In summary
Top-flight performance from a versatile film and flatbed scanner.
Full review
Designed for quality-focused photographers, Epson’s Perfection V700 Photo scanner looks different from previous models and sports several new features. The first A4 scanner with a dual lens system, the V700 has a High-Resolution (4800dpi) lens for reflective media plus a Super Resolution (6400dpi) lens for film scanning. The two lenses are matched to an Epson Matrix CCD, similar to those used in former top-of-the line models.
Linked in with the lenses and sensor is a high-speed ASIC processor, which acquires and processes image data faster than scanners that rely on a PC’s internal processing system. Epson has also biased the lamp in the V700 towards blue to reduce the time taken to scan negatives and slides. You can track the progress of a scan with a blue LED, which runs down the centre of the lid showing the position of the lens carriage.
Four film holders are supplied, allowing you to scan 24 frames of 35mm stripfilm, 12 mounted 35mm slides, two medium format 120/220 (6 x 20cm) stripfilms or two frames of 4 x 5-inch film at a time. Sheets of 8 x 10-inch film can be scanned using the Film Area Guide on the platen.
Bundled software includes Epson’s scan driver and Epson Creativity Suite, which includes a File Manager for viewing image thumbnails, categorising and editing images, creating slide shows and making custom CD/DVD labels. You also get Silverfast SE, a sophisticated scanning application with dust, scratch, grain and noise removal functions plus colour restoration. Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0, ABBYY FineReader 6 Sprint Plus OCR software and Newsoft Presto Biz 4 LE are also provided, along with an online user guide.
The V700 also comes with Digital ICE Lite Technology, which automatically removes surface dust and scratches from scanned images, although scanning times are roughly 5.5 times longer. In contrast, the dust removal setting in Epson Scan Professional adds only a few seconds to scan times.
Test Results
Overall, the V700 turned in an impressive performance, particularly in its 48-bit mode, where it was able to resolve the grain in both 35mm and 4×5-inch films. Even normally difficult orignials – both slides and negatives – produced outstanding scans with accurate colours, abundant detail and a wide dynamic range. Operating noise was very low.
Epson’s software was easy to use and delivered good results. However, the bundled Silverfast SE software provided a wider range of hue and tonal adjustments and, although significantly slower than Epson Scan, was more reliable and provided better control over the end result.
The dust removal system in Epson Scan only removed the obvious dust specks, while Digital ICE produced a sharp, unblemished file. It’s well worth the wait if your original films are less than perfect! Epson’s grain reduction and colour restoration facilities had no measurable effect on scan times but produced the wanted improvements, although at a small cost to image sharpness.
The table below shows the scanning times recorded in our tests, along with the resulting TIFF and JPEG file sizes.
| Original | Resolution (dpi) | Bit depth | Preview
(1) |
Scan (2) | File Size (TIFF/JPEG) |
| A4 colour print | 300 | 24 | 6.4 sec. | 16 sec. | 25.6MB/8.7MB |
| 35mm slide | 2400 | 48 | 52.6 sec. | 55 sec. | 38.45MB (3) |
| 35mm slide | 4800 | 48 | 52.6 sec. | 60 sec. | 141MB (3) |
| 35mm slide | 6400 | 24 | 52.6 sec. | 110 sec. | 125.8MB/30.15MB |
| 35mm slide | 12,800 | 24 | 52.6 sec. | 263 sec. | 503.3MB/120.6MB |
| 35mm negative | 2400 | 48 | 43.2 sec. | 46.75 sec. | 31.7MB (3) |
| 6x 35mm negatives | 2400 | 24 | 43.2 sec. | 239 sec. | 15.8MB per image |
| one 4×5-inch negative | 2400 | 24 | 33 sec. | 130 sec. | 266.3MB/78.6MB |
Notes:
1. With film scans, the V700 scans the entire platen in Preview mode.
2. Scan times were measured from the time the scan was initiated to when the image appeared in Photoshop.
3. 48-bit files cannot be converted to JPEGs. [28]
Specs
Scanning head: Matrix CCD with Micro Lens and Dual Lens System
Optical resolution: up to 4800dpi reflective; 6400dpi film with Micro Step Drive
Optical density: 4.0 DMax
Output resolution: 40,800 x 56,160 pixels @ 4800dpi
Max. bit depth: 16-bit greyscale, 48-bit colour
Interfaces: IEEE 1394 (FireWire), USB 2.0 Hi Speed, USB 1.1.
Power consumption: 32W (Operating), 19W (Stand-by mode), 4W (Sleep mode).
Dimensions (WxDxH): 308 x 503 x 152.5mm
Weight: 6.6 kg
Distributor: Epson Australia