Product ReviewsScanners
Epson has a better record than most when it comes to photo scanners. Perhaps it's because the company understands photographs better than most, thanks to its successful range of photo printers, which range from the ultra-cheap to professional models. But largely it's because virtually every dedicated Epson scanner we see leaves our jaws hanging. The V200 is a case in point. You might not expect a scanner costing well under £70 to offer the kind of performance or features worthy of long-term archiving, yet a few weeks with it convinced us of its uses. In the world of the mundane it produced a preview scan of an A4 sheet of text in only seven seconds, and the final scan at 150spi took an identical amount of time. The result was almost flawless as well - the V200 is only imperfect as a dedicated document scanner because of its lack of an ADF for scanning multi-page documents. But where it really excels is in the field of photo scanning. If you have a giant box of photos and negatives hiding away in your loft, the V200 could be the answer to your prayers. A preview scan of a pair of 6 x 4in prints took just seven seconds, with the final scan, performed at a practical 600spi, taking only half a minute. We were impressed with the results as well. With just Unsharp Mask selected our final scans were virtually perfect. Colours were reproduced with almost exactly the same saturation and noise and, with a 600spi scan translating to 3,021 x 4,030 pixels, our prints were easily printable. But it isn't just reflective prints that the V200 handles with aplomb. If like most photographers you've progressed your way through film to digital photography, you'll have far more negatives than final prints. And, if you suspect that this is the time to convert your images to digital,
A transparency adapter is also included in the box but it has limitations. You can scan only a single strip of negatives at a time, which in most cases means just four. The same goes for 35mm slides mounted in their plastic cases. Our timed results were less than superlative as well. At 4,800spi, a negative translates to 6,736 x 4,336, which is eminently printable, but this high resolution comes at a cost. It took 10min 39sec from clicking 'scan' for the final image to appear on our screen. Even at 2,400spi our scan took 6min 2sec to finish. Luckily the results were excellent, with low noise and accurate colours. Unfortunately though the cons outweigh the pros here - it takes so long to scan four negatives that we'd be disinclined to take the time to patiently scan a box of them ourselves. But there's better news to be found with Epson's Scan software. It's true that the bare bones of the software have scarcely changed in years but it's fair to say that Epson would be mad to change such a sure thing. Most users will head to the Professional Mode and it's here that all of the V200's true powers lie. Unsharp Mask, Descreening, Backlight Correction, Colour Restoration and Dust Removal are all here (the last two useful additions), although in most cases you'll want to use Photoshop to perfect your final images. There are also hue and saturation tools, and you can adjust your images' levels with the adjustable histogram. You'll never mistake the V200 for a professional tool. It's transparency scanning capabilities are too thin and its performance, while decent in most cases, will never set the world alight. But most of us can't afford professional-level scanners and if you're looking for something for occasional or home use, the V200 will excel. If you have a box of slides, scanning might prove slow-going but the quality of the results is without question among the finest that we've ever seen. It's only natural that quality should be more important than speed when it comes to your treasured images, and although the Epson isn't exactly speedy, it is flexible, high quality - and just about perfect for budget-conscious home users. By Dave Stevenson
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