Epson 4870 .......anyone had one? Opinions!

Asha

Asha

Blithering Idiot
Suspended / Banned
Messages
11,274
Name
Asha
Edit My Images
Yes
As title really.

I have an opportunity to pick up an Epson 4870 scanner.

Only tempted as it will scan 4x5 ( or 5 x 4 for you perfectionists!! lol) negs with one pass as opposed to my present scanner (Canon 8800F).

Is it worth a punt or will the scans be on a par with the 8800F

I'm aware of some potentially very good scanners out their suitable for 4x5 but they come at a cost somewwhat beyond my budget.

Just for info, I can get it for the equivalent of about 70 quid!
 
Peter B said:
If it's working and has the film holder than it sounds a good buy at that kind of money. If there is any problem with drivers you can use Vuescan and it'll solve any problems. Scanner review at the link.

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Epson 4870/page_1.htm
Click to expand...

Thank you for the link Peter.....I'll go take a read now!

The scanner comes with all its film holders.

The seller is offering a suitable driver download for my OS along with a download of the instruction manual.
 
@Asha

Yep, I got a 4990. Very impressed so far and from my reseat h the 4870 is just as good but is a little slower.
 
Andysnap said:
@Asha

Yep, I got a 4990. Very impressed so far and from my reseat h the 4870 is just as good but is a little slower.
Click to expand...

Cheers Andy,

Slow (er) and me go together just fine so it looks like i coulkd be onto à winner :)
 
Long ago I used to use a friends 4870 to scan 4x5 B&W, it performed well. I then bought the 4990 new, again it performed well. The 4990 hasn't been used for 4-5 years. Recently I took it down to scan some IR400 negs, and noticed a smeary looking film on the inside of the glass. I researched it and found it described as out gassing, caused by the plastic used. I'll have to strip it down to clean, not an easy job. Before buying a 4990 I'd check for this problem. I don't know how common it is or if I've just been unlucky. .
 
steveb said:
Long ago I used to use a friends 4870 to scan 4x5 B&W, it performed well. I then bought the 4990 new, again it performed well. The 4990 hasn't been used for 4-5 years. Recently I took it down to scan some IR400 negs, and noticed a smeary looking film on the inside of the glass. I researched it and found it described as out gassing, caused by the plastic used. I'll have to strip it down to clean, not an easy job. Before buying a 4990 I'd check for this problem. I don't know how common it is or if I've just been unlucky. .
Click to expand...

Thanks for the warning steveb.

I've just done à quick search and it does seem that "out gassing" has proved an issue for some people.

Tbh i wonder if that problèm can't appear in most / all flatbed scanners given that they are all of similar construction.

Anyway, as it is, there appears to be no sign fogging etc, in fact the glass looks to be in better condition than the glass in my présent 8800f.

From the reviews and comments offered by you guys, i'm quite confident that it will suit my needs, for the time being anyway, so i'll re contact the seller later today with à view to purchasing.
 
Not usually hard to get inside a flatbed - just a few screws - casing halves may also have integral interlocking plastic clips: a bit of judicious prising along the join can reveal where they are. But don't blame me if it goes wrong ...
 
droj said:
Not usually hard to get inside a flatbed - just a few screws - casing halves may also have integral interlocking plastic clips: a bit of judicious prising along the join can reveal where they are. But don't blame me if it goes wrong ...
Click to expand...

I'm hoping to get à moderate amount of use out of it before prising it apart becomes neccesary.

All being well, as and when that time arrives, i'll be content with the use i've had from my 70 quid punt and happy enough to search out a new purchase.

Should it go t**s up early on, then i'll be back to chase you for step by step instructions of how to dismantle, and more importantly how to re prise any integral clips back into place! :D
 
Ok after quite à farce with the seller, i've got the scanner although it's not in the condition that the seller advertised!:mad: I have a horrible feeling that i may have picked up a pink éléphant. :(Anyway as it is there is no driver' and although it is available on epson.com web site, the download appears to be full of bugs as when the ZIP file is opened on my computer, it causes havoc.:(
As for vuescan that Peter mentions, yes i've downloaded it and managed to get the scanner operational, however the saved scans have the vuescan watermark on them unless the program is purchased....for 80 dollars!:eek:

So is there à way to use this newly purchased "éléphant" either thru my present pse program or vuescan without it costing me more funds ?

I'm beginning to wonder if i wasn't better off with the 8800f and stiching the files tbh:(
 
H'mm Asha I'm surprised you are having problems as the "4" range is common and my 4180 photo works ok......and I just use Epson software and have posted enlarged shots comparing the 4180 to V750pro with a blow up of a RB67 neg.
 
abdoujaparov said:
Where did you get the download from? Which OS are you using? And what exactly happened when you tried to unzip?

Did you use this download page? - https://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store..._UseBVCookie=yes&oid=28461&infoType=Downloads
Click to expand...

Not sure if if it is that download page as I cannot get your link to work.

I downloaded the driver from here for my Windows Vista 64 bit OS : http://esupport.epson-europe.com/Pr...GB&data=kVFQIoh3k1k1WI69lIx9W44lvYazbDXw&tc=6

It downloaded fine but when opened it caused my internet pages to multiply out of control with no way of regaining control except to force shutdown my computer. All works OK since rebooting but I still have no driver for the scanner.
 
Hmm. That's all a bit weird. The link I gave works fine for me. The link you gave was pre-set to MacOS X - Power Mac. I take it you did select Vista 64-bit before downloading? And I downloaded the Vista zip and opened it no problems (didn't try to install it, naturally). Do you have any other .zip files you could open to see if the problem is with your Zip software (I don't remember if Vista has native zip support)

I'd be worried about malware on your PC if pages won't load and you had web pages opening up out of control, though.
 
How i hate computers!!!
Ok so yes i did select the vista 64 bit download and have it saved but everytime i open it, windows simply goes nuts, same when i open the download that Brian has linked me to.
Most likely my computer is full of malware even with an anti malware program.....do they actually work for more than à couple of months after purchasing them??......it's all so frustrating tbh.

Scanning two passes on the 8800f and stiching seems a much less stressful alternative to trying to get this 4870 up and running......i'm really beginning to wish i hadn't bothered buying it:(
 
Asha said:
How i hate computers!!!
Ok so yes i did select the vista 64 bit download and have it saved but everytime i open it, windows simply goes nuts, same when i open the download that Brian has linked me to.
Most likely my computer is full of malware even with an anti malware program.....do they actually work for more than à couple of months after purchasing them??......it's all so frustrating tbh.

Scanning two passes on the 8800f and stiching seems a much less stressful alternative to trying to get this 4870 up and running......i'm really beginning to wish i hadn't bothered buying it:(
Click to expand...

h'mm Get free malwarebytes and scan
 
excalibur2 said:
h'mm Get free malwarebytes and scan
Click to expand...
Had à paid for malware bytes for à while now and yes the program infortms me that all is protected etc.....computers, ace when they fonction correctly!
 
Phew with these sort of problems it's a process of elimination,,,but check out all cables and connections first, If you have a desktop computer and allowed to open the case you could make sure all the connections are ok.
The Eson program works so it's a software or hardware problem on your computer or the scanner and the next step is to check your hard disk with your virus scanner and can go to sites like Norton and similar and get a free scan if you haven't got a good one installed..this can take a long time. If no nasties go to the command prompt and as administrator type in sfc /scannow this will check system files, also chkdsk will do a similar check.
If all checks out ok then it gets a bit complicated like booting up on a CD with memtest program to see if your ram is ok..if that checks out ok it's the graphics card next but other than trying another substitute I'm not sure how you get around that.
After all that testing and still have problems there is not much more that you can do if you don't have spare parts for swopping e.g dodgy power supply or spare scanner and it's a call to the supplier, but if your computer is working fine for everything else they are only going to blame the scanner.
Let's us know how you get on
 
Last edited:
excalibur2 said:
Let's us know how you get on
Click to expand...

Thank you for taking time to type all that Brian...I'll work my way through it although computers and i simply don't get along!

Anyway, as it is, I've booted the desktop again this afternoon, only to find that the driver / epsonscan has installed itself ...I have no idea how, when, what ...a complete mystery to me but hey, It's here on my screen and appears to be scanning my LF negs:)
 
Great.....but it's handy to know something about anything and could save £50\hour charge from an expert. .....h'mm the saying "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing " is not right all the time ;)

You'd like the problem I've gotta solve was when I switched on the mains and heard a small bang, anyway started the computer and it worked ok...h'mm well at first then the graphics card went and problems starting up....well cutting a long story short I'm chugging along by starting the computer instantly after switching on the mains...I suspect either a capacitor is not working properly on the motherboard or the hard drive is not spinning up immediately...I'll solve it in the end even if I have to replace everything on the computer :D
 
Last edited:
excalibur2 said:
I'll solve it in the end even if I have to replace everything on the computer :D
Click to expand...

If it wasn't for being pretty much an obligatory modern day piece of equipment, I'd simply replace the computer with a pen, paper, postal stamps, abacus :p, and above all darkroom and enlarger (sadly space will not allow for the latter two items!)

Can you imagine running the TP forum by old fashioned mail and having all your friendly TPers as "Pen Pals" .......an f&c challenge with voting would be an annual event :D
 
I have a 4870. I bought it a couple of years ago as I couldn't afford one of the V series scanners.

I have been quite impressed with it. When I changed my computer to Linux, I used the Xsane driver for it which I think was better than the Epson driver but the variable might have been me rather than the drivers!

I now have Windows again but as Xsane is also available in a Windows version, I am going to compare them.

I have made film holders for all of the normal frame sizes for 120 film including for my 6x12 camera and also for 5x4. This scanner will do 10x8 or four frames of 5x4. A 3200 dpi scan of a 5x4 frame gives me more detail than I will ever use.


Steve.
 
Steve Smith said:
I used the Xsane driver for it which I think was better than the Epson driver but the variable might have been me rather than the drivers!

I now have Windows again but as Xsane is also available in a Windows version, I am going to compare them.



Steve.
Click to expand...


If you wish to share a driver link for Xsane then I might have a play too and see how it compares to Epson .......assuming of course I can get the darned thing to install :rolleyes:
 
Asha said:
If it wasn't for being pretty much an obligatory modern day piece of equipment, I'd simply replace the computer with a pen, paper, postal stamps, abacus :p, and above all darkroom and enlarger (sadly space will not allow for the latter two items!)

Can you imagine running the TP forum by old fashioned mail and having all your friendly TPers as "Pen Pals" .......an f&c challenge with voting would be an annual event :D
Click to expand...

....well with no internet in the past camera clubs were fun, a sorta F&C meet every week but usually with the same faces...but nothing has changed much compared to today as there was always someone who had pots of money and had the best\expensive gear. o_O compared to the rest of us.

BTW I haven't scanned using win 10 yet (only win7) are you using win 10?
 
excalibur2 said:
....

BTW I haven't scanned using win 10 yet (only win7) are you using win 10?
Click to expand...

Blimey Brian, Win 10?, you're an up and coming computer "whiz senior" :D

I'm the jurrasic one, still on Vista here .......and a retouch program that even the dinosaurs found ancient ....PSE 5.0 !!!

but if it aint broke, why fix it!:p
 
Steve Smith said:
This one I think: http://www.xsane.org/xsane-download.html

I can't actually remember if I have installed it yet. I certainly havent tried the Windows version.


Steve.
Click to expand...

Thanks Steve, I'll have a play with it at some point but not this evening seeing as I've only just got the Epson driver working, I don't wanna spoil my "relief" by attempting another installation in the same day......It may prove too much for my poor computer system to cope with!:p:D
 
Asha said:
Blimey Brian, Win 10?, you're an up and coming computer "whiz senior" :D

I'm the jurrasic one, still on Vista here .......and a retouch program that even the dinosaurs found ancient ....PSE 5.0 !!!

but if it aint broke, why fix it!:p
Click to expand...

Jeez Vista was one of the crapiest OS but as you said if it ain't broke why fix it.......also if you did fancy win 10 you won't get it free (as it's Vista).like people running win 7 and win 8.1.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top