First Impressions – Epson V700 Scanner
Just after I published my previous blog post about how I’m doing with my medium format film camera, the doorbell rang. The DHL guy seemed to be a bit disappointed when “Stephani” turned out not to be a sexy babe but the last name of a fat photographer. I, on the contrary, was pretty excited by his visit because he brought me my new scanner: the Epson Perfection V700 Photo.
I did quite some research about the options to scan the negatives of my Hasselblad 500cm. Once I’ve learned to work with it, I’ll write a more in-depth review about why I choose it and if it is able to meet my (high) expectations. For now, I’ll leave you with some first impressions.
I must admit that I was pretty sceptical when die hard film fans stated that a well scanned medium format negative could hold it’s own against a digital file from a modern DSLR. But now, I’m not so sure about that anymore. I don’t have enough knowledge and experience yet to make a founded statement on that. Too be honest, I don’t even want to spend my time on doing scientific tests to find out what is best. At the moment I think that you can’t really compare film to digital in a completely objective way. It’s like vinyl vs CD, sure a CD is cleaner but the technical quality of vinyl isn’t that bad and it has something that digital lacks: character. Like cd (or iTunes), I believe that digital is probably the best option for most photography but film still has it’s place if you’re after that certain look.
But back to the Epson V700, here are my first impressions:
- The thing is huuuuuge, it looks more like a desktop copier than a scanner. But it doesn’t look out of place next to a trendy Mac.
- It all feels pretty sturdy and professional.
- It comes with adapters for different sizes of film.
- I read some horror stories about these film holders but I found the MF holder to be pretty practical.
- The MF film holder holds 6 square negatives. That’s better for productivity than the 2 I had on my old scanner.
- Preview scanning is pretty fast
- Scanning time at 1200 dpi is rather fast too
- Scanning time at 2400 dpi takes a bit longer, but I’d rather have a slow but good scan than a fast but bad one. I haven’t tested higher resolutions yet.
- I’ve heard lots of good things about the Silverfast SE6 software that came with the scanner. The more advanced version of this software is supposed to be even better but for now I’ll stick to the SE-version. There’s already way more options in it than I can understand. It’s not “dummy”-software (although it probably has some dummy-mode”. That means that I’ll probably have to go through a steep learning curve but if that makes my scans better, that’s time well invested.
- Last observation for now: I’m blown away with the image quality (I bet you saw that one coming).
I only did a couple of test scans last night. The difference with my old scanner is huge. Not only in the resolution but also in the gradations captured. In the picture above, the little girl was a bit blown out. I tried to scan it for safety, so I got a pretty dull grey image that would give me more options for some dodging and burning. But before the dodging and burning, I cleaned up the dust and scratches.
The image below was shot on color film (Porta 400NC) and converted to black and white, I also did some cleaning up and some minor dodging and burning.
Scanned at 2400 dpi the above image of my wife became a 5115 x 5010 pixel image. That’s a pretty big file hey. Below you can see how much detail is present in a 100% crop. I must say that I found that to be pretty impressive.
Now I’m even more desperately looking for some free time to do some test shoots with the Hasselblad.
Excellent ! I am on the same way of you. I bought a hasselblad 500 cm two weeks ago, and I just received the Epson v750. Next step : to learn to develop the negatives.
It’s such a pleasure to use the MF. I tried some Kodak Portra VC, and I love colors and contrast.
I chose the Epson v750 for Silverfast, and I don’t regret, it’s a great improvement.
And now, I want more free time too !!
Thx Arno,
I doubted about the 750 too but this whole film thing is already getting much more expensive than I expected. I think it will be a while before I get to the limitation of Silverfast SE and then I can still upgrade.
I haven’t shot much color film, but I think I like the Porta NC better than the VC, but that’s a matter of taste.
And yes, I want more time to play with it too.
Hey,
I have also switched to MF 3 months ago and honestly, I don’t regret it a single second !!!! Like you Arno and Bert, I chose a Hasselblad and a V750 (same as V700) and the joy it gives me is not comparable. I now let my D300 on the shelf most of the time… it is a pity but …
Anyway, have fun with films. Developping them is really easy too, it is just a matter of practicing on 1 or 2 rolls (BW).
Cheers,
Ivan
Hi Bert,
I was already convinced by the art of using film but as you mentioned it goes far behind that.
I’m really stunned with the 100% crop of the scan, it seems that very much details are been captured.. That gives film a real chance and maybe existence in our digital and professional world even when Digital’s progression is going fast.
Although I believe you’re not going to use film for professional purposes I’m convinced that it can make your a better photographer or extend your limitations, visions and explorings. Waiting for results until developing the film makes it even more adventurous.
If finally the results (as your results already are) are great, than sure a good scanner is absolutely necessary!
Thanks for your great review, good information! Keep posting negatives but not only that
Regards,
jasper
@Ivan: congrats, my digital cameras still see a lot of action but at the moment I just find it more fun to shoot the Hassy
@Jasper: The quality of the scan is indeed pretty impressive, certainly if you consider the fact that it’s pretty sure that I don’t get the most out of the scan yet with my limited experience and knowledge about scanning. When I bought the Hassy the goal was to become a better photographer because by shooting slower but not as a tool for my paid work. After 10 rolls of film, I’m already changing my mind. I can see myself use it for certain portrait jobs. But first I need to practice a lot more to make sure I can trust myself using film.
@Ivan : I let my 5DII in the bag too.
@Bert : Sure, you’ll use the Hassy for your paid work ! Personaly, it’s one of my goal. But first, I need to learn to developp colors films (more difficult than BW films). But I want to have the photographs quickly, if needed, to honor an order.
Hi Bert,
Didn’ t I say you would soon be using the Hassy for paid work ?
)
Good to see that you got the V700. I find it excellent for the price.
Hope we can catch up soon.
Cheers
Wilhelm
Impressive details!
I think Epson V700 is one of the best slide and film scanner. Good you made the right choice. Other one I like is Canon 8800F. BTW, pics look great.
I was less fortunate with my scanner (luckily I didn’t buy and I lent it from a friend). The biggest issue I still have is to find a decent workflow. Then again, because of the scanner not having drivers (yet!) for my Mac, I had to revert to another machine for the scanning.
Do you scan pic by pic, three/six in one go and cut them up? What about the metadata? Do you keep metadata in the digital versions in order to find back the film in the storage afterwards?
@Arno: I can usually pic up the developed films the day after I drop them off at the lab. That’s fast enough for me and I still have some digital stuff if it has to go faster
@Mike: That’s sad to hear. I scan them one by one for now but I’m going to look into the option of batch scanning. I add the meta data later. I try not to forget to store some info about what I’m shooting on my iPhone so I at least remember at what day I shot the pictures.