V500 vs V300...difference?

I love to shoot film, because I have 4 film cameras and love them. I would like to set up a darkroom but I don't have room for a darkroom in a 1BR apartment; the WAF is just not there.

Currently, I shoot C-41 and have it developed at local minilabs to digital files, then I edit and print them myself. However I'm starting to get pissed with paying $4+ per roll for poor quality scans or prints with wack color correction. Plus I have to shoot expensive BW400CN (which I do like) to do B&W.

I figure if I get my own scanner, I can save money by only having my film developed (.95/roll) and then scan it myself. Plus then I could shoot and develop 'real' B&W film and then scan that myself. So my scanner will be primarily for film, and I might have a medium-format camera given to me soon.

I run linux so I wanted to get Epson scanners because I might not have to buy vuescan...and epsons are all well supported in vuescan too, I think. I'm torn between the V500 and the V300. The V300 is very cheap($90), while the V500 is nearly twice as much. They are both LED so they should both not require warm-up. I'm trying to figure out the difference other than resolution, and the V500 has ICE. The V300 can do 4800 DPI which by my calculation is enough for a 600DPI print at 8x12...that's more than enough; I probably would only scan at 2400. If it's only a matter of resolution, there's no point in the V500 for me. Unless ICE is really important.

I hope you're not running 64 bit linux. Epson scanners and 64 bit linux don't mix. Even with Vuescan you need a separate driver which is only 32 bit x86. And even then I think there may be compatibility issues with later versions of Linux. It sucks because my entire work flow is on 64 bit Linux, but I have to keep a Mac Mini around just for scanning.

Yes, ICE is really important. But that's software, not hardware, so you lose it if you run Linux.

No I'm 32 bit linux, Hardy Heron actually, and I thought that vuescan just made compatible scanners work, based on what I have been reading. Perhaps not?

BetterSense said:

No I'm 32 bit linux, Hardy Heron actually, and I thought that vuescan just made compatible scanners work, based on what I have been reading. Perhaps not?

Click to expand...

I'm on 64 bit Intrepid Ibex.

But on a 32 bit machine, Vuescan will start and then tell you that even though it sees the scanner, it needs you to download drivers for it.

Your scanner may or may not have that issue.

Example of Epson Scanner Blues under Ubuntu: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=705566&highlight=4490

Maybe I will have to fire up virtualbox for scanning. Not looking forward to it, but that's life is linuxland.

OK life is somewhat improved. I've got the 64 bit iscan packages installed since they have recently been released. iscan actually sees the scanner. Vuescan still has no idea what's going on. :/

Hi

viridari said:

Yes, ICE is really important. But that's software, not hardware, so you lose it if you run Linux.

Click to expand...

why do you say its software? ICE is the application of a hardware infra red (fourth channel) scan of the same bit of film.

or are you meaning that you loose the ability to apply this data to remove the dust? I thought vuescan also coped with that too?

To the OP'er I maintain a win2000 box here (as well as my RHEL and Ubuntu boxes) precisely because the drivers for much software work better in there. I guess that its lowest common denominator for the developers.

Perhaps you could try using VMware to run your win2000 or XP out of and it will probably access the USB ports sufficiently. You could run something free like irfanview to grab your image (to use the twain drivers) if you wished (although it would be 8 bit per channel).

Personally I would suggest if (you don't mention it) you mainly / only use 35mm film that you get a Nikon LS-IV at least. I think you'll be unsatisfied with anything larger than A4 enlargements from the Epson scanners (and I have 2 of them)

What's an LS-IV? Do you mean coolscan IV?