Main Review

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 10x8. 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 5x4 and a film area guide for 10x8 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.

Reviewer: WDC Team