-Scans of certain MF films can rival that of top-end scanners. Results will vary with native film contrast, development, and lens used. Recommended films: Acros 100, Plus-X, Tmax 100/400 II.
-Quiet and reasonably fast
--Very inexpensive

-Don't have big expectation for any 35mm. Close examination will reveal lots of artifacts, poor shadow detail, lack of finest details. Don't use this scanner to show off you latest Summicron aspherical baby.
-Scans almost always (except with high-contrast negatives) come out very flat, necessitating a boost in contrast and accompanying flaws.
-Color is generally inaccurate, and needs careful tweaking
-Will scan at most one strip of 3 6x6 frames. For any kind of volume work, I'd recommend upgrading to the V700 just for the larger film scanning area. Betterscanning makes a holder to scan 6 frames.
-There seems to be large sample variation in sharpness. Mine seems to be calibrated correctly, but your results may vary.

I have used the Epson V500 for several years, but also have experience with both the Nikon Coolscan V and 8000 ED. The Epson is a tremendous value and comes very close to what the Nikons can do at a fraction of the price. The results from the V500 are heavily dependent on choice of film and expertise at post-processing. In general, scans of fine-grain high-contrast films have been the most successful for me
Some films that work well include Plus-X, Pan-F, and Fuji Acros. Using the supplied Epson software, scans generally come out with soft contrast, so the judicious addition of contrast and sharpening are necessary. This comes with a price, however: any and all imperfections are emphasized, such as grain, dust, and scratches. For traditional silver films, this means much work with a clone tool. For enlargements up to about 8x10, most won't notice a difference. With Tmax 400 II in 6x6, the differences with the Nikon 8000 are very small.

Where the Nikon does have an advantage over the Epson is for color film. I've only used Epson software (perhaps Vuescan or Silverfast may be better), but color negatives especially need much post-processing. It's as if the scanner (or software) simply has no idea what color the files should be. Color negs and slides right out of the Nikons are contrasty, with great color. Also, color noise is much more visible in the Epson scans, though it can be cleaned up later.

Both of the Nikons have an advantage with 35mm. While the Epson advertises a humongous resolution, don't believe it. actual resolution its lens can deliver is somewhere around 2000 dpi. Good for 5x7s, but for anything larger, use a Nikon if you can still find one. Where the Nikons focus grain, the Epson records mush, and sharpening and the generally necessary contrast boost just make things worse.

The Epson scans fast and quietly, and batch scanning is much more pleasant than with the Nikon 8000. Many complain loudly about the stock film holders, but they do what they're supposed to. The 35mm holder is really only problematic with curled film. the 120 holder is perfectly adequate but had one flaw: it can only scan 2 frames at a time, which doubles scanning times for a roll. For that reason alone, I recommend the betterscanning.com holder, which lets you scan 3 frames. However, I have NOT noticed any difference with sharpness with the betterscanning holder. That holder also has some disadvantages as well. For one thing, with ANR glass in place, you cannot blow dust off your negs, and the glass itself is a dust and fingerprint magnet. Another problem is that the ANR glass interferes with the digital ICE system; dust removal on color film is noticeably worse with the glass.

In contrast, the Nikon not only picks up less dust/scratches to begin with, but the ICE system works much better.

Conclusion: with proper choice of film and some post-processing skills, you can get a great scan of medium format film that will come within 85% of what the Nikon 8000 will do. Drop that figure down to about 75% for 35mm compared to any recent Nikon. If you use only the finest lenses like Zeiss or Mamiya 6/7, and you need to print color and black and white BIG, then get the Nikon if you can find one. Otherwise, you may be perfectly happy with the Epson.

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Similar Products Used:

Nikon Coolscan V, 8000 ED.