Mano a Mano

Here's a quick side by side comparison of the same negative scanned on two different scanners. On the left is the Epson Perfection 4490 which lists for about $150 dollars. I have access to a bunch of these every day of the week. On the right is the Epson Perfection V700, a $600 scanner. The V700 is the obvious winner. The colors are richer and more accurate. It also scans at a much higher resolution, allowing for large, decent quality prints. The difference in speed is ridiculous. A scan that takes 15 minutes on the 4490 can be finished in less than 2 on the better scanner. It even handled the light leak on the lower left much better than the 4490. The problem is that I have access to it for only the next few weeks and I'm not about to spend $600 on a scanner for my own amusement. It seems like I'm going to be scanning like crazy until they pry this thing out of my hands.