Epson Perfection V100 scanner Review

[pc_guy]

Epson Perfection V100 PHOTO Review

Scanner Overview

I decided to write my first review ever, so here it goes. I will be looking at the Epson Perfection V100 PHOTO scanner, a brand new release from Epson on the low end and low price end of the scale. I have recently purchased the scanner for scanning a large number of old family photos and slides that are right now sitting in boxes.
The Epson V100 goes for $99.99US direct from the Epson store, while in Canada, $129.99CAN. + Free Shipping.

Don’t let the price fool you; this scanner can be more than enough for most everyday scanning tasks as well as transparency/slide scanning. Below is a quick look at what you get:

• 3200 dpi optical resolution (3200x9600 hardware)
• 48-bit color depth
• 3.2 Optical Density
• 35mm Transparency adapter (6 negatives/4 slides)
• 8.5" x 11.7" scan area

The scanner arrived in about 4 days, with the box being somewhat beat up. The first thing you’ll notice is that Epson was obviously trying to pass down the savings to the consumer, and only includes the essentials. The scanner is only held in with four small pieces of Styrofoam at each corner. The package includes: USB cable, AC-DC power brick, Software/Driver CD, Transparency holder, Step-by-Step quick start guide, and Notices & Warranty booklet. There is no printed manual, but one is provided on the included disc.

When I first unpacked the scanner, I was pleasantly surprised that it actually looked better than on the product photos found on the Epson website or Newegg. The cover and buttons have a silver-metallic finish, while the rest is a bluish-beige color.

The scanner is 16.9" W x 11" D and a slim 2.2 inches tall. The top cover opens from the side, similar to most all-in-one devices. You can also scan thicker items by pulling out the cover (but not removing it), or move the cover out of the way altogether by swinging it 180 degrees. The following photo shows how the cover looks like fully open.

Now lets move on to the transparency holder, which can accept slides or film negatives, four and six frames respectively. The holder has a hinged cover that keeps the film stripes in place. Overall it does feel a bit flimsy, I wouldn’t recommend being to rough with it or it might break. The holder gets positioned in two round indentations found on the left edge of the scanner, which keeps it in the correct place at all times. Below is a photo of the holder in the color slide scanning position.

Once your slides or filmstrip is on place, the white backing on the lid must be pulled out to reveal the build in backlight used for scanning transparencies. The transparency holder can be turned to make either the negatives or slides that you are scanning appear underneath the backlight.

There was one slight issue once everything was hooked up. The scanners AC adapter brick, it’s fairly wide and might take up 1 or 2 AC outlets on your power bar. In my case, I had to move all my power cords to one side and place the brick on the far side of the power bar, losing only one outlet.

This wraps up the basic overview of the V100 scanner, next up is the software and scan quality portion of the review, keep reading to find out how the scanner performed.

[pc_guy]

Epson Perfection V100 Review Continued

Software and Scan Driver

The CD that comes with the V100 contains the Epson driver as well as image editing, OCR software and the user manual. Installation went quickly and without problems. One thing to remember, install the software first, then connect the USB cable. Below is the screen shot of the install options available.

Epson Scan is the basic scanner driver

Epson Creativity Suite is less spectacular than in sounds. It’s basically the utilities that are used in conjunction with the Copy, Scan to E-Mail, Scan to PDF buttons found on the scanner. The four buttons on the scanner will invoke each scan mode, including the standard scan driver.

PhotoImpression 5 is the photo editing application supplied with the V100, and it is aimed at novice users. Don’t expect Photoshop features here, with simple color correction and a somewhat frustrating interface for someone familiar with more robust image editors. The Epson scan driver can do all, if not more enhancements to your photos.

ABBYY FineReader 6 Sprint is the OCR program, which does an excellent job in recognizing complex color documents and being able to save them as a PDF. I had done a quick test and the program kept the layout and colors of the page intact while converting the type to editable text.

Let’s get started with the most important part of the review, the scan driver and quality output of the V100 scanner. The Epson Scan program can be invoked via the scanner button with the green arrow or from a programs File > Import menu.
The Epson Scan driver is divided into three categories:

Full Auto - The scanner detects what document type you’re scanning and sets up everything for you. I highly DO NOT recommend this mode. It takes a while for the scanner to detect if you’re using reflective or transparency mediums, involving two preview scans.
Home Mode – If you’re in a rush or for novice users, this mode is also limited in the options.

Professional Mode – This is the mode that features the full set of controls which let you tweak your image scan settings and color correct the images.

Click to zoom in

Anyone that has used a scanner made in the last 10 years will be familiar with the settings/options: image size, dpi, bit depth, medium type (reflective, color transparency or slide). There are also more detailed controls accessed through the buttons found under Adjustments and they include: Histogram Adjustment, Tone Correction, Image Adjustment and Color Palette.
Other options include Unsharp Mask, Descreening, Color Restoration, Backlight Removal and Dust Removal options that can be checked on or off. I kept the Unsharp Mask on Medium setting for most of my scans, while the other options might become useful depending on the material you’re scanning.

Click to zoom in

The scanning process is straightforward, set your document type, dpi/color depth and hit preview. For reflective items, a preview window pops up letting you select the portion you want to include in the final scan or just click the auto image find button. I would also like to mention that the noise level for this scanner is quite low. The only time you will hear the scanning assembly moving is during low dpi and preview scanning.

For transparencies, thumbnails are generated for each frame, letting you view each one at a larger size or un-check it if you don’t want it to be included in the final scan. If your transparencies are upside down or reversed, rotate and mirror buttons found on the preview window are a lifesaver. Once you are satisfied with the preview images click the Scan button.


Scan Results

After a few test scans of various mediums, I have come to a conclusion that 600dpi for prints and 2400dpi for transparencies is enough. With a color slide scanned at 2400dpi, you’ll end up with an image that’s slightly bigger than 3000x2000 pixels or over 6 megapixels, more than enough to make 6x4 prints or even 8x10 enlargements. Scanning transparencies at the 3200dpi maximum optical resolution, images produced are huge, over 10 megapixels in size. Anything beyond the 3200dpi, and software interpolation takes over, with a max resolution of 12,800 x 12,800 dpi, you better have room on your HDD.

Below are some sample images I had scanned with the V100, noise was the most serious issue, mostly visible on dark-gray images, and the dynamic color range of 3.2 is okay. Preview and scan times are also indicated for each image. The below images have been resized in Photoshop to fit the page.

4x6 Print @ 600dpi – Preview = 25.4 sec. Scan = 24.6 sec.

35mm Negative @ 2400dpi – Preview (4 frames) = 77 sec. Scan (4 frames) = 7 min. 59 sec.

35mm Slide @ 2400dpi – Preview (4 slides) = 44.5 sec. Scan (4 slides) = 6 min. 54 sec.


Conclusion
The Perfection V100 PHOTO scanner is an excellent product for people on a tight budget. The ability to scan transparencies also makes it a good choice. It is not the best scanner out there, you will definitely get better results using the Perfection 4990, but at almost five times the price of the V100, it’s not an option for most people. Overall I am very pleased with the results.

Pros:

• Under $100US, Duh!
• Transparency scanning
• Overall good results
• Quiet operation compared to some other scanners

Cons:

• Power adapter will take up 1 to 2 power outlets
• Not the best color dynamic range
• Included photo editing software is weak

[Capper]

Excellent review.......Definite front page candidate!!!!

[Jokerswild]

Very nice.

Epson is #1 when it comes to scanning and printing photos!

[Captain Crunch]

Originally Posted by Night_Xblade

Epson is #1 when it comes to scanning and printing photos!

Agreed in the photography community Epson and Cannon are considered to be the 2 best.
Kinda like Cannon and Nikon!

[pc_guy]

The V100 is a great scanner, I still wish I had the Perfection 4990, which can scan transparencies as large as 8 x 10 in.

At the 4800dpi, thats a 1.8 Gigapixel image!!!!

My dad has a pretty new Epson scanner and he uses it for work all the time it's seem to work rather well

[stinger608]

Excellent PC_guy!!!!

I would have to agree with Capper, "front page material"!!!

[pc_guy]

I'm glad you all like it.

I gotta get back to scanning my slides, 94 completed, many more to go...