Are you happy with Epson V500?

Hi,

Today I am using a Nikon Coolscan 4. It is great for 35mm, but as I have bought a couple of medium format cameras I need a bigger scanner. Therefore I am thinking of buying an Epson V500. I have found a second hand one that I think may go for about 90 Euros or so. The owner claims that it is as new. I could also buy a brand new one for just above 200 Euros.

I understand that it can not compare to my Coolscan, but have good is it How big enlargements do you get out of it? Does the V500 have any special shortcomings that I should be aware of? Should I be looking for something else instead?

thanks in ahead for your help

Erik P

I think for film the entire platen is *not* scanned, so you are limited a smaller area in the center of the glass. This may work for you; personally I want to be able to scan more than one 6x9 neg at a time and print proof sheets from full pages of negatives so I use a V700

Erik Petersson said:

Hi,

Today I am using a Nikon Coolscan 4. It is great for 35mm, but as I have bought a couple of medium format cameras I need a bigger scanner. Therefore I am thinking of buying an Epson V500.

Click to expand...

Good morning Erik

I think you are on target there with the used one. I understand it will scan 120 film (you mentioned medium format) up to 6x12 (which is my normal use for 120). I have a few Epsons (3200, 4870 and 4990 ... the 3200 just isn't worth selling). and they all work similarly to each other. I have not used the V500 series, but equally I have read or seen anything to suggest they are inferior to the 700 in the scan made (only the obvious area such as scan area).

I recently put up this post on my blog which I think will assist you in understanding the differences.

Keep in mind that these are scans of 35mm, so when scanning 120 you will be scanning a much larger area, it will be dependent on your format but perhaps 6x7 cm. Compared to the 3.5 x 2.4 cm of 35mm its nearly double the dimensions each way. I also have 6x9 cameras so it of course is producing even larger files from the same scanner dpi settings.

I find that settings up to 2000dpi produces quite good results (although less is better) which I find difficult to discern from the results I get from my Nikon LS-4000. Naturally you need to post process the results differently as the Epson is more diffuse in nature than the Nikon.

You may also find this blog post helpful reading.

Naturally if you have a requirement for a "really large" print then submit your 120 film for a drum or other high quality scan. When you're paying over 100Euro for a print you may as well add in a good scan too.

Thanks Pellicle and Pschwart, just such answers that I was hoping for. It appears that the V500 will be just what I need.

Erik, I have a V500 and routinely scan my 6x7 negatives. You can scan up to 6x9. Mine does a pretty good job. I have never had any other scanner so nothing to compare to...
I hope that helps.

I have a V600 which allows scanning of three picture 6x7 film strip at one time. You frame each shot so at the end of the scan, three different picture files are stored in your computer. I find that helpful because I bracket my landscape shots so the pre-scan shows me immediately which one I should go with. Then I only scan the one which saves a lot of time. The V600 is only a little more money. Good luck on whatever you choose. Alan.

I get a lot of Chromatic Aberation with my V500 and 35mm films. Some films are better then others but the problem is enough that I quit using it.