Epson Perfection V500 Flatbed Scanner

Receive my Epson Perfection v500 just a couple of days ago. The initial setup and operation of the scanner was a cinch - even my 6yr old can do it. The first set of test I did was on regular 4x6 photo and then my old 35mm films. The speed in which it scanned these medium was ridiculously fast. I had an older UMax scanner and it took forever. Now, mind you the default scan setting is 300 dpi, which might be the reason for the faster scan. At 300 dpi the image look kinda grainy - the film scan has greater artifact than the larger photo scan (as expected since the total surface area is much smaller). Once I bumped the scan quality to 1200, 4800, and 6800. Note going beyond 4800 will take some waiting.

The scan software also allows you to enable filters to clear off dust, color correction, etc. If you do that, the scanner will do multiple pass slowing the process.

The v500 can scan up to 8x11 source. Scanning of film required the include TPU to hold the slides, 35mm and medium format films. When scanning with the TPU, you will be limited to 1/3 of your scan area (along the center)

My conclusion: The scanner product great capture of photo and pretty good 35mm scan. I recommend you play with the software setting and scan quality to get the right configuration for you need. If you want professional quality scan, you will have to trade of time vs. quality. So far from what I've seen in the market (played with and read review on) the Epson Perfection v500 is the best for the price. Right now you can even get the v500 for under $200 from Epson direct.

This is not my first scanner. It is my second Epson. The former being a CX3810 all-in-one. I have no complaint about the ability of a multifunction unit BUT I now need one capable of much higher resolutions. Recently I dug out all my old military slides and photos from the 1970's. Not surprising that they are in dire need of being retouched. This scanner is faster than I could have imagined on scanning 48-bit color at high resolutions. I don't mean it does it FAST but reasonable. For instance a 4"x6" color photo scanned at 48-bit color and 4800 dpi resolution took only about 5 minutes although the pop-up said 19 minutes at first. It comes with the trays for 35mm slides and film strips (negatives) which are easy to use.
The software is easy to use yet versatile. It meets my demanding needs. A copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 for Win XP and 3.0 for Macintosh is included. Be sure to visit www.epson.com for the latest drivers...there are two there for Windows.
This scanner is a must have if you plan on high quality photo/slide/negative scanning. It's extremely high 12,800 resolution I'll try sometime. In the meantime I reckon I'll be needing to locate a course at the local college for photo restoration (etc) to learn how to do professional touch ups and make the most of this fine scanner. This black beauty will be a friend for a long time to come.
Exceptional quality for the money and versatile. I also like its small footprint...it doesn't take up much space. For the price in today's market the Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner is truly difficult to beat!

I just finished scanning over 250 old 126 instamatic [1"x1"]slides from the late sixties. Some of these slides were almost unvieuable and most of them the color was very washed out.I just used the Epson software to correct this, it was amazing.I have an old primefilm 1800u slide scanner. It was ok but no comparson to the Epson.

This is the best scanner for negatives, positives, transparencies, you name it.
It is fully automatic and figures out what you're scanning and scans it, fixes it,
saves it all with one click. It doesn't matter whether it is a strip of negatives, several slides, doing contact sheets, or whatever it does an outstanding job.

I like the scanner. what else do you want me to say about it? the color is nice also. it runs using electric.

i like it, i don't love inantimare objects, i like intimate. i don't dislike anything or anybody............................................................................................................................................!

Easy to set up and operate. Machine works well and creates good pictures. Wish it had more slide space.

VERY easy to set up!
VERY easy to run.
GREAT scans!

The only reason I gave it a 'GOOD' rating rather than an 'Excellent' one, is that the slide and film holders are really quite flimsy, and I have looked to buy a replacement for the and can't find them anywhere, even on the Epson website!

This scanner replaced an HP scanner I bought in 1995, and the only reason I replaced it is because my new computer won't accept the SCSI card to run that scanner, running Win-Vista Premier 64-bit.

The old scanner is an 8½"x14" flatbed and this one is 8½"x11".

However, the new one scans film and transparencies utilizing a light head in the cover, which is the correct way to do it. Most scanners in this lower price-range use reflected light to scan slides and negs, which results in terrible scans.

I also have a Microtec flatbed/film scanner that cost $650.00 back in 1998, and this one compares with the Microtec, but runs on a USB connection rather than the SCSI connection.

I like that it works well with Mac. I've had three scanners with software that are not mac compatible. Scans well.