Some requested tests

Although I do not have a V700 here I do have some of the scans, so lets have a look and see if we can spot the difference. The first four scans were made at 4000dpi, the last two were made at 4800dpi

Epson V700 at 4000dpi	Epson V750 at 4000dpi
Canon 9950F at 4000dpi	Nikon LS 9000 ED at 4000dpi
Epson V700 at 4800dpi
Epson V750 at 4800dpi

The V750 is starting to show an improvement over the V700, but its very small. For 35mm scans the V750 is easily as good as the more expensive Nikon scanner and perhaps better for image sharpness, although for shadow detail the Nikon still has the edge.

A scan made at 4800dpi would produce a print size of 22 x15 inches at 300dpi. For those who are confused by this figure, scan the image at 4800dpi and then alter the image size in Photoshop Image>Image Size. Uncheck the Resample image box and enter 300dpi in the resolution box. If you leave the Resample image box checked then you will downsample the image.

I have just made an A3+ print of this 35mm scan and it looks superb, the printed image on paper certainly looks every bit and better than anything I have could have produced via traditional wet chemistry. The photograph displays corner to corner sharpness and every girder on the crane is clearly visible. You may be looking at the scans above and on previous pages and perhaps thinking the scans are lacking in biting sharpness. This is more a problem of digital imaging whereby we have the facility to view our pictures at any magnification and then blow out of all proportion any minor faults we can find, and then complain the pictures are not sharp. The only valid test is to print the picture and view it at a reasonable distance before making a judgment. This is exactly what I have done with the Epson V750 scan, (sorry Epson this time I used the HP B9180 for my print). As a professional photographer I will say this 19x13 inch print looks very sharp and has a good range of subtle tones - I would be more than happy to use this print as final artwork for any exhibition

Yours truly on a damp Sunday afternoon