I researched scanners a great deal before I purchased this several years ago. It is still a top notch performer being sold in stores today. I am very pleased with this scanner. I use this to scan my 35mm negatives and slides. You can also scan large format film. If you have film that you want to scan and you are fussy about the image quality but you don't want to spend a fortune - this is for you.

JoeRemote

Patchogue, NY

When it comes to scanners and printers, I think Epson has got it hands down. I've owned the Epson Perfection V500 Scanner for almost 3 years now and it is working like a charm. It provides a high quality scan for both documents and photographs and is simple and easy to use. The Epson V500 connects via a USB port. I started using the scanner on my Windows XP computer and moved it to my new Windows 7 computer without any difficulty. The scanner features three quick scan buttons in addition to the regular scan button on the front of the scanner. Each button performs a specific operation; the first creates an Adobe Acrobat scanned file (.pdf) the second will send the scan to your e-mail program, and the third will send your scan directly to your printer. As for the built in touch up utilities (Digital ICE) in the Epson software, they are about average, but anyone looking to produce a high quality photographic scan will undoubtedly have Photoshop or some other photo editing program that could do even better. The scanner offers a maximum of 6400 x 9600 dpi resolution and 48-bit color with the ability to produce quality enlargements of 17" x 22" from film. Of course it boasts an "earth friendly" scanner lamp with an LED light source. It includes holders for different sizes of negatives and slides. The software comes with a free offer to download and install ABBYY Finereader 6.0 Sprint Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software for documents. I have no complaints, the scanner has worked fine for three years. If you prefer to use a high quality separate scanner (personally, I don't like today's "All-In-One" machines because I feel that quality is sacrificed in these products) that can scan photos, film, and documents this is the one. The Epson V500 also has an optional doucment feeder that can be purchased for large document jobs.

Glider

Oak Hill, WV

The Epson V500 scanner is the perfect campanion to your digital photography darkroom. The scanner allows me to scan my new and old negatives into my computer and edit them in Photoshop and Lightroom. Be prepared for a bit of a learning curve after you scan the images into the computer. However, setting up and using the scanner is a breeze. The scanner comes with attachments that allow you to scan negatives, along with slides. Of course, you can also lay already printed photos onto the bed of the scanner and scan them into your computer. I mainly use the scanner to import images taken on my Holga plastic camera. I also use it to digitize my 35mm negatives and has given new life to my older film cameras. In shopping for a scanner, the Epson V500 was my choice because of price and quality. Shop around at photography stores and ask questions. I made my decision based on Epson's long-standing reputation and quality of build

kevscu03

San Francisco, CA