Epson V500 Photo Scanner

The Epson V500 Photo is a 6400dpi scanner featuring Epson ReadyScan LED technology for low energy consumption. The V500 is the first Charged-Coupled Device (CCD) scanner to use white LED as a light source and warms up in just one second. The Epson Perfection V500 Photo features a built-in transparency unit for positive or negative film up to medium format. The Epson V500 Photo will cost £199.99 / $249.99 and be available September 2007.

Epson UK Press Release

The energy efficient Epson® Perfection V500 Photo, high-quality scanner for the advanced amateur photographer

Achieve high-quality photo and film scanning with the 6400dpi Epson Perfection V500 Photo.  It includes Epson ReadyScan LED technology for low energy consumption.

15th August 2007 – The Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner is designed to meet the needs of the advanced amateur photographer.  With its compact and stylish black exterior, 6400dpi optical resolution and high compression PDF scanning, the Epson Perfection V500 Photo meets the photo and film reproduction needs for the home, office or school.  It is the first Charged-Coupled Device (CCD) scanner to use white LED as a light source.  It delivers fast scanning speeds with low power consumption ensuring it is ENERGY STAR compliant. When switched on it warms up within one second, meaning virtually no waiting time to start using the scanner. 

The Epson Perfection V500 Photo features a built-in transparency unit for positive or negative film up to medium format.  It scans 12 frames of 35mm filmstrip, four frames of mounted 35mm slides or 1 frame of 6x12cm medium format film at once, ideal for preserving old family images.

Four easy access buttons are located on the front of the scanner to initiate scan to application, scan to PDF, scan to email and copy.  They offer a quick and easy way to scan an image without the need to access settings on the computer.  The scan to PDF function allows an image or multiple pages to be scanned and automatically saved to a specified PDF file, while the scan to email button allows documents or images to be copied and sent anywhere in the world at the touch of a button.

Software provided with the Perfection V500 Photo includes the new Epson Scan 3.2 and Epson Creativity Suite.  Epson Scan is designed to make scanning easy with its automatic mode and home mode. The needs of the advanced user are addressed with the professional mode. Epson Scan 3.2 offers high compression multi-page PDF scanning and allows ICC profiles to be embedded into the scanned files. Colour reproduction for negative scanning delivers superior image quality in critical or mixed lighting conditions. It also offers an advanced backlight correction to improve the overall visibility in the image. Digital ICE Technology ensures dust and scratches are completely removed from colour films, creating high-quality results.

Additional software includes Adobe PhotoShop Elements 4 (PC) and 3 (Mac) and ABBYY FineReader® Sprint 6 Plus* An optional Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) is available for small offices that wish to use the Perfection V500 Photo for higher volumes of document scanning.

Mark Robinson, Senior Product Manager says, “The Epson ReadyScan LED Technology allows a virtually instant start-up for maximised productivity.  There is no need to wait. Just switch on and get to work straight away. In addition to its stylish appearance, the Perfection V500 Photo is also designed to ensure it has low power consumption and is ENERGY STAR compliant.”

Epson Perfection V500 key features summary
Epson ReadyScan LED Technology for low power consumption and virtually instant start-up
Scan a range of document sizes, including A4, 35mm strip film x 6 frames, 35mm slide x 4 frames as well as 1 frame of 6x12cm medium format film
Digital ICE Technology for removing dust and scratches from films
Auto Photo Orientation and improved colour reproduction for hassle-free scanning
6400 dpi optical resolution and 3.4 optical density
Full software package: Epson Scan 3.2, Epson Creativity Suite, Digital ICE, Adobe Elements 4 (PC) and 3(Mac) and ABBYY FineReader® Sprint 6 Plus*
Mac and PC compatible to match all user needs
Four easy push buttons for fast and convenient scanning and copying, incl. high compression PDF scanning
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connectivity for fast plug and play
ENERGY STAR compliant to reduce energy consumption
Epson Perfection V500 Photo RRP including VAT £199.99 available September 2007

* ABBYY FineReader 5 Sprint Plus for Mac

About the Epson Group
Epson is a global leader in imaging products including printers, 3LCD projectors and small- and medium-sized LCDs. With an innovative and creative culture, Epson is dedicated to exceeding the vision and expectations of customers worldwide with products known for their superior quality, functionality, compactness and energy efficiency.

Epson is a network of 87,626 employees in 117 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and to the communities in which it is located. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., the Group had consolidated sales of 1416 billion yen in fiscal 2006.

Epson Europe B.V., based in Amsterdam, is the Group’s regional headquarters for Europe, Middle-East, Russia and Africa. With a workforce of 2,400 employees, Epson Europe’s sales for fiscal year 2006 were 2,104 million Euros.

Published: Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Reader Comments

1. Wow, what a great scanner. I love how it's nice looking, energy efficient, and looks great! I just added a whole section to my web site about how to archive your photos. This scanner would do wonders in archiving. http://www.zibtips.com/Forms/WebinarMain.aspx?WebinarID=26&WebinarContentID=85

   photo-dave at 07:37pm on Wednesday, August 15, 2007

2. Has anyone used the v500 scanner yet? We need feed back. Is it a good scanner? Or is the 4990 better? I'm getting ready to buy the 4990 or the v 500. Thanks

   Riondo Ribeiro at 12:15am on Sunday, August 26, 2007

3. How does this compare to any other scanner - such as the new Canon 8800F? If I'm ready to spend the money, which are the best scanners for scanning b/w and color photo prints as in family archiving?
   
   Does anyone know a site that compares recent scanners? Too many sites do no more than cook vendor blurbs.
   
   PCMag has some analysis. Are there others?

   FamilyArchiver at 03:05am on Sunday, August 26, 2007

4. Who has used the Epson 4990 and the Epson v500. Which scanner is better? Thanks

   Riondo Ribeiro Sculptor at 12:53pm on Wednesday, August 29, 2007

5. The V500 is too new as of this writing to have many reviews. It's not even listed at Amazon yet! For other reviews, also try Image Resourcing (http://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN1.HTM), CNet.com and ZDnet.com.

   Tolana at 07:35pm on Tuesday, September 04, 2007

6. I finally got through to Epson. I'm still wondering about their answer. Its out of stock I've been told and they have no idea when the Epson online store will have more. I asked well if it was to be released first of September how can it be out of stock? You guest it no answer for me just that they don't have anymore. I know of no one who has one or anyplace that even sell them. Every add I've seen for it says "out of stock". Oh well . I'll just have to hang in there. My most important question is how it may compare to the Epson 4990. Maybe I should just buy the 4990. The price has come down a bit. If anyone (which I dought) Knows how the v500 stands up against the 4990 please let me know. Thanks for the help.

   Riondo Ribeiro Sculptor at 09:56pm on Tuesday, September 04, 2007

7. i have no personal experience of this device but fyi i can offer comparison betwen the 4490 and the hp4050 6 colour as i had both and sent the 4490 back in favour of the hp,as for the 6400 dpi scan setting i cant see how this will be useable as the 4490 refused to scan anything other than a 35mm negative at this setting and a typical 5 x 7 photo would barely scan at 2400 dpi before the dreaded "file too large" message displayed, also the digital ice only works with negatives with epson, with the hp4050 it will work with scanned photos too and in my view is very effective, yes the hp can take a while scanning at the archival settings (6 colour 96 bit depth high dpi digital ice seting) but to me its worth it to archive those old very important pics, just one note the hp had better colour rendition over the 4490 and will scan a 5 x 7 pic at 4800 hardware dpi, maybe this will be helpful for those considering the 4490 alternataves, email for more info, as i speak from experience and an happy to share my knowledge,

   phill at 10:51am on Wednesday, December 19, 2007

8. (Posted on behalf of Riondo Ribeiro Sculptor)
   
   Thanks very much for the information. Can you please tell me how the HP is with slides? I'll be scanning lots of slides and negatives 35mm & 120 negs. Thanks and Merry Christmas. Riondo Ribeiro Sculptor

   Mark Goldstein at 04:57pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2007

9. I think the 4990 should be a better choice if you have a few slides or negatives to scan and need to use the Digital Ice dust removal facility.
   
   However if you mainly just have old prints to scan then this newer V500 would probably be the better choice as it uses an LED as the scanning lamp instead of fluorescent it should be a lot faster than the 4990.
   
   Despite this early review saying its fast, it doesn't say how fast it is which would be useful.
   
   I'd really like to know how fast it can scan A4 at 300 dpi, then this would be a good barometer to compare with the photographyblog review of the Canoscan 8800F which can do that in a blistering 7 seconds. See here: http://www.photographyblog.com/index.php/weblog/comments/canoscan_8800f_and_canoscan_lide90/
   
   Come on PB! Lets have some speed and quality tests please compared with previous models of the same brand and rivals.

   John Knox at 07:47pm on Monday, December 31, 2007

10. I was very disappointed with Epson technical support. When I unpacked my Epson scanner it would not power up. I checked external power supply with a multi - meter and found than I had 118 volts in but no DC out. I called Epson’s Non-toll free number and got a lady who could only read from a script. She was very rude and told me I’d have to take it to a service center about 60 miles away. So the bottom line is I’ll be returning the scanner and stay away from Epson.

    Greg A. at 12:09am on Wednesday, March 12, 2008