epson and Betterscanning holders?</p>

[Mike Howard]

<p>Yes I have, Alan, but informally. The Epson holders cannot hold the film flat, especially 35mm. The pictures I linked above are horrible scanned with just the Epson holders. I will try to scan some tonight without the glass and post them in comparison.</p>

[AlanKlein]

<p>I scan 120 medium format. Do you have a comparison with that type film?</p>

[bruto_saraccini]

<p>Michael: did you apply any significant post-processing to your Flickr pictures? Any relevant sharpening in particular? Or are they, say, just "out of the box"?</p>