Product Reviews

There wasn't much wrong with the Perfection 4870 Photo scanner, but Epson has just replaced it with the 4990. The new device has a larger, 10x8" transparency scan area and Epson says it's faster.

Little has changed cosmetically. The scanner's blunt nose is still reminiscent of a French TGV train, but Epson has added a blue LED to the transparency unit's moving light. This shines during scans to show its progress, but it's mere frippery given that both the TWAIN interface and bundled SilverFast software have progress bars.

The 4990's extremely high optical resolution is overkill for

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most reflective scans, but this scanner is designed for serious photography. Film mounts are supplied for 35mm film strips, mounted slides, medium-format negatives and even 5x4" large-format film. The 35mm film mount takes four strips of six negatives, which is great for bulk scanning.

A reflective preview took under seven seconds, and scanning an A4 page at 300dpi took only 14 seconds. Transparency scanning was slightly slower, with a full area preview taking 24 seconds. Scanning a single 35mm negative at 4,800dpi took two and a half minutes.

Our film scans were very good, showing accurate colours and subtle contrast, but reflective scans were less impressive. The clip-in reflective mat didn't seem to apply pressure to the back of thin documents. When we scanned a slightly creased page, areas around the crease were darker where they hadn't been held flush with the glass. This is strange in an expensive scanner aimed at demanding users and greatly reduces its appeal.

Photographers who are serious about scanning film should consider Epson's F-3200 (Hotlist, page 34); those looking for a high-quality all-rounder could save £100 by buying the Perfection 4180.