The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

A good scanner becomes better

Interesting post, Jorgen. Too bad Epson is 10 years too late with this release. Had they released this in 2004 as the digital snowball was beginning to gain momentum they might have sold a lot of units.

I'd be very surprised if it can provide better scans than a dedicated film scanner such as the Nikon 9000 ED or the Minolta Multi Pro (discontinued) scanners. If so, Epson may sell a few.

I have to laugh when I read specs that claim 6400 dpi resolution for film, however, as the Scitex Eversmart Supreme flatbed was the state of the art XY flatbed scanner up until the mid 2000's and it had a trilinear 8,000-element, anti- blooming Kodak CCD that was only capable of 5,600 dpi. And it sold for over 60K when new.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
They did release the V700 and V750 around 10 years ago and they have sold very well, which I guess is the reason for this upgrade. As for the resolution, no, I don't know why they operate with these fictive figures, but several scanner manufacturers do. It's probably a theoretical value of some kind. I expect the V850 to be able to scan to around 3-3,500 dpi. Time will show. That would be enough for me anyway.

The Nikon 9000 ED is nice, but the prices they sell for now...
There are a few other film scanner alternatives (Braun, Plustek etc.), but they are all above $2,000 and the reviews have been mixed to say the least. The Epson is not perfect, but has always been good value and received consistently good reviews. I expect the V850 to sell for $1,000 or thereabout.
 

250swb

Member
I'd be very surprised if it can provide better scans than a dedicated film scanner such as the Nikon 9000 ED or the Minolta Multi Pro (discontinued) scanners. If so, Epson may sell a few.
The V700 can produce very good 4x5 scans, or even 8x10, but I agree with you a dedicated scanner will do a better job. And it gets worse for a flatbed as the negative size goes down, and I can't see the new Epson overcoming the fundamental problem of a flatbed. The V700 was useless for 35mm and it wasn't a few pixels it was missing but resolution, the lens and diffused light source shining through a layer of glass isn't up to it.

The Plustek 120 is as good, possibly better, than my old Multi Pro, which in itself was a direct rival to the Nikon 9000. And although the price of a medium format scanner hasn't changed much over the years they all do at least scan different formats without reducing the intrinsic quality of smaller format negatives.

Steve
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Whenever I'm going to print large, I send my film out for professional scanning. A flatbed scanner is a relatively cheap solution for smaller 35mm scans and medium sized MF scans. The price difference up to a film scanner that can do MF or larger is high, and I can outsource a considerable number of scans for the price difference. Still, I consider a Plustek (or a Braun), I will have a look at scans from the new Epson before I make that decision.
 

250swb

Member
It is all well and good saying 'I send my scans out to a lab', as many people do as a means of saying 'I am serious, but there is no real need to spend any serious money until I know what I like'.

Everybody can appreciate the cost of buying a good scanner, but many can also appreciate the possibilities of experimentation. New films, different developers, home C41, new cameras, just discovering, and the only way to do it without putting an overt cost on things is to buy a scanner and then justify the scanner, not the other way around. If you have the scanner you'll put as much through it as possible, if you only have the film you'll wonder 'is it worth it to send it to the lab?'.

Steve
 

MartinN

Well-known member
What I have seen of the filmholders for V800/V850 they may have a better height adjustment system (more steps) and may also keep the film flatter (anti-newton plastics. But compared to the V700/V750 they are worse in severly hampering the speed of workflow. V700/V750 could scan two strips of 120 film in one loading and two frames of 4x5 film. The 800/850 holders scan only one piece of film. And what exactly will be the advantage of introducing another thing of plastic (the antinewton thing) in the optical path. Where is the 8x10 holder for the 800/850 (previosly called film area guide) ? I have not seen such a thing ?

In my opinion the Epsons are only optimal for 4x5 and 8x10 films which can not be scanned with other consumer filmscanners. My Opticfilm 120 does a great job with 135 and 120 film. I would not consider doing those on the V700 anymore.
 

MartinN

Well-known member
BTW the V850 seems to have Silverfast SE bundled. That version is not optimal for heavy use. The V750 had Silverfast Ai bundled, I think, and that is the professional version. V850 owners need to pay Lasersoft.
 

MartinN

Well-known member
What would have made me excited would have been a new sensor (10600dpi) or even 8000dpi (which would give about 4000dpi real resolution) or a new lens sytem (that would get rid of the incredible softness). Hard light (led) is no substitute for good a good lens and sensor combination.
 
Top