Epson Perfection V700 photo scanner

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Design : 8.0
  Features : 8.0
  Performance : 8.0
  Image quality : 8.0
  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Lori Grunin
• Reviewed on: 10/12/2006
• Released on: 03/17/2006

"I'm sitting on 1,000 slides. What's the best way to get them into the computer?" is a frequently asked question I get from both friends and readers. Of course, the easiest solution is to send them off to someone else. But that can get expensive, and many people don't want to subject their prized photos to the disinterested hands of a technician. That leaves you with a scanner as your only option. For speedy, unattended scanning, a dedicated slide scanner with an automatic feeder, such as the Nikon Coolscan V, is a good bet. After you're done with the slides, though, it becomes an expensive paperweight. So after the costs and benefits play out, your best overall choice turns out to be a really good flatbed scanner--like the Epson Perfection V700.

The V700 improves upon its popular predecessor, the Perfection 4990 Pro, not to mention that it beats that model's price by about $50. You might also notice, however, that its design radically differs from last year's models; a switch from all rounded curves to sharp angles and corners. I happen to prefer the flat-topped version, because every large object on my desk must be able to hold a pile of something or other. Speaking of which, you'll need to allocate a big chunk of desk space for the V700: 6 by 12 by 20 inches.

Epson includes a variety of carriers in the box: one holds 12 slides, another four six-frame film strips, one for two 4x5 transparencies, and one for eight medium-format frames. They're all well designed and easy to load, and they each snap into a notch to lock in place on the scanbed. My biggest problem with the myriad mounts is finding places to put them. A version of the V700, the V750-M Pro, also offers a liquid mount, as used by drum scanners. This allows the film to press directly against the glass, which maximizes sharpness and minimizes artifacts. Though the V700 doesn't supply this, it does use separate lenses for reflective (hard-copy) and transmissive (slides and negatives) originals; since the latter generally need to be optically enlarged far more than the former, the lenses need to be optimized differently. One lens is designed for optimum resolving at a horizontal resolution of 4,800dpi, the other, 6,400dpi. Of course, the scanner can interpolate way beyond that, and for small originals, you generally find yourself in interpolation territory.

I had no problem surrendering precious desk space to the V700 and tend to use it for everyday jobs as well as digitizing the family slides. I most often use its scan-to-PDF function, which always operates seamlessly. You can use the button on the front of the scanner to launch the operation. My one big gripe here is the lack of an automatic document feeder (ADF) option, as if the thought of common office tasks were beneath the notice of such a high-class product.

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Compare prices for Epson Perfection V700 photo scanner

Buy direct from Epson America Inc. Manufacturer's price		$479.99
	TigerDirect.com	$549.99
	Dell Small Business	$599.99
	Amazon.com	$599.99
	pcRUSH	$563.00

Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 6 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars Write review

• Showing 3 of 6 user reviews

• 5.0 stars

  "Great scanner! Easy to use with pro results."

  by Apple1968 on September 17, 2009

• 4.5 stars

  1 out of 1 people found this helpful

  "It looks like a rock, and it deivers as such"

  by danbrown9 on September 10, 2008

• 0.5 stars

  2 out of 2 people found this helpful

  "Don't buy this scanner if you use Vista"

  by djkrr on June 9, 2008

• See all 6 user reviews Write review

Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

• alaTest.com

  Editors' rating: 92

  Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 204 reviews of Epson Perfection V700 Photo from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 84/100 and users 85/100. Comparing these reviews to 33511 other Scanners reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 92/100 = Excellent.

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• photographypress.co.uk

  Editors' rating: 90

  Summary: Despite its unattractive blockiness, it is a corker, performing well and able to deliver stunning scans quickly and simply

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• digitalartsonline.co.uk

  Editors' rating: 80

  Summary: Pro photographers will want to wait for the £465 plus VAT Perfection V750 Pro, which adds a high-pass optics system, the full Ai version of SilverFast, and calibration software. However, the V700 is perfect for most designers

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• macworld.co.uk

  Editors' rating: 80

  Summary: The Perfection V700 Photo is everything the aspiring professional photographer or serious enthusiast could want. Scanning speeds are fast and quality is superb. It allows you to scan in multiple transparencies and , thanks to the Dual Lens technology, ...

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• whatdigitalcamera.com

  Editors' rating: 92

  Summary: The V700 scan quality not only equals many dedicated film scanners, but in most cases surpasses them...

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• macworld.com

  Editors' rating: 80

  Summary: The silver and black V700 scanner is a few inches taller than most desktop, flatbed scanners, and it has a boxy, angular design when compared to the rounded corners of most scanners. It can connect to your Mac via USB 2.0 or FireWire, but we used ...

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