Epson V500 scanner | Shutterbug

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Submitted By: janetsphoto

Joined: Sep 13 2005

Posts:

Epson V500 scanner

Posted: October 29, 2007 - 7:49pm

Mr. Brooks, I tried e-mailing you with my question but didn't get a reply, so it probably didn't reach you. I will try again via the forum, as I very much respect your opinion, and you have given me valuable advice in the past.

I have been wanting a combination flatbed/film scanner for some time and finally settled on the Epson 4990. However, now that I'm ready to buy, it seems to have gone out of production. The Epson V700 is just a bit out of my reach financially, so I'm looking at the new V500. The resolution is actually more than the old 4990, but the Dmax is less at 3.4 (the 4990 had 4.0). Any information I've found regarding Dmax is vague at best. It all seems to boil down to "more is better." But how can I determine if a Dmax of 3.4 will be satisfactory to me? I want good scans within what my budget will allow.

I plan to use the scanner for everything from prints to 35mm slides and negs to medium format (645) negs and slides.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Submitted By: David B. Brooks

Joined: Apr 19 2011

Posts:

Re: Epson V500 scanner

Posted: October 29, 2007 - 8:17pm

Janet,

I can be reached by e-mail at goofotografx@gmail.com.

I currently have the Epson Perfection in my lab for test and evaluation. For its moderate price it seems to provide scan quality very comparable to the V700, and one of the first set of scans I made with it were some contrasty 35mm Kodachromes. No problem with dynamic range on a practical level as I obtained good shadow detail and no noise in the darkest image tones.

The Epson Scan software is a bit too basic so I will be looking forward to when Lasersoft releases a version of SilverFast to drive the V500.

Submitted By: janetsphoto

Joined: Sep 13 2005

Posts:

Re: Epson V500 scanner

Posted: October 30, 2007 - 11:53am

Thanks for your reply. It is indeed helpful. I am wondering--I'm ready to buy the V500 now, but if there will soon be a Silverfast driver for the V500, I think it would be worth the wait. Do you have any idea how long I might have to wait before Epson will offer Silverfast with the V500? Or is it possible that if I purchase the V500 now that Epson will allow me to download Silverfast later at no cost when it becomes available?

Submitted By: David B. Brooks

Joined: Apr 19 2011

Posts:

Re: Epson V500 scanner

Posted: October 30, 2007 - 12:20pm

I would be doubtful that Epson will bundle a version of SilverFast with the Perfection V500 at the current price for the scanner ($249 list). And, if they do add SilverFast it will then probably be a "deluxe" version at a somewhat higher price.

So, if you need a good scanner at a very modest price, I would just get the current version of the Epson Perfection V500 without delay. It works great, with the only disadvantage that your scans may need some tweaking in Photoshop after scanning to be ideal images.

I expect long before Epson makes a change that Lasersoft will offer a version (probably the inexpensive SE) of SilverFast, probably it should be available in November this year. And you will be able to purchase and download on-line from http://www.silverfast.com

Submitted By: janetsphoto

Joined: Sep 13 2005

Posts:

Re: Epson V500 scanner

Posted: October 30, 2007 - 1:53pm

With the information you have given me, I believe I will go ahead and order the V500. Since I run all my digital photos through Photoshop Elements anyway, I won't mind tweaking scanned images. However, I will keep my eye on SilverFast and will consider buying their driver when it becomes available for the V500.

Thanks for your help!