Epson 1250: Great for slides and negatives!
Written: Dec 10 '01 (Updated Dec 10 '01)
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Pros: Sufficient resolution and colour depth for negatives and slides, great value
Cons: Poorly written software, sluggish scanning.
The Bottom Line: Great value, fantastic job on negatives and slides! Software design flaws. Stick with TWAIN drivers.
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| ddubins's Full Review: Epson Perfection 1250U Photo Flatbed Scanner |
It almost seems as if the 35mm attachment for this scanner was an after-thought, and after reading several reviews about non-dedicated slide/negative scanners I admit that I was hesitant in purchasing the Epson Perfection 1250 Photo. However, after reviewing my options on a limited budget (Canon D660U) and lucking out on a sale with a 30-day return policy with full refund, I decided to give this scanner a chance. On the whole, I am very pleased with this scanner so I'm keeping it. Here is a summary of my findings:
Picture Quality:
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After seeing sample scans of other dedicated slide scanners available, I was completely blown away by the resolution of the Epson 1250 with respect to negatives and slides. I am an amateur photographer, and sharpness was a particular concern. My largest worry was seeing pixels, and at 200 dpi (1/6th of the scanner's capability) I can fill the screen with any negative or slide scan without seeing jagged or pixelly edges. Extremely fine details such as hair strands show up crisp and clear. Jack up the resolution and you can see film grain. Colour is decent at 24-bit pixel depth, but regardless will need to be adjusted in Photoshop (or similar program). Don't blame the scanner though; this is a characteristic of colour negatives. This adjustment is done in your photo lab when they develop your pictures, so you'll have to do it when you scan your colour negatives. It takes a bit of a "flair" for it, I'm not quite there yet but I can get satisfactory results after a bit of practice. Also, negative and slide photos invariably seem to need brightening up a stop or two. I was relieved to find that detail hiding in the shadows comes to light upon adjusting the brightness.
The whole reason I purchased this scanner was for my black and white photography. Black and white pictures are expensive to develop in a lab, and time consuming in a darkroom. With this scanner, I can develop my b&w negatives in my apartment and scan them in the 1250 with visually the same results I could get in my old darkroom. What's more, contrast and brightness adjustment on a computer are a whole lot easier than contrast filters, test strips, dodging, and burning. I was very excited to see that I now have a use for my old (and new) colour negatives. I can now get great shots using my Nikon 35mm, scan the negatives with the Epson 1250, and get better digital results than my friends with digital cameras.
Now I have to work on getting a decent printer.
The Software:
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Reviews on other websites warned me about Epson's software for this scanner. They were accurate. Here is my advice: leave the CD that comes with this scanner inside the shrink-wrap. Install the Twain drivers for this scanner from the Epson website (a 4 meg download) and never look back. Their software takes up a few hundred Megs and as far as I'm concerned does nothing of particular value. They have this cute interface with textured bitmaps, and an option of saving your pictures online to share with your friends. The software is slow, takes up loads of space, and will not increase the functionality of your scanner. It was designed for people who have never used a scanner before.
Software Settings:
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I have also read 2 complaints about the twain interface and I will address them both:
1) You have to pre-scan every time you scan.
After some searching, in "configuration", I found a check box disabling the pre-scan.
2) The machine takes forever when you press cancel.
This is true. You have to wait for warm-up (approx. 30 seconds) then after the scanner begins scanning, press "cancel" and cross your fingers. Only THEN can you get into a manual mode and tweak your options. Luckily you don't have to do this every time you scan, the twain scanner will load using your last settings. There was a lot of "dumbing down" when it came to the interface, assuming you don't know anything about scanners. If you don't, you will find the interface slow but extremely simple. If you do, you might forgive the software for a great machine. I did!
Technical Support:
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The manual that comes with this scanner basically supports the useless software. It would have been nice if they mentioned something about tweaking manual options, they don't. The manual options also let you adjust gamma levels, brightness, shadows, and other image qualities. Ignore these controls. Photoshop (if you have it) does a better job. I have not had to call Epson for technical support.
The Hardware Itself:
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The scanner is physically much smaller than I'm used to scanners being. The lid is easily removable. The scanning surface is glass (opposed to the Canon D660U, being completely plastic).
Scanning is, as I said, a bit slow. At 300 dpi it takes about 30 seconds to scan (not bad) vs. about an hour of playing in the darkroom per print. I find that without pre-scan activated, slide scanning is expedient and not cumbersome.
It would also be useful if you could scan more than one negative at a time. I have this fantasy of being able to do contact sheets; I have yet to see any low range scanner that can do this. Having said that, you can buy the 1650 for twice the price and scan I believe up to 4 negatives at a time. For me it would not make any sense, the 1250 does a great scanning job.
One more thing: some people complain about dust. Scanning from a negative or slide, unlike a picture, amplifies any small specs you can't even see with your eyes. This is a fact of life in the darkroom. I suggest buying a negative cloth at a camera store, or a can of compressed air (a negative cloth works better and will not run out).
On the whole, this scanner is an absolutely fantastic value for the price. It does a great job, much better than I anticipated. Some sort of graphics utility like Photoshop is essential to accommodate adjustments. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to the beginner to amateur photographer wishing for a darkroom alternative, or for general scanning use.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 133
Interface: USB
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ddubins
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