In summary
Epson’s latest top-of-the-range flatbed/film scanner may be large and relatively pricey but you get plenty of bangs for your buck. The Perfection 4990 Photo combines 4800dpi resolution with a bit depth of 48, and Epson claims its high 4.0 optical density produces scans with smooth and accurate colour and subtle grey gradations. Features of the new model include a MatrixCCD scanning head with microlenses that ensure even light coverage. A blue-toned lamp compensates for the base masking in colour negatives, providing faster scans with better colour accuracy. . . [more]
Full review
Epson’s latest top-of-the-range flatbed/film scanner may be large and relatively pricey but you get plenty of bangs for your buck. The Perfection 4990 Photo combines 4800dpi resolution with a bit depth of 48, and Epson claims its high 4.0 optical density produces scans with smooth and accurate colour and subtle grey gradations. Features of the new model include a MatrixCCD scanning head with microlenses that ensure even light coverage. A blue-toned lamp compensates for the base masking in colour negatives, providing faster scans with better colour accuracy.
The 4990 Photo has two configurations. For print originals the scanner is used with the reflective mat in the document cover in place; for films, the mat is pulled out and the films are inserted in one of the four film holders supplied with the scanner. Users can monitor the progress of a film scan by watching a blue LED lamp which moves along with the TPU while scanning and is visible when the document cover is closed.
Epson’s Scan 2.6 software offers three scanning modes: Auto, Home or Professional. All allow image files to be output in the popular .bmp, .jpg, .tif, .pdf and .pct formats and users can specify where the files are to be saved. JPEG and TIFF files can be saved with Print Image Matching II optimisation. Software applications that accept multiple images, such as the supplied Photoshop Elements 2.0, allow you to scan up to 24 film frames simultaneously, applying the same adjustments to each.
Each scanning mode has certain limitations. In the Auto mode, you can scan 35mm colour negatives and slides but not B&W negatives or other sizes of films, and you can’t remove dust or scratches on prints, optimise brightness and colour, remove moirø© patterns or scan documents larger than the platen (the latter is only possible in the Professional mode). The Home and Professional modes support all image adjustments, including optimising text and line art scans and colour restoration, plus Digital ICE dust and scratch removal for images on film (B&W negatives and Kodachrome excepted).
Digital ICE is a superb ‘clean up’ tool but our tests showed it significantly extended scanning times (see below). If you’re using it with a set of four or more film frames, you have plenty of time for a coffee or two while they’re being scanned!
The 4990 Photo comes with an excellent on-screen instruction manual plus Epson’s Creativity Suite, which replaces the former Smart Panel software and allows users to copy images into other applications, attach them to emails, send them as faxes or post them on websites. LaserSoft’s excellent SilverFast SE6 scanning software and ABBYY FineReader 5.0 Sprint Plus OCR application are also supplied.
While Epson claims the 4990 Photo can scan an A4 colour print at 600dpi in 29 seconds, a 35mm film frame at 2400dpi in just under a minute and a 35mm frame at 4800dpi in a little over a minute and a half, our tests produced the following scan times:
- One A4 colour print at 300dpi for same size output using Epson Scan in Home mode. Preview – 8 sec. scan – 38 sec. Image size: 25.6MB; JPEG file size 9.7MB
- One 10 x 15cm print to A4 size at 300dpi using Epson Scan in Full Auto mode – 61 sec; using Home mode. Preview – 8 sec. scan – 12 sec. Image size: 5.17MB; JPEG file size 2.1MB.
- One strip of 4 unmounted 35mm reversal images. Preview and display of thumbnail images – 60 sec; scan – 3 min. and 4 sec.
- One 35mm film frame at 300dpi for A4 output without dust and scratch removal – 1 min. and 14 sec.
- A strip of six unmounted 35 mm frames at 300dpi for 10 x 15cm output with Digital ICE dust and scratch removal – 50 min. and 16 sec.
In general, the quality of the scanned images was very good. Colours were accurately reproduced and tonality was well preserved. Scans made with Digital ICE processing were generally slightly better than unprocessed scans, dust and scratch removal notwithstanding, so it’s worth the wait if you want the top image quality this scanner delivers.
Specifications
Scanning head: 6-line alternated colour CCD sensor with on-chip microlens
Optical resolution: 4800 x 9600 dpi
Output resolution: 25-12,800 dpi (50-6,4000 dpi in 1 dpi increments, 12,800 dpi with zoom function)
Max. bit depth: Colour 48-bit (281,474 billion colours) input and output; Greyscale (65,536 levels) 16-bit input and output
Document size: 216 x 297 mm (max.); 4x 6 frames of 35mm strip film, 8x mounted 35 mm slides, 3 frames of 120/220) medium format film or 2 sheets of 4×5″ large format film
Interface: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed and IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
Power consumption: 27W (operating); 18W (Standby), 4.8W (Sleep Mode)
Dimensions (wxdxh): 304 x 476 x 134 mm
Weight: Approx. 6.7kg
RRP: $899
Distributor: Epson Australia; ph. 1300 131 928; www.epson.com.au.
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