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Customer Reviews Collected from epson.com |
Epson - Perfection Flatbed Photo Scanner with Digital ICE Technology
Average Customer Rating:
4.4
Rating breakdown 794 reviews
5 Stars
544
4 Stars
149
3 Stars
41
2 Stars
17
1 Star
43
90%of customers recommend this product.
(
717 out of
794)
Customer Reviews for Epson - Perfection Flatbed Photo Scanner with Digital ICE Technology
Customer Rating
3
Good Hardware, Bad Software
on July 5, 2010
Posted by: Bobb
from Denver, CO
1. The cable from the top of scanner to bottom of scanner comes out too easily, when you don't want it to.
2. The software program exits after every scan and has to be restarted. Very annoying.
3. On scanning film color negative, it aborts when it says "unable to save file". Very annoying and renders the scanner unusable for film.
4. The software program doesn't remember the settings when using the button on the scanner instead of starting the program on the computer.
2. The software program exits after every scan and has to be restarted. Very annoying.
3. On scanning film color negative, it aborts when it says "unable to save file". Very annoying and renders the scanner unusable for film.
4. The software program doesn't remember the settings when using the button on the scanner instead of starting the program on the computer.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting epson.com
Customer Rating
5
Fanstatic scanner
on October 9, 2010
Posted by: Kie
from Columbia, MO
As soon as I assembled my unit I have been working it day and night. Setting up was easily done. Am now using the unit to help will archiving mounds of paper sitting in my office.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting epson.com
Customer Rating
3
Thought I needed the highest dpi/res scanner...
on December 15, 2010
Posted by: Anonymous
from Florida
...but realized I probably didn't need to spend the extra money--the 330 would have been perfect for us. We purchased this for home use--to scan in decades of photos and to create a paperless house. I wanted a scanner with high res/dpi, so we went for this one vs the 330. I consider myself pretty savvy tech-wise and the "Start Here" guide was pretty intuitive and lead me to the on line user guide to understand all the scanning modes, etc. After playing with each different mode, I learned that I didn't need to spend the extra money for the higher res/dpi--it wouldn't let me scan in pictures higher than 300 anyway in the "auto" or "home" use--and since I'm no professional, I wasn't going to start figuring out all the "professional" use info...WAY too intricate for me.
Additionally, it comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 and there's NO information on the "Start Here" guide about it AT ALL--so you're on your own with that one. Took me two days to find the serial no. to register it. You'll find it on the back of the CD sleeve, btw. Maybe I'll feel better about this when I start playing with Elements and possibly give this a better review if Epson had added an extra page in the box to explain this software.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting epson.com
Customer Rating
5
Great Scanner
on January 20, 2011
Posted by: OneLDad
from Aurora, IL
I had been looking at scanners for some time, expecting in my retirement to convert 50-60 years of old slides, photographs, negatives and family history into an accessible digital format. Based on our local photo lab using Epson equipment and Consumer Report indicating that the V500 was the best for the money in the price range I was looking, I bought one back in August.
At this point I have scanned over 3,500 images from photos, negatives, slides, newspapers, letters and the like using the Home Mode and have been very pleased with the results. In all cases they are clear with great color and tone, and scan quality is excellent. I love the fact that they can be cropped and edited before they are copied. I have probably at least another 3,500 images to go with the intent of burning CD’s for all the family members.
While manipulating the slide/negative holders is difficult, everything else about the EPSON V500 is very intuitive and user-friendly. This is my first scanner and I am quite favorably impressed with it and the bundled software. I spent about 5 minutes with the manual and was up and running. Early on I did experience one problem with it apparently running into to a file accessibility conflict when it was trying to write to the C drive; it would simply stop scanning in the middle of a string of negatives. I didn’t consult with Epson but merely changed the configuration option to an external drive and have never experienced the problem again.
Another situation I never considered in my research was 110 and 126 film. The V500 has no holder for these sizes but using a method of trial and error, it is a pain but I can scan them. I really don’t know if there is a product out there that has this versatility. Fortunately for me, the amount of 110 and 126 has not been great.
Some of the reviews I read indicated this device takes too long but it seems to me that it is a matter of understanding just how many dpi you really need. In the 400 to 600 range it does fine and the results are great. Take the time to learn about how many pixels you REALLY want in a file.
With regard to manipulating the slide/negative holders, I don’t know how they would do it, but I would recommend Epson find an easier way. I have found it to be a bit cumbersome having to lift the plastic slide console to remove the slides right from the scanner glass top and then have to replace the plastic slide console and then place the new slides to be scanned. In that same vein, there has to be a better way of holding negative film as well. To save time on my project, I have bought a second holder to load negatives while the other one is in the V500.
So far it has done a really great Job...
At this point I have scanned over 3,500 images from photos, negatives, slides, newspapers, letters and the like using the Home Mode and have been very pleased with the results. In all cases they are clear with great color and tone, and scan quality is excellent. I love the fact that they can be cropped and edited before they are copied. I have probably at least another 3,500 images to go with the intent of burning CD’s for all the family members.
While manipulating the slide/negative holders is difficult, everything else about the EPSON V500 is very intuitive and user-friendly. This is my first scanner and I am quite favorably impressed with it and the bundled software. I spent about 5 minutes with the manual and was up and running. Early on I did experience one problem with it apparently running into to a file accessibility conflict when it was trying to write to the C drive; it would simply stop scanning in the middle of a string of negatives. I didn’t consult with Epson but merely changed the configuration option to an external drive and have never experienced the problem again.
Another situation I never considered in my research was 110 and 126 film. The V500 has no holder for these sizes but using a method of trial and error, it is a pain but I can scan them. I really don’t know if there is a product out there that has this versatility. Fortunately for me, the amount of 110 and 126 has not been great.
Some of the reviews I read indicated this device takes too long but it seems to me that it is a matter of understanding just how many dpi you really need. In the 400 to 600 range it does fine and the results are great. Take the time to learn about how many pixels you REALLY want in a file.
With regard to manipulating the slide/negative holders, I don’t know how they would do it, but I would recommend Epson find an easier way. I have found it to be a bit cumbersome having to lift the plastic slide console to remove the slides right from the scanner glass top and then have to replace the plastic slide console and then place the new slides to be scanned. In that same vein, there has to be a better way of holding negative film as well. To save time on my project, I have bought a second holder to load negatives while the other one is in the V500.
So far it has done a really great Job...
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting epson.com
Customer Rating
1
Junk!
on January 24, 2011
Posted by: Tim
from Denver, CO
Painless install. Works perfectly... for two weeks! Managed to scan 6 rolls * 12 exposures of 120 B&W film. Got EXCELLENT results. Then on frame 7 of roll 7, suddenly everything is large black blobs, looks like it's scanning @ eight pixels per inch!!!
Uninstalled and reinstalled and same results.
So it's going to the thrift shop and I'll be looking for a REAL scanner now!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting epson.com
Customer Rating
4
History Machine
on March 11, 2011
Posted by: ScubaJack
from Palmdale, CA
Faced with a bewildering array of slides, film, prints and documents that tracked the history of my family, I knew I was in need of a history machine. There was no way I was going to overcome the digital storage of all of that data for a reasonable price without a personal scanner. After much shopping around, I decided that the Epson V500 was the machine that could do the job. When it arrived, it was easy to set up and the software installed very efficiently on my Windows 7 64-bit system. I ran it through its paces with a print, a document, black and white film, color film, and a color slide. All functioned flawlessly. The color and resolution was more than acceptable for all modes of operation. There are the usual problems with dust that can be easily solved by use of a dust reduction program, but overall the results were excellent. I have scanned B&W negatives in formats up to 620 that were over 100 years old. My Color negatives in formats up to 120 produced excellent results.Pros: Easy to use. Excellent resolution and color, easy set up and compatibility with Windows 7 64-bit. Workflow using Lightroom 2 as a file management tool was efficient. The file naming conventions were excellent and easily modified to your requirements. Cons: Only time will tell, but the slide and film holders seem flimsy and I wonder how they will stand up to use. I would prefer a slightly more positive positioning protocol for the film/slide holders. I find that using a very thin guitar pick to remove the slides from the holder while holding down the left side of the holder is helpful in keeping the holder in place without having to reposition it each time. The connection between the film/slide scanner and the base is not firm. When you see items grayed out or can't select film/slide in the scan program, check that connection first.
Overall, the V500 is a very satisfying device. I would recommend it to my friends and colleagues without reservation. I would have given it five stars were it not for the flimsy film holders and the less than positive connection for the film scanner.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting epson.com
Customer Rating
5
Epson perfeciton V500 Rocks
on March 16, 2011
Posted by: MediaMan44
from Baldwinsville, NY
I'm very impressed with the Epson Perfection V500 such that I bought a second one for my daughter. I'm writing a book on railroads and require a scanner to scan old medium format B&W negatives, Medium format positive film, Kodachrome Slides, 35 mm film, and documents. And this works as well as my Epson Perfection V700 that I've had for over 3 years.
I use the V700 for mass scanning of boxes of slides, 12 slides at a time, but use the V500 for doing one to four at a time. And at the pace I'm going with my book, scanning 1-2 negatives or slides at a time, I've been using the V500 more that the more advance V700. The Adobe Elements 6.0 software was a step above what I had been using and really makes a difference when cleaning up the older negatives and transforming them into stellar prints.
The V500 has a smaller footprint than the V700 and takes up less space. If you're doing mass scanning, it will take a little longer with the V500 as it doesn't do as many at one time as the V700. But I find that at the pace I'm going with my book its the right fit for me. The V700 is a walk-away scanner where the V500 requires a little more manual effort and yet I'm using it more that the V700. Perhaps, its because I don't like scanning more than one medium sized negative at a time as cleaning them up (removing dust) and setting it up on the scanner requires some effort.
As far as the quality, I cannot tell the difference between the scans on either scanner so the quality is the same. If the V500 is within you budget, you're comfortable doing small batches, you won't go wrong. If you're going to scan your lifetime collection of 35mm Kodachrome slides, you may want to do more than just four slides at time, the limit with the V500. I have them both and use the V500 most of the time. Its great - get one.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting epson.com
Customer Rating
3
Not as easy as advertised
on March 18, 2011
Posted by: JeffB
from Southern California
When I first decided to invest the money in a scanner to digitize my very large collection of photos, the Epson series really got my attention with the advertised photo restoration capabilities etc. However, out of the box, this is not as easy as it is made out to be. There are a number of settings to fiddle with, and inevitably, my photos do not end up looking like the preview photo when scanned. Needless to say this has been a very frustrating process to date.
If there was a better tutorial about what the settings were, what they did and why the pictures do not match the previews I would definitely give this a 5-star rating.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting epson.com