Thank you for the tutorial. Been delaying this scanning project for my daughter for years. Even after buying the Epson V600 during COVID I procrastinated. i think I suffer from PTSD after I did one project for my wife and scanned about 4k photos from her childhood to adulthood, including family photos. This certified me as the family expert and, hence, the person to volunteer for other scanning projects. Fortunately, my daughter doesn't have 4k photos...fortunately, digital photos were invented. Well, time to roll up the sleeves and get scanning.
It will be worth it in the end, but yes I can understand what 4K of scanning with the V600 would do to your motivation. Maybe find your favourite guilty pleasure podcast or TV to keep you amused! 😁
Just found this today and am impressed! Great and simple tutorial. So many questions that you answered clearly and concisely. About half way thru, I subscribed.
GIGANTIC help! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Was about to either return this scanner or chuck it out the window. Truly appreciate you! THANK YOU! (loved and subbed!)
Ah the joy of scanners, I put them in the same bracket as printers on the most temperamental pieces of tech out there. I hope you have scanning success! 😁
Comparing the photo acan quality at 600dpi on the V600 vs. the other reviewed, FastFoto FF-680W, which would you consider to produce a better quality scan?
Actually I have recently done a comparison (keep an eye out for it coming out in a few weeks) but when compared they came out the same in the level of detail. As long as you clean them both a lot. The advantage of the V600 is you can do negatives and slides as well, but the advantage of the FastFoto is the speed. So it is really down to the flexibility you need as the scan quality is very similar. 😁
Great video , you used almost all the adapters but I would have liked to seen you scan the medium negatives the really old negatives , maybe you could do a Tutorial on them ,thanks again
The Epson v600 hardware is great but the software absolutely abysmal. I've had it for quite a few years and most of the time the computer refuses to connect to the device. Tried new driver, four different computers, different windows versions, several different USB cables. A few months I noticed that if I first fire up the scanner software Silverfast, Epson Scan would work and connect to the scanner. Now that doesn't work any longer and absolutely no changes made to the computer. I also have a couple of Epson printers and constant problem with them also. Won't connect over wifi and other issues. The V600 scans are great when it works but it is utterly frustrating. Of course others may have absolutely no problem.
I was having a rant about this the other day when my printer decided to stop printing colour for no good reason. I think printers hear us when they know we need to do something important and decide to do their own thing! Sadly the Epson V600 appears to have joined in the fun. I hope you get it working as when it does start working it is great! 🙃
@@amandalittlecott lol, yeah hardware likes to mess with you. I'm not quite what I did or perhaps rather in which sequence but the V600 started working again yesterday. Now I just have to scan as much I can before I have to throw a tantrum again!
Same as my opinion, i have couple of 10 years old printer and scaner in one, the hardware is good, but the software is rubbish 😞, it always has compatibly issues, and driver doesn't work. Im surprised to see this problem is still present in newer models.
Because if you do it any higher you are not going to get anymore detail as printed photos are not that detailed, you are just going to get a giant file size. 😊
Thank you for the excellent review. I bought this to scan an old collection of negatives I got from my father. I have 2 questions. 1. Can the scanner be opened once the noise stops but it still says it's processing (I assume to apply color corrections etc.)? 2. Is there a good solution for scanning 110 negatives?
1. So technically if the scanning light is not going it is not scanning, just processing to the computer, but sometimes I get impatient and open the lid only to ruin the scan! 2. You an do the 110 on the V600 you just need to be carefully with placement or fashion your own guides. As long as the negatives are below the transparency area they will scan. Happy Scanning 😊
Using the Epson Perfection V600 photo scanner, can I scan transparencies on the scanner glass without the plastic holder? My color transparencies are approximately 6 x 5.5 centimeters & they are not in cardboard holders. Your videos are wonderfully informative.
You should just be OK the transparency unit is only 2.7 inches / 6.8 cm wide, so that should just about make it. You might need to put in some guides with some pieces of paper to line up the transparencies. 😁
Excellent video! I am a subscriber! I am considering the V600 as I have prints, negatives and slides and some of the prints are curled and would not feed very well. I have question regarding scanning negatives or prints, if you have both is one preferred over the other, the vast majority of these images are just memories and I am not looking at blowing them up to a wall size poster. Which, brings me to another questions, TIFF VS JPEG, you recommend saving in the TIFF format, however I am concerned about the amount of space required. We do have a 3 terabyte backup, which can likely handle everything, I just feel like its unnecessary for my purposes.?
Firstly prints vs negatives, negatives will give you a better scan if they have been kept well as prints tend to fade, but they will take longer. As for TIFF vs JPEG, if you plan to edit afterwards then go for TIFF, if not JPEG will save you space. 😊
Thanks for the detailed review👏 I really liked the scanner hardware, but got bad memories when saw that old software interface, didn't change since windows vista 😅. I always had trouble with it. Question is, can i use third party software with it ? And what do you recommend? Dose cannon scanners have a better software, with better capabilities for restoration?
Yes, you can use third-party software and I am actually playing with SilverFast 9 and VueScan to see which one I like best (a video will be coming soon on that). As for Canon Software, they seem to be going backwards rather than forwards on improvements (they took out ICE as an option for improving the image quality) so nothing to offer there. 😁
Amanda, I'm glad to see your video on scanning prints as good ones are harder to find! Using a flatbed scanner, I truly hate dust and find it nearly impossible to remove it all. Do you manually configure any of the adjustment settings (e.g. histogram and tone correction curves) to try and retrieve extra detail from prints that have faded or are otherwise deteriorated? Thanks for the video.
Good point, yes you can play with the settings around the tone as you scan. I tend to not use those and go for good old Photoshop as you have more control. But if you did want to do it as you scan that is a great option without having to invest in Photoshop. I would say just remember the settings you have used to keep things consistent, on a piece of paper or electronically, so you remember your favourites. 😁
Hi Amanda, is the auto-crop selection (thumbnail) very acurate? and what about a page from a photoalbum where the photos are not straighten... Does the software also do that for you or would you have to go manually? Also I noticed at 6:03 when you select them manually that you just dragged the mouse in a random area, not the actual photo. Does the software go all the way from there and gets the actual photo size? (That would save a lot of time). Thanks in advance!
So the thumbnail accuracy is pretty good as long as the lines are clear, I have seen it struggle a little when you are doing a page from an album and the background is not pure white or there are those images with a white edging. Yes as you mentioned when I select I roughly just to get the scan area, as it is way too fiddly to get it right on their screen! My workflow is to do a rough scan and then put it through Adobe Photoshop auto crop and rotate and then fix it finally myself (which is usually only a mini one if needed at all). You can even do the crop and rotate as a batch in Photoshop 😁
Quick questions...... After scanning negatives and slides on the Epson V600, can you send them to your home printer to print a photo or do you need other software? I have Photoshop Elements 2024.
Yup once you have the scans you can print them like any other file or document. But obviously, the quality of the print will be limited by how good your printer is. 😁
Yeah, me again. I noticed that under this custom settings moving the Brightness, Contrast and Saturation controls have NO effect on the image. What am I doing wrong? And where are the RGB CMY controls? TY
Hi Amanda, I'm thinking about getting the V600 to begin digitizing some collector's slides I bought from eBay and I have a few questions for you: A lot of the slides are unmounted, just a cut slide film square transparency, do you know if the scanner will accommodate that? Is there a difference scanning a mounted slide versus unmounted? And finally, is the slide holder adjustable in case there's a variation in sizes? I know not all slides are the same so I was curious about that too. For example, I have some that are mounted that are the standard 2 inch by 2 inch (measured within the mount) and then the unmounted ones are a bit bigger - I measured a couple and they're about 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 (or a little over 2 1/2). Would the bigger size pose a problem? Thank you for taking the time to read this (I hope you see it), I want to make sure I have all the info before purchasing. Thank you! Love your videos btw, they're great - easy to follow and very well put together and you have a very relaxing voice too.
So what a great idea to digitise all those slides. So for the V600 the holders are a standard size for what they would expect you to use for the slides and for negatives there is a small (1 inch wide) and large (just over 2 inches) wide. But as long as you put the slides to be digitised in front of the transparency unit it will work. The unit is about 3 inches wide so you could fashion your own holder to keep them in front of the unit and then scan away. You will probably then need to select the images to scan in the software so they don't all end up as one stream of images, but it could totally work for you. Happy Scanning! 😁
Awesome! Thank you so much for the reply. Sounds like I'd be good to go then. I'll definitely purchase my scanner with confidence now. I'm very excited to finally get to learning how to scan film! Thank you again for the info and the tips! Take care ❤️
Thank you so much!!, I don’t have in my budget getting a V600, but I do have a simple multifunctional Epson printer-scanner combo (a majority of us 😊), and still would like to use it to digitize valuable memories, so it would be really helpful recommendations on recommended settings in the Epson Scan software
@@polluxtroy2010 OK I see what you mean, I will put it on the list, but the problem with normal printer scanners is they don't go high enough in resolution. 😁
@@amandalittlecott thank you so much!!, I just found out my All-In-One Epson Printer-scanner can do 600 dpi optical, so I will follow your advice for the rest of the settings in Epson Scan 2 like choosing 48bit and TIFF, but your video was very helpful!!, a minor side note, it would be interesting to see some samples of your scans :-)
Thanks Amanda for your review of the Epson V600. This scanner appears to have been around for a long time. Do you know if there are any upgrades coming out any time soon as there has been with the Epson V39 going to the V39 II?
Yes it has been around for a while, but no I have not heard of an updated version in the pipeline, but if you wanted a next-level scanner there is the V850 Pro but the price goes up almost $1000!! 🙃
Actually I am just finishing of a video about other software, the Epson Scan 2 software does a decent job for a free version, but if you are will to invest SilverFast is my current favourite paid alternative 😁
HI Amanda! Thank you for sharing these valuable insights. I'm embarking on a archival project where i'd be scanning photos and other ephemera and documents like postcards, receipts, ectc. Would you recommend this scanner for these types of jobs? Thank you! and i subscribed !
Hey, yes this scanner is great for all that, but if you are doing documents I would play with the settings to get your best output, so not the photo setting, so you get a nice crisp scan. Happy Scanning! 😁
In fact I have found a slightly better quality on the V600 as you are less likely to get streaks and need to clean all the time. BUT if you have a lot you are going to need to be very patient to do them all with the V600. If you have good, clean images and want a faster scan then the FastFoto is a good option. 😁
@@amandalittlecott Fastfoto it is - thanks again! I'll likely be using Synology Photos as my storage platform of choice given I already have a NAS setup with them. Would love to hear your thoughts if you need some future video ideas. Keep up the good work.
@@110kdawgg OOO that one will be added to the list, I personally use a NAS too, but there are pluses and minuses as there are with everything... keep an eye out for that video! 😉
@@kellydeterding2222 the FastFoto doesn't do slides, the V600 (the scanner in this video) does, but as I say you need a lot of patience as it takes an age! Happy Scanning 😁
I wonder - when scanning pictures/negative/film/print, then why not always use the optical resolution of the scanner? With the V600 the specs Epson gives are 6400 dpi (main scan) and 9600 dpi with Micro Step (sub scan), so using less than that should mean not getting everything possible digitized. Sure you may end up with image files that are larger than you need for many purposes, but making smaller image files from large ones is easy and going the other way round is not.
You can use the higher DPI but with old photos the detail is not actually there in the first place so all you are doing is creating large files but with no additional photo content detail. The choice is yours 😊
You can purchase the USAF 1951 targets and using them you will find the true optical resolution is 1500 ppi. You will never see improvement above a scan at 2400ppi. Photos usually scan best a 600ppi, and if smaller than 4x6 900-1200ppi. Don’t believe the hype, the v600 does not resolve 6400ppi.
If they are printed photos there is only so far you are going to be able to go with detail, if you go from 600DPI to 1000DPI you won't get any more detail but will get some crazy file sizes. So there is no real benefit, just a very slow computer and scanning job with large files! 🙃
Wonderful and lengthy tutorial but you failed to mention what computer system you are using. I have a Mac Air and the menus you show are not what I get so other than the comments of photo resolution, this was of no help to me. I suggest that you may want to add the system details associated with your talk for others to know if this video applies to them.😕
Printers and scanners seem to have a life of their own! Things I've tried in the past include trying a different cable connector, uninstalling the drivers and trying a different computer altogether to see if it is the computer or the scanner. Good luck!😊
Yes it is. But there are non Epson software options out there like Silver Fast and VueScan that you might want to look at if you don't get on with the free Epson. But obviously you will have to pay for those. 😄
It depends what Windows you are operating, if you are Windows 11 you can get ScanSmart level but not Epson Scan 2. Otherwise Epson Scan 2 is available for Windows machines as the screen records are from my PC. 🙂
@@NorthumbrianRed that is the fun with all scanners, but if you search for Epson Scan 2 you should the right software. I am also in the progress of testing other software options and will share when I have that all tested. 😁
why not go all the way to the max of the scanner sensor dpi for slides and negatives.... 4800 on the V600 - then you can print bigger without resolution loss
You can but you will end up with large files with no more photo detail as you are limited by the original negative quality. It is so funny to see the difference in detail between an original digital photo and a scanned negative we are so used to digital photos now they look so blurry. Happy Scanning 😁
Do you know what the "grain" resolution is of colour slides/b&w negative film/colour film? I assumed it must be higher than 4800dpi.....?@@amandalittlecott
@@abtechgroup not always, it depends on so many factors including how old they are and the quality of the film you used. If you do want to scan at 4800 DPI you can but be prepared for large files, but also be very patient with this scanner as more detail means more time to scan. 😁
Amanda, Help! You know how I feel about Epson forcing a different way to scan on the V600. So, I just happened to pop some color slides in it and I have NO program to scan negs or slides. It just does photos. I thought I had downloaded everything from the Epson site, but I can see no way to find a place to select slides or negs. Grrrrrrrrr. What am I missing? TIA
Ah yes the joy of software. What software are you using, if you are using Epson Scan 2, you need to pick photo, then in Document Source select Transparency unit, then in Document type go for Colour negative film... does that work??
@@amandalittlecott I have Epson ScanSmart on 1 MAC and Easy PhotoScan on the other MAC. I went to the Epson site to find Epson Scan 2 software but I couldn't find it.😩
