Epson Perfection V700 Photo

Price: $466.97 - $593.99

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A High End Semi-Professional Scanner06/16/07

Pros:

Overall technical capabilities

Cons:

Expensive for the average user

The V700 and V750 series are designed for high-end users and worth the price if that is your need. I actually purchased the 750 and was very pleased.



The scanner will meet your expectations if your are a serious photographer, graphics designer or such. If you are not, then you can save some money and stop reading here.



The scanner comes boxed with 35mm, medium and large format negative adapters, slide adapter as well as a fluid bed adapter. Everything was neatly boxed and arranged for damage free transit.



Setup was easy. I chose the firewire connection to increase data throughput. The drivers installed flawlessly, although one place in the install seemed to imply a USB only install. Just keep on going... it will see the firewire connection in the end.



While several other software packages come with it, only the Epson Scan utility is needed. Most high end users will not need the other - EZColor for creating and saving ICC profiles; SilverFast scanning interface with enhanced retouching features; and Adobe PS Elements. Most would prefer to scan and retouch within Photoshop. Most would already have a higher level version of Photoshop, such as CS2 or CS3. Otherwise, the PS Elements is a nice addition for a second PC.



A couple of features that are worth noting, Epson Scan's ability to "remove dust" or use DigitalICE technology to perform enhanced dusting of a scan. The standard "remove dust" feature works fine for most photos and is much much faster. I used it on batch scans of color slides at 600dpi with no noticable slowdown. However, the DigitalICE feature consumes large amounts of resources and time. It is better for single image scans and those with the latest tech in a PC... suggest dual-core or dual processors if you plan to use it extensively.



I have run the scanner through some pretty extensive tesing and scanning of actual work. I believe it to be a wonderful scanner with the quality and features you would expect from all the advertisement and reviews in tech magazines. I would expect it to hold most users for 4-5 years.