High-Resolution Photo Scanning with the Epson Perfection V500 Scanner

Claudio da Silva: Just what I was looking for. Easy to operate and a really good machine.
I just loved it!

Japan on Apr 11, 2014

Terry L. Long: I'm an amateur photographer with about $7000.00 invested in digital camera equipment and do most of my editing and printing myself. At the beginning of the year I decided to upgrade to a new 64 bit computer system which at first caused a bit of frustration and dissapointment because my flatbed scanner and dedicated film/slide scanner weren't compatible with the the upgrade. Neither Canon (film/slide scanner) nor Epson (flatbed scanner) planned on updating their drivers to support the 64 bit system. So...I was in the market for newer scanners. Like anybody else, the current economic crisis affected me too so the Nikon Coolscan film scanner was out of the question and I wasn't happy with the specifications of the less pricier dedicated film/slide scanners.

I shopped around (online) at the bigger photography stores and read the reviews provided for the scanners they offered and settled on the Epson V500. I really liked the price but that wasn't the entire reason I opted for it. The majority of the reviews were from people like me...amateur photographers, and most rated the V500 scanner 4 stars out of 5. My next stop was Amazon. I compared the specs Amazon provided with the...

United States on Apr 17, 2010

J. BlilieJ. Blilie: V500 Scanner: 5 STARS, software: 4 stars.

Quality: 5 stars
Ease of use: 5 stars
Cost: 5 stars
Flexibility: 5 stars
Software: 4 stars (it has some weird quirks, work-arounds are simple)

Suits my needs, and for around $200, it's a great deal.

I am scanning Kodachrome 64 primarily, for archive reasons. Generally, I've been very pleased. The dust removal feature works nicely almost all the time. I am scanning at 6400 dpi and you can clearly see the KC-64 grain at this resolution. (The scanner "goes to 11" as well: It says it will go to 12,000 dpi, which I haven't used: For KC-25 maybe?) You can see a slight pixelating effect on the grain; but the grain is obvious. It is a notable improvement over my older 3200 dpi scans: Quite noticeable on large (13X19) prints. The color is true. The resulting scans are beautiful and very true to the slide image. The slide holder is very easy to use.

I am scanning in the "Professional" mode, using Unsharp Mask checked on and Dust Removal checked on (only these two) and usually run the dust removal at "High" unless it has issues (I've had it do a couple of things I didn't like when set to "High": darkening in...

United States on Aug 11, 2009