The software impressed me, there's no bloat and even though this scanner came out in 2007 there's a version for Windows 11 and MacOS 10.15. It seems to be the same part as the V600.Ī nice little scanner that can do either documents or camera film. I 3D printed some but I think you can find them pretty easily online. Note: If you're using this for film (I am) you need the film holders that shipped with it originally. Make sure you have the plastic film holders! Otherwise, you may be perfectly happy with the Epson.Great no-fuss film scanner. If you use only the finest lenses like Zeiss or Mamiya 6/7, and you need to print color and black and white BIG, then get the Nikon if you can find one. Drop that figure down to about 75% for 35mm compared to any recent Nikon. In contrast, the Nikon not only picks up less dust/scratches to begin with, but the ICE system works much better.Ĭonclusion: with proper choice of film and some post-processing skills, you can get a great scan of medium format film that will come within 85% of what the Nikon 8000 will do. Another problem is that the ANR glass interferes with the digital ICE system dust removal on color film is noticeably worse with the glass. For one thing, with ANR glass in place, you cannot blow dust off your negs, and the glass itself is a dust and fingerprint magnet. That holder also has some disadvantages as well.
However, I have NOT noticed any difference with sharpness with the betterscanning holder. For that reason alone, I recommend the holder, which lets you scan 3 frames. the 120 holder is perfectly adequate but had one flaw: it can only scan 2 frames at a time, which doubles scanning times for a roll. The 35mm holder is really only problematic with curled film.
Many complain loudly about the stock film holders, but they do what they're supposed to. The Epson scans fast and quietly, and batch scanning is much more pleasant than with the Nikon 8000. Where the Nikons focus grain, the Epson records mush, and sharpening and the generally necessary contrast boost just make things worse. Good for 5x7s, but for anything larger, use a Nikon if you can still find one. actual resolution its lens can deliver is somewhere around 2000 dpi. While the Epson advertises a humongous resolution, don't believe it. Also, color noise is much more visible in the Epson scans, though it can be cleaned up later.īoth of the Nikons have an advantage with 35mm. Color negs and slides right out of the Nikons are contrasty, with great color. It's as if the scanner (or software) simply has no idea what color the files should be.
I've only used Epson software (perhaps Vuescan or Silverfast may be better), but color negatives especially need much post-processing. Where the Nikon does have an advantage over the Epson is for color film. With Tmax 400 II in 6圆, the differences with the Nikon 8000 are very small. For enlargements up to about 8x10, most won't notice a difference. For traditional silver films, this means much work with a clone tool. This comes with a price, however: any and all imperfections are emphasized, such as grain, dust, and scratches. Using the supplied Epson software, scans generally come out with soft contrast, so the judicious addition of contrast and sharpening are necessary. Some films that work well include Plus-X, Pan-F, and Fuji Acros. In general, scans of fine-grain high-contrast films have been the most successful for me The results from the V500 are heavily dependent on choice of film and expertise at post-processing. The Epson is a tremendous value and comes very close to what the Nikons can do at a fraction of the price. I have used the Epson V500 for several years, but also have experience with both the Nikon Coolscan V and 8000 ED.