Any real world comparisons between Epson 4990 and v700(/v750)?

[jvuokko]

Hi,

It is finally time to say good bye to my old Epson 3200 flatbed scanner.

But which scanner to buy now? Epson 4990 is quite cheap but old. Epson v700 is expensive but really good. v750 is out of budget.

I have done quick test between my 3200 and v700 that I had access.

The result is clear. v700 is way better than my old scanner. In both, sharpness and dense areas.

My main need for scanner is to get MF and LF negatives to web, which can be done perfectly with old 3200. The 3200 has dmax around 2.9 and typical negative has densest highlight somewhere around 1.8

I also have to scan all my MF color work for printing. This does not happen very often but this is where my 3200 really sucks. Actually I think that reason why I haven't done much color MF photography for couple of years is simple because I cannot get good scans from them.
For LF, I don't even think color slides before I have decent scanner.

Now I am asking have anyone done similar test between 4990 and v700/v750 that I have done between 3200 and v700.

If such test exist, it would show clearly how much difference there is between 4990 and v700.

I have google'd a lot. There are comparisons, but I have found a single one where dense areas are compared and shown. Usually the sample pictures are also so tiny that it's hard to judge anything.

Thanks!

Jukka

[Walter Calahan]

The v700 is not a repackaged 4990. There are quality differences between the two. I have sense side by side tests, but for the life of me now I can't remember where. The bottom line is the jump from the 4990 to the v700 is not huge. Many here still use their 4990 with great results for printing as long as they are aware of the scanner's limits.

As you said, for the web, your 3200 is fine.

Stay tuned for others to answer your question for this community is a great resource. I never owned a 4990, so I cannot reply from personal knowledge. I own a v750, and enjoy the results even though it is not a perfect machine.

[Brian Ellis]

I seem to recall that the late Ted Harris reviewed the 700/750 scanner in View Camera magazine about 3-4 years ago and that his review included some comparisons with the 4990. If you want to pursue this you probably could obtain a back issue from the magazine. FWIW, I decided not replace my 4990 with a 700/750 after reading the review. There didn't seem to be enough differences to make it worthwhile.

[Ken Lee]

If you perform a Google search for "v700 4990", or other similar arguments, you can find some comparisons and discussions - some of them on this very forum.

Like Brian, I didn't see a big enough jump in quality to merit an upgrade from my 4990. Instead, I got the Variable Height Mounting Station from betterscanning.com If I were to shoot a lot of Medium Format, I would buy their dedicated Medium Format holder as well.

However, I stay away from Medium Format whenever possible, and try to shoot 5x7 instead of 4x5. That's one way to solve the "scanner problem" once and for all. You just can't beat the image quality of big negatives - and even the most humble of scanners, can handle a 2x or 3x enlargement :-)

[venchka]

Ken Lee,

Thank you. Please stop it! I don't need a 5x7 camera. I really don't.

[ASRafferty]

I seem to recall that the late Ted Harris reviewed the 700/750 scanner in View Camera magazine about 3-4 years ago and that his review included some comparisons with the 4990. If you want to pursue this you probably could obtain a back issue from the magazine. FWIW, I decided not replace my 4990 with a 700/750 after reading the review. There didn't seem to be enough differences to make it worthwhile.

I'm not at liberty to actually share Ted's 2006 article. However, here are some notes from his email that may help.

He shared this website back in '06 in the context of a comparison that had just been added, between the 4990 and the 700. Although he seemed to have some substantial reservations about the website itself, he used it for the comparison data, and commented at the time that this supported his prediction that he could not see much difference, if any:

http://www.terrapinphoto.com/jmdavis/

He also had occasion to write this in an email in June:

"I just finished putting the V700 through its paces (few differences between it and the V750). You can read my quick comments on the Large Format Forum. Bottom line, I don't think these scanners give you much gain over the 4990. To get the full advantage of the new optical system you need to scan at 6400 spi which gives you very alrge files from a 4x5 and impossibly large from a 5x7 or larger. There is also a time penalty with file sizes that large. At a more reasonable (for most) 3200 spi the scanner doesn't perform quite as well as the 4990 and is still a good bit slower than the 1800f which it doesn't outperform either."

And this the following month:

"Still have not gotten a V750 but I have put the V700 through its paces. The V700 is close enough to the 750 that I don't expect anything but very small improvements from the V750 as the only hardware change is the addition of anti reflection coatings on th mirrored surfaces and the ccd array .... enough for a small improvement but that is all. Bottom line first ... not really an improvement over the 4990 for the LF shooter and some modest gains for the smaller format shooter.

--you need to scan at the highest setting of 6400 to activate the higher resolution lens and at that setting you get a real spi of 2400 - 2800 v the 2200 - 2300 for the 4870/4990. Big drawback for anything larger than 35mm is that you have a huge file size.

--at lower settings the performance is not as good as that of the 4870/4990

--the Dmax is the same as that of the 4870/4990 ..... 2.25

--the machine is slow slow slow .... much slower than the 4870/4990 ... a 2400 spi scan can take as much as 25 minutes ... at 6400 and scanning a 4x5 expect 3+ hours .... "

I hope this is of some help or interest... as he wrote then, you may be able to find his comments here on the forum via the Member List, as the mods here have left it there so as not to eradicate his posts. Nonetheless, it's good for me to get these things out of his email and someplace where they can help others, so... FWIW.

[venchka]

Thanks Amy! That information is priceless! It should also keep the price of 4990 scanners up.

[Kirk Gittings]

Yes Amy that reflects my memory of Ted's opinion too. I was talking to him almost daily during that period and at best he thought the 700 was an incremental improvement over the 4990 for LF use. That is my opinion too having owned both the 4990 and 750. The one other improvement that is never mentioned FME is the lack of out gassing on the 750, which is a problem on the 4990, coating the inside of the glass with a film which requires disassembly to clean periodically.

[ASRafferty]

Not my intention, Wayne... nor did he have any interest in doing so!

Michael Mutmansky may chime in when he sees all this, since he and Ted spent so much time discussing these matters at the time.

[venchka]

Sorry, Amy. Not my intention either.

I just meant that the Epson 4990 has a loyal following and a well deserved reputation in the market place. I have used a friend's 4990 with good success. In fact, I was on the lookout for a nice used Epson 4990 when I found a nice used Epson 1680 right here. I am pleased with the 1680 as well.