The Epson Perfection V700 Photo is a professional-standard scanner aimed at prosumers and keen amateur photographers.

Product Overview

Overall rating:

92%
Overall score:92%

Pros:

  • Multiple film format scanning, build, price, bundled software.

Cons:

  • Fiddly film height adjusters. 120 film holder too short for three frames of 6x7.

Product:

Epson Perfection V700 Photo

Price as reviewed:

£399.00

Dual Lens System

The Epson Perfection V700 Photo scanner benefits from a Dual Lens system; the first lens is a 4800dpi affair and is used for all the reflective scanning and large format film up to 10×8. The second lens boasts an optical resolution of 6400dpi and is used for high quality film scanning. In our test the lens performed at its best in the 3200 – 4800 dpi range. The 6400dpi setting generated large files and didn’t offer much advantage in terms of image quality. The lenses are automatically switched when you select the document type in EpsonScan.





Film Holding Options

The scanner is supplied with five film holders; 12 mounted 35mm slides, four strips of six-exposure 35mm film, two strips of 120 film (6 x 20cm), two sheets of 5×4 and a film area guide for 10×8 or other film sizes. Generally the build quality of the film holders is very good, as this scanner is aimed at the semi-professional user. We would have liked a sturdier construction though. A new feature is a set of Film Height adjusters, these are small feet fitted on the reverse side of each holder. There are three settings; 2.5mm, 3mm and 3.5mm, which sets the height of the holders above the lens, or a crude zone focusing system. There was a marked difference in scan sharpness at each height. For 35mm slides we found the best setting to be 3.5mm (3mm is the default).





Bundled Software

The scanner is supplied with a good selection of software including; Adobe Photoshop Elements (Mac & Win), SilverFast SE, EpsonScan, Abbyy Fine Reader (OCR software) and a selection of other small Epson applications. Given that this scanner is aimed at the semi-professional, we’re surprised that Elements is included. The Epson V700 scanner produces superb quality scans with accurate colours. As with most scanners the scanned image will benefit from a generous dose of USM in an imaging application.

Verdict

The V700 scan quality not only equals many dedicated film scanners, but in most cases surpasses them.

Details

Bundled Software:DIGITAL ICE Technologies, Grain Reduction, Dust Removal, Color, Restoration, PRINT Image Matching™ II, Optimised Auto
D-Max:-
Operating System:PC/Mac
Connectivity:USB 1.0, USb 2.0, Firewire 1394
Colour Depth:48 bit (281.5 trillion colours) 24 bit (16.7 million colours), 16 bit (65,536 greyscale levels), 8 bit (256 greyscale levels), 1 bit (monochrome)
Optical Resolution:4800ppi reflective and 6400ppi film
Maximum Print Size:216 x 297mm (A4, letter)
Film Size:35mm, 120/220,
Illumination:White cold cathode fluorescent lamp
Output:50 – 12800 dpi
Sensor:Alternate 6 lines color CCD with micro lens 4800 dpi at 122,400 pixel (20400 x 2 line x 3 colors) 6400 dpi at 113,280 pixel (18880 x 2 line x 3 colors)
Dimensions:503 x 308 x 152.5mm
Weight:approx. 6.6kg