Epson Perfection V850 Pro Scanner

I bought this scanner because it offers scanning of medium- and large-format negatives. I was concerned about its actual resolution potential in spite of its native 640 dpi. I'm comparing it to the results I obtain from a Nikon 4000 ED, which scans at 4000 dpi. The Epson is actually not producing sharpness that equals the Nikon, straight out of the scanner. However, I do obtain reasonably comparable sharpness to the Nikon if I apply a post-scan workflow similar to what I apply to my digital photographs. I can apply similar to the Nikon scans, but if I push too hard they look too driven) What is working for me is to take the scan through DXO Photolab Noise reduction, and then through PhotoShop SmartSharp or similar. The DXO NR seems to prep the the scan for ... MoreI bought this scanner because it offers scanning of medium- and large-format negatives. I was concerned about its actual resolution potential in spite of its native 640 dpi. I'm comparing it to the results I obtain from a Nikon 4000 ED, which scans at 4000 dpi. The Epson is actually not producing sharpness that equals the Nikon, straight out of the scanner. However, I do obtain reasonably comparable sharpness to the Nikon if I apply a post-scan workflow similar to what I apply to my digital photographs. I can apply similar to the Nikon scans, but if I push too hard they look too driven) What is working for me is to take the scan through DXO Photolab Noise reduction, and then through PhotoShop SmartSharp or similar. The DXO NR seems to prep the the scan for sharpening better than if I sharpen first. In terms of color fidelity, I've used both the included Silverfast (8 SE+) to drive the scanner and Vuescan (Pro), and each offer the same functionality, but I'm seeing much more realistic color rendition when using VueScan. In terms of value, I think that one should look at the reviews of the V800, which the reviewers believe offers the same performance for significantly less money. You get a lower level of Silverfast, but you can add Vuescan and still be much cheaper than the V850. The V850 offers the ability to calibrate, but I haven't done that yet because 20-40 year-old film and slides are pretty variable anyway, and I'm getting very realistic colors from it with Vuescan (better than the Nikon for negatives). You get a duplicate set of holders with the 850, which lets you mount the next tray while one is scanning. I do think the glass-based negative holders are a plus in terms of flattening the film, and I suggest trying the different height adjustments for sharpness. Attached are 4 scans of the same negative, from the two scanners, raw and with my post. The two raw scans are quite different in sharpness, but it takes serious peeping to see the sharpness difference after my post-process. I think the color rendition of the Epson makes up for it. The file names indicate which example is which. You may notice that my Epson post example is from a 3200 dpi scan. I really see no difference from scanning at higher sample density with the Epson. The lens is apparently not that sharp. Even 2400 looks about the same as 6400 dpi, when viewed comparably.

I have done thousands of scans with the V850 and find it to produce excellent results using the Silverfast software included (much better in my experience than the Epson software). There's a learning curve to this so don't expect superb results until you have taught yourself the software and maybe watched a bunch of Youtube videos on it. Doing quick and dirty scans with this machine with the expectation that you'll fix the photos later in Lightroom or Photoshop will probably yield disappointing results. Rather, learning all the controls and manipulations available in Silverfast and adjusting the image as best as possible there will produce a scan that will be much easier to bring to perfection in LR, Photoshop or whatever photo editing software you use.

The Epson V850 Pro Photo Scanner is a amazing! I am an amateur at photo reproduction and post processing, but have found the scanner setup is well documented and quickly accomplished on Windows 10 (including driver and scanner utility program installation). However, I'm using the Silverfast 8 scanner program because it provides a more comprehensive set of tools to get the best quality of scans and post processing automatically. The scanner also came with a set of frames (photo film holders) for a wide variety of film types. I hoped there would be more documentation on the use of each of the frames. Also, it's early yet, but I'm hoping to find a method of scanning multiple photos, which can then be parsed into individual images. Once scan parameters and post ... MoreThe Epson V850 Pro Photo Scanner is a amazing! I am an amateur at photo reproduction and post processing, but have found the scanner setup is well documented and quickly accomplished on Windows 10 (including driver and scanner utility program installation). However, I'm using the Silverfast 8 scanner program because it provides a more comprehensive set of tools to get the best quality of scans and post processing automatically. The scanner also came with a set of frames (photo film holders) for a wide variety of film types. I hoped there would be more documentation on the use of each of the frames. Also, it's early yet, but I'm hoping to find a method of scanning multiple photos, which can then be parsed into individual images. Once scan parameters and post processing features are setup, batches of images can be scanned automatically. This frees me to do other tasks while the scanner does the heavy lifting. A lot of good user tutorials online too.