Scanning is most effective when hardware and software work together. It's a bit like some black-and-white film developers that mix Metol and hydroquinone for a super-additive outcome. They work much better together than either one alone.

Epson has introduced Epson Perfection V600 Photo, billed as an energy-efficient scanner for photographers.

I 've just retired and I've got a lot of old slides and negatives I want to digitize," this frequent request starts. "What scanner do you recommend?" Frankly, we don't recommend a scanner at all.

I 've just retired and I've got a lot of old slides and negatives I want to digitize," this frequent request starts. "What scanner do you recommend?" T he saga continues. If you remember our last installment, the damsel in distress was the Epson Perfection V600 photo scanner, already in stock at a...

This scanner is the latest from Epson to combine flat bed scanning of opaque materials with film scanning, positive and negative, 35mm and 6 x 6 cm. It has scanning resolutions up to 6400 x 9600 dpi at 48 bit colour depth.

Let's deal with the big question: can a flat bed scanner really produce film scans to compare with a dedicated 35mm scanner? In our opinion most users will be well satisfied with the Epson output; Scanned Kodachrome slides retained colour, detail and subtlety.

There is no printed instruction manual and the unit, by default, is set to Automatic mode; In this mode it will not scan negative strips correctly; The scan mode must be set to Professional (even if you think that doesn't mean you) to get proper control of scanning

You can usually count on Epson scanners to deliver better than average bang for the buck. The Epson Perfection V600 Photo ($249.99 direct, covered by a standard 1-year parts and labor warranty) is no exception.

High-quality scans; Fully automatic mode for easy scanning; Scans both 35mm and medium-format film

Scans only four 35mm slides at a time; Weak on office tasks

As there's no option to calibrate or profile the scanner using the included software, the V600 is limited in its applications to professional photographers or keen hobbyists looking to convert a large quantity of slides or negatives.

Film holders for 35mm; medium format and transparency (slide; Good OCR recognition; Excellent quality flatbed scans

No support for film larger than 120; No calibration or profiling options

I am using this scanner with Mac OS Snow Leopard, and it works great. The Epson scanning software is easy to configure and use, and the scanner also works well with Image Capture. The front panel buttons on the unit were automagicly tied into the Epson software set, with no user setup required.

This scanner has excellent speed and flexibility and the quality of scans so far is very impressive. It is easy to load the negative and slide frames and the capacity is very high; the system flawlessly detects film type and then scans each item perfectly.

High quality scans; good software options

Nothing so far

I needed to upgrade my old Epson Photo scanner when I moved to Windows 7 64bit, and the V600 interfaced seamlessly, and software installation was a breeze.

build quality; compatibility; design; Easy Installation/Good Instructions; size & weight; speed

you must title each scan or it uses the last name