Which scanner to buy (Page 2): What are the main differences between the 600 and the 550?

Basil Loc: New Mexico

jerryc41 wrote:

I've done thousands of scans with the V600 in the six years I've had it, and I'm completely satisfied.

What are the main differences between the 600 and the 550?

Bill MN Loc: Western MN

RWR wrote:

This may work with your old scanner and present operating system:

http://www.hamrick.com/

Thanks, I'll give it a try or just throw it out. I have the HP Scanjet 4850. HP's advertising was wrong when I bought it. They wanted another, I believe about $75. for the patch to fix it. It was supposed to scan direct to a certain program but wouldn't. I had to scan to the desktop first. Not a big deal but an extra step. No more HP junk at this place.

SueMac Loc: Box Elder, SD

I have an older Epson V-500 and it has scanned I don't know how many thousands of photos. When it gives up the ghost, I'll go with another V xxx model.

Bill MN Loc: Western MN

Basil wrote:

What are the main differences between the 600 and the 550?

One difference is the dpi. 6400 x 9600 on one, the other only lists 6400. Compare the specs if there are other differences.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Architect1776 wrote:

I have the older Epson V750 and love the quality of scans. I would spend the extra for the 850.

I'm satisfied with my V500 but I have questions. As several others have pointed out the under $200 Epsons do everything I want. When you get to the V700, 750, 800, 850 models, $700 to $950, are they that much better? From the specs the main differences I see are the dual lens system (scan at 4800 or 6400 dpi) and the biggest new thing, and probably the reason for the huge jump in price, is the ability to scan film up to 8 X 10 inches.

My V500 will only scan film up to 620/120/2 1/4 size, but I don't have any film bigger than that anyway.

I can scan a 5X7 photo of Granny and print it out at 6 by 9 feet. Probably won't do that either.

Bottom line question, do the high end Epsons add features that would be enough benefit for most users to justify the cost? I paid $150 for my V500 new.)

nickims2 Loc: Mississippi currently

I also have the Epson Perfection V600 and it has never failed to produce high-quality copies. Can't go wrong with it!

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

SonyA580 wrote:

Some of my professional buds tell me to get the Epson V800 but others have suggested the cheaper V300.

I strongly suggest you look at the refurbished Epson V600. Currently selling for $145 on the Epson site. I have it, use it as a scanner for 35mm slides, 2 1/4 negatives, prints, copier and to make Pdf files. I love it! Check it out here:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Product.do?sku=B11B198011-N

I also have the V600 - am very satisfied with it.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Hutch20 wrote:

I am in the market for a new flat bed/photo scanner. Some of my professional buds tell me to get the Epson V800 but others have suggested the cheaper V300. I already have a Nikon slide and film scanner (35 mm only) and would still like to scan old photos and medium format film .. Any ideas

I'd go with the higher end model. I have an Epson V500 and it allows for 35mm negatives and slides, 6cm x , but not 4x5". Also you can not scan many of anything at one time. The top light is only along a strip down the middle of the lid not the entire surface. And I personally have way more 4x5" films than I do 2.25 inch ones (6x6cm or 6x7cm).

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

lamiaceae wrote:

I'd go with the higher end model. I have an Epson V500 and it allows for 35mm negatives and slides, 6cm x , but not 4x5". Also you can not scan many of anything at one time. The top light is only along a strip down the middle of the lid not the entire surface. And I personally have way more 4x5" films than I do 2.25 inch ones (6x6cm or 6x7cm).

That was my question above. If you didn't have large format negatives would you spend the extra money?

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

Hutch20 wrote:

I am in the market for a new flat bed/photo scanner. Some of my professional buds tell me to get the Epson V800 but others have suggested the cheaper V300. I already have a Nikon slide and film scanner (35 mm only) and would still like to scan old photos and medium format film .. Any ideas

I have a Canon Pixma 3-way and it's excellent at scanning, printing and copying.

Bill MN Loc: Western MN

jimmya wrote:

I have a Canon Pixma 3-way and it's excellent at scanning, printing and copying.

Which model do you have?

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

quixdraw wrote:

Haven't bought it yet, but did quite a lot of research and am considering the Canoscan 9000F Mark II. You might give it a look -- others who know more might choose to comment and give us both some guidance.:-)

I can't comment on Epson or other scanner brands other than people rate them highly, but I have had the Canoscan 9000F Mark II for about a year now. It works well, comes with holders for 35mm film, 35mm slides and medium format film, and is supported on both Windows ( 7 through 10) and Mac (including OS X Lion v 10.7)

Primary reason for choosing it was it met my requirements, and I felt it would pair well with Canon cameras, software and a Canon Pixma Pro 9000 mk II printer.

If I had an Epson printer, I might have been inclined to look at Epson scanners instead. I don't know if that actually matters, but it seemed logical to me, especially for non photography uses.

Good luck.

valley3photo

quixdraw wrote:

Haven't bought it yet, but did quite a lot of research and am considering the Canoscan 9000F Mark II. You might give it a look -- others who know more might choose to comment and give us both some guidance.:-)

I have used a CanoScan 9000F . Have scanned thousands of slides & photos & find it very good.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Hutch20 wrote:

I am in the market for a new flat bed/photo scanner. Some of my professional buds tell me to get the Epson V800 but others have suggested the cheaper V300. I already have a Nikon slide and film scanner (35 mm only) and would still like to scan old photos and medium format film .. Any ideas

Hutch, I'd go with Epson. You'll have to pick the model that best suits your format requirements.

I've had an Epson Perfection 3200 for about 15 years. It still works like it was new. I did have to purchase different scanning software to work with a 64bit system, but that was a minor issue. The scanner is well built, works smoothly, and has been very dependable.
--Bob

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Hutch20 wrote:

I am in the market for a new flat bed/photo scanner. Some of my professional buds tell me to get the Epson V800 but others have suggested the cheaper V300. I already have a Nikon slide and film scanner (35 mm only) and would still like to scan old photos and medium format film .. Any ideas

Right now, the best flat bed scanner is the new Epson V850!