A comparison of some flatbeds and holders

[hsandler]

I temporarily find myself in the position of having access to three Epson flatbeds: the old 4180, a v500 and a v750. I also have a Betterscanning holder with ANR glass that I purchased for the 4180 and v500, and I was able to use it with the v750 also to do a comparison. I chose a good sharp black and white negative, shot with a Bronica ETRSi and normal lens on Ilford FP4, slightly pull processed. Here's what the full 6x4.5 scene looked like (actually, this image is not the same negative from which the detailed scans below are taken; it's the same composition shot through an orange filter, but the non-filtered negative is sharper):



Here are 100% views of the tip of the building with various 3200 ppi scans with the three scanners. In each case I used Epson scan software at 16 bit grayscale with a linear tone scale and no dust reduction, grain reduction or unsharp mask applied at the scanner. For the 4180 and v500, I used the Betterscanning holder with ANR glass adjusted to what seemed like the optimal height for each scanner. For the v750, I compared the stock Epson medium format holder in the "high" or "+" height adjustment (using the adjustable plastic tabs it has on the bottom) to the Betterscanning holder with ANR glass adjusted to what seemed the optimal height. To help compare, I have applied unsharp masking in Photoshop to the scans with radius 1.1, amount 225.



Finally, here's a version with the same setup as the lower right version (epson v750, betterscanning holder) but in this case, scanned with 48 bit colour and then only the green channel used. Not an improvement in this case.



Hope this may be of some use to people contemplating the v700/750 or one of the lower priced Epsons.

 

[toyotadesigner]

At last a very good comparison! In other cases, film types are mixed up, different scan software is used - this one is straight forward and hits the nail. Thanks a lot.

No, I don't have an Epson, still have my Nikon LS 9000 running, but for larger formats I'm considering the Epson v750 at the end of this year.

 

[L Gebhardt]

I'm surprised at how bad the V500 looks, and how good (relatively) the 4180 looks. Looks like there's not much reason to go with the V750 if you only shoot medium format or smaller.

 

[hsandler]

I'm surprised at how bad the V500 looks, and how good (relatively) the 4180 looks. Looks like there's not much reason to go with the V750 if you only shoot medium format or smaller.

Yes, I bought the v500 as an "upgrade" from the 4180, which I am selling. I think I happened to have a 4180 which is very good optically. However, it's a pain when scanning images with smooth areas, like sky or snow, because the light source is a trombone-shaped fluorescent tube with a darker band towards the middle of the negative under the space between the tube portions. Epson supplied a diffuser door on their holder to counteract that, but the Betterscanning holder lacks the diffuser. I have experimented with vellum paper and other diffuser materials, but some uneven streaks still appear in the scans. The moving LED light source in the v500 fixes all that, so I will live with a little less resolution. I usually scan at 2400 ppi, not the 3200ppi I used to reveal the differences in resolution. The v750, which belongs to my photo club, is a little better than either, but not dramatically so.

 

[Hatchetman]

I have been impressed with the v750, but not at that price. I'd rather buy a Hasselblad. I have a Canoscan 9000 which is pretty poor. Passable when using medium format.