Epson’s high-end film scanners V800 and V850 get updated with LED illumination

In the world of digital photography, the pace in which older devices are being replaced with newer and better versions is incredibly fast -- especially when compared with the longevity of analog photography products. Film scanners are the bridge between digital and analog photography, in that they convert film photos into digital images. And even though they are electronic devices, they have much longer life spans than most digital cameras.

Case in point: Epson's high-end flatbed film scanner pair, the V700 and V750, were introduced back in 2006 and only now have been replaced with slightly upgraded versions, the V800 and V850. And the only difference between the current and previous generation of these scanners is that the V7xx's cold cathode fluorescent lamps have been replaced with LED lights. The advantage of LED lights over the old fluorescent lamps is that the former provide much more even illumination, are much more powerful and require a lot less power.

The Epson Perfection V800 and V850 sport maximum resolutions of 6400x9600dpi and a DMax of 4.0, which is enough to scan even dense slide film emulations such as Fujichrome Velvia. Just like their predecessors, they can scan any kind of film from negatives to framed slides and from 35mm to 8x10 inch large format using the various film holders that are being supplied in the box.

The main difference between the V800 and the V850 is that the latter sports improved optics, comes with two sets of film holders, a special mount adapter that keeps the film completely flat for scanning and is bundled with SilverFast SE Plus 8, while the V800 comes with the regular SilverFast SE 8. (If you're serious about your film scanning, though, you should think about investing in SilverFast Ai Studio.)

The Epson Perfection V800 and V850 flatbed film scanners will be available this month according to dpreview, and will retail for US$740 for the V800 and US$950 for the V850.

(via PetaPixel)