V700 alternatives? Help!

**kilimanjaro1996** · 16-Aug-2008, 11:17

My friend bought a Microtek M1 Pro, and I got a V700, all within last 3 months. Naturally we did some comparison tests. The resolution and dynamic range are comparable, where M1 Pro has very slight advantage. V700 is faster. My friend has to return and replace his M1 Pro due to poor focusing consistency, but the current sample seems to be good. SilverFast Ai should be better with film profiling, but Epson Scan does a decent job without much fuss.

My friend is more meticulous to achieve maximal performance, and I just want to get the job done at good quality. Therefore our choices fit our style well. In Europe I believe the M1 Pro also has ICE-like functionality, while in US this feature is missing due to licensing issues?

**Jan Nieuwenhuysen** · 17-Aug-2008, 10:18

I can tell you about my experience with the V750.

Two preliminary remarks:
My opinion is based on my striving to get the best possible scan out of this machine. I realise most people will be satisfied with a lesser degree of quality than I am.
I almost exclusively scan B&W transparencies (Scala and Acros 100).
I might be considered a non standard user.

I find this scanner to be capable of producing pretty impressive scans, certainly for a scanner this cheap. Earlier in this thread someone remarked that scan quality obviuously is less than that of an Imacon or a good drum scanner. That certainly is true. I have had, on the other hand, worse scans from an Imacon than the scans I did of the same slide on the V750 later myself. This simply due to the fact that I had by then figured out how to squeeze the best scan quality out of my small Epson flatbed and the Imacon operator performed a sloppy job on his superior machine.
A good scans depends for a considerable part on the operator.

What do I like/dislike about the scanner?

Contra:
- film holders. Do not even bother to use them. They are a complete embarassment. Normal holders are a flimsy affair that will buckle your film. The fluid mount accessory disintegrates when used with scanning fluid. Bad practical joke.
I use Better Scanning Holders products now and am totally satisfied with them. You have to add the cost of these to the scanner as they are a necessity for obtaining good results IMO.
- included software. Sure, Epson scan is decent. It is a fine tool to get a quick small scan. What you need for a serious scan is Silverfast Ai Studio. Silverfast is included, but not the full version, so there goes another upgrade. The reason you should upgrade is to be able the use the multi scanning option. You need this to get rid of excess noise and to get a high enough dynamic range. You also need it because it gives you good control over scanning parameters.
The Monaco EZ profiling software is not accurate enough, for my taste, in profiling the scanner. You need to get it profiled, add that to the costs as well.

Pro:
Once you have cured the shortcomings you are provided with out of the box, it turns out to be a surprisingly good scanner for the money.
It is not quick, but if you do not have a large amount of daily scanning to do, who cares? Get yourself an Imacon if you need to do that.

Once you have determined optimum film holder height, profiled it and have figured out how to tweak Silverfast for optimum results this thing will do the job. And very well so.
Scans are soft, but can be sharpened considerably if wet mounted & multi scanned. A surprising amount of detail is actual hidden in there that can be brought to light.

Be prepared for a steep learning curve. This is true for all scanners, it takes time to learn how to make agood scan.

All scans on my site are done with the 750, if you want to see some examples. All scanned from 4x5 Scala.

The absolute onbtainable maximum is a 6x magnification in my experience. Other people think 4x, or 5x is max. This is subjective and based what you think is acceptable. I also thinbk it is based on differences in worklow. I recommend this scanner for serious work for 4x5 > only.
I use it for 4x5 only as I exclusively work in that format. I do not know if 5x7 or 8x10 is possible on this scanner with the use of the second, high res lens? Maybe someone else knows.

If you want to know more about how I scan you may send me a PM. I could send you a sample piece of a masterscan and a final print file to show you what to expect.

**Ash** · 24-Aug-2008, 01:58

A few notes on the V700...

Holders are marking the glass.
Holders find it difficult to hold film (35mm/120).
No info on those height adjusters!
The lower piece of glass appears to have condensation markings on the underside. I noticed this when lifting the lid and removing a holder (since the top light was still powered).

I'll probably call Epson on Tuesday.

**Jan Nieuwenhuysen** · 24-Aug-2008, 02:25

So you did buy a V700? Congratulations on your new scanner.

As I said the holders are useless, I strongly suggest you replace them with proper ones. I recall I was successful in wiping the marks off with lintless cloth. If you have to use alcohol or something to get it off moisten the cloth with it, do not pour on the glass as it is not sealed. You do not want it to drip inside the scanner...
My experience with the Better Scanning Holders is very satisfactory (there might be other solutions around I do not know about).
Re: condensation: I have never had this problem. There is no fan inside the house afaik. I do not think the unit is very tightly sealed. I suppose the condensation will disappear when you warm the scanner up for some time. I am curious as to what Epson will have to say about it.

**Ash** · 24-Aug-2008, 08:38

Jan,

I'll let you know about the condensation issue. I hope it's sorted itself out by Tuesday morning when I'd call. The scanner sat in a fairly cool office (wooden floor, large room) in it's packaging all day. I then removed it from packaging, and after 30 minutes set it up. There was well enough time over the day for condensation to clear. I've had lenses shipped in bitter cold and they've arrived in condensation but cleared up in minutes.

As for the holders, I'll talk to them about this too. It is a real complaint. I'm tempted to manufacture Anti-Newtonian holder to keep negs flat (as per the betterscanning options, maybe buy theirs or just source some AN glass to size.

**mccormickstudio** · 28-Aug-2008, 13:49

I chose a V700 over the 750 or Microtek. I have been doing 8x10 fluid scans and medium format scans of c41 negs using the supplied film holders and tape to hold the negs taught. I agree, the supplied holders are very difficult to use and don't flatten the film and I plan to purchase the betterscanning holders. But I am satisfied with the scan quality for mf (I would call them good, not great) for prints I've made up to 16x16" from 6x6cm negs and 16x24" from 6x9.

The 8x10 fluid scanning has been a challenge. Dry scans look good at a glance and are fairly sharp, but always have some amount of newton rings. I've tried every possible flipping and scanning sandwich combination with a piece of museum AR glass and still get the rings. So I decided to fluid scan.

The fluid scans look good and seem to increase the hue in a positive way, but they produce about 4x as much dust which must be edited out of the film. I am very careful when applying fluid and the mylar over-layer, but the dust and microbubbles are always there. I'm scanning 8x10 at 2400 dpi in Epson Scan and downsampling in photoshop to 32x40" files @ 400ppi. I never use any of the sharpening or features in Epson Scan as it always seems to produce terrible scans at 8x10. I usually sharpen or unsharp mask in photoshop at the end of my editing. I would say the sharpness of the prints I get at 32x40 from these scans is about a 7.5 on a scale of 10. Acceptably good, but could be greatly improved.

I haven't tried 4x5 yet, but based on my experience with 8x10 and mf I would bet that the scans are pretty good for prints up to 20x24", especially if you get the betterscanning 2-up 4x5 holder, which gets the neg off the glass and avoids the dust from fluid. I might also try my process with silverfast to see if it improves the final product.

I've noticed some condensation also, which I though was from my fluid scanning. It's barely noticable on the glass and doesn't seem to affect the scan.

I don't think you can get better scans for a scanner at the $500-$800 budget level. There is a Fuji Lanovia C-550 on fleabay right now, and occasionally you see the creos for under $2000. That's my next step when I grow out of the Epson.

Good luck!

**Erik Larsen** · 28-Aug-2008, 19:41

.

Craig, a quick question if you will?
Are you fluid scanning your 8x10 directly on the scanner's glass?\
regards
Erik

**Remigius** · 29-Aug-2008, 04:19

Hi,
I got a 4990 and the new BetterScanning holder with an ANR glass. I tape the film dry underneath the glass with post-its, emulsion side downward (ANR side downward as well, of course). This gives me no newton rings and minimal glass between the emulsion and the sensors. That works fine for all film sizes (OK, for 135 I use the Epson holders for convenience).
Cheers, Remigius.