Epson has discontinued the V600 and the V850. What happens to your flatbed scanner?

Cover image: Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

You finally want a V850 Pro, and in your head you're already laying whole film strips side by side in the holders. Then the German Epson site just says “No longer available”. The V600 that has been working on your desk for years has the same entry, both times with no date and not a word about why. For the first time, you work out how many negatives are still sitting in the box. Your V600 doesn't care about the entry and keeps running as before. Here you'll find out where the V850 Pro is still available and how to keep scanning, with your Epson or without it.

Just looking for a replacement for a broken film holder? You'll find what's available in Chapter 3.

Table of contents

1. Which Epson film scanners are still available new?
2. How a rumor became a fact
3. How to keep your Epson running
4. What to do when the scanner acts up?
5. What does a used Epson cost, and what should you look out for?
6. What are the alternatives to a new flatbed?
7. Is it worth switching to camera scanning?
8. What we would do in your place

1. Which Epson film scanners are still available new?

None from Epson in Germany anymore. On its own website, Epson lists every Perfection model that can scan film, from the V550 to the V850 Pro, as “No longer available”. These devices scan film with a transparency unit, a lamp in the lid that shines through negatives and slides from above. Epson now only sells the V850 Pro new in the USA and, under the name GT-X980, in Japan. Epson has taken the V600 off sale in Germany, the USA and Japan.

This is what the V850 Pro product page looks like at Epson Germany. Screenshot from 12 October 2026.

On 12 October 2026, we went through Epson's product pages in Germany, the USA and Japan. These pages say:

For the V850 Pro, the Italian and UK pages say the same as the German one. Epson gives no discontinuation date on any of these pages, and we couldn't find a press release about it. Retailers don't have much left either: MediaMarkt still lists the V600 for €429.99 and the V850 Pro for €1,091.17, but both say “Unfortunately, delivery not possible”. On idealo, the only offer we found for the V850 Pro was a marketplace listing for €3,166. So here you can only buy it new through marketplaces and private sellers, at a considerable markup.

What Epson offers instead doesn't scan film. The Perfection V39 II, in stock for €129 in the German Epson shop, has no transparency unit in the lid. The FastFoto FF-680W, which Epson USA names as the V600's successor, feeds paper prints through like a document scanner. That means Epson no longer offers any device for negatives and slides in Europe.

2. How a rumour became a fact

It started on 3 February 2025 with a four-minute video. Keith Cooper, a British photographer who has been testing printers and scanners for years, reported that Epson had marked the V850 and the large A3 scanner 13000XL as “end of life”. They were no longer being built, and only remaining stock would be sold, in the UK until the summer, elsewhere until the end of the year. His source was a contact at Epson UK whom he did not name. He repeated this on the photography forum Luminous Landscape, and the analogue photography blog Kosmo Foto picked up the news two days later.

Video: “Epson end their last high-end flatbed scanners. High resolution film and archival scanners to go?” by Keith Cooper, 3 February 2025. This video is what started the discussion.

Epson contradicted this immediately. On 5 February 2025, a spokesperson told the photography site PetaPixel that neither device was being discontinued and both would remain in production. However, the denial came from Epson in the US, and the V850 Pro is still sold there today. Things went differently in Europe.

In June 2025, users on the Reddit forum r/AnalogCommunity reported that the Epson shops now listed the devices as “Discontinued”. In September 2025, Keith Cooper asked his viewers in a second video which scanners they would now recommend instead; he himself continues to scan with an old Epson flatbed. Looking back, the German specialist site Druckerchannel wrote in June 2026 that the V850 Pro and the 13000XL had been “dropped without replacement as early as summer 2025”.

In the US, on the other hand, the V850 Pro is still available, but it has become more expensive. Saved copies of the Epson page in the Internet Archive still show it at 1,499 dollars in November 2025 and February 2026; today Epson charges 1,999 dollars.

Why Epson is stopping

The CCD line sensor from an Epson Perfection V330, a small photo scanner. The sensor reads the image line by line as the carriage moves along under the glass. Photo: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Epson has not officially given a reason. Keith Cooper's explanation is that the CCD line sensor these scanners are built around is no longer being manufactured, and sales are falling. Druckerchannel suspects that Epson sourced the sensors from a supplier that stopped production due to lack of demand. Both sound plausible, since almost all cameras and most new scanners have long been using CMOS sensors. It has not been confirmed, though.

For you, the reason makes little difference. What matters more is what the discontinuation does not mean: Your scanner keeps working, even if Epson no longer sells it.

3. How to keep your Epson running

The biggest worry with a discontinued device is the software. Here, the situation is better than feared. Epson's own scanning program Epson Scan 2 is still available for the V550, V600, V800 and V850, and according to Epson also for Macs with Apple silicon. Epson still offers it for the V700 and V750 as well. And if Epson stops maintaining the software at some point, there are two programs from other vendors that support all of these models: VueScan and SilverFast. Many people have been using VueScan for years to run ancient scanners on new computers.

Why the height of the film holder matters so much

The optics of an Epson flatbed have a fixed focus, and it sits a little above the glass. If you don't hold the film at exactly this height, you get soft scans, no matter how good the holder is otherwise. That's why the holders of the V700 to V850 are height-adjustable, while those of the V600 are not. A user on Reddit advises trying out the best height once. According to them, the right height makes a big difference, especially with 4x5 inch sheet film.

The test is simple. Scan the same negative at each height setting at high resolution and compare the same spot on screen at full size. Make a note of the sharpest setting. It takes a bit of time, but no money.

Replacements for broken or missing holders

Epson's original holders aren't indestructible, and users in the forums complain especially about the medium format holders. Replacements are available from dealers that stock genuine Epson parts, such as ScanDig for the V700 and V750. You can find used holders on Kleinanzeigen, where an original 120 holder for the V600 is offered for around €25. For the V700 to V850, Better Scanning offers height-adjustable holders, with anti-Newton glass on request. Anti-Newton glass is a finely textured pane that, unlike normal glass, doesn't produce colored rings on the scan. Lomography offers a variant with the DigitaLIZA masks that holds the film flat magnetically. And some people use the simplest method: placing the film between two panes of anti-Newton glass and setting the height with tape at the corners, as described in this Reddit thread.

Our replacement holder for the V500, V550 and V600, shown here in the 35mm version.

For the V500, V550 and V600, we make our own replacement holders for 35mm and 120 roll film (€34.95 each). They also fit the older 4490 and 3170, but not the V700 to V850, whose holders are built differently.

Disclaimer: We sell some of the products that appear here. Even so, the article is meant first and foremost as help and not as a sales pitch.

Lock the carriage before transport

During scanning, the carriage, the moving unit with the optics and sensor, travels beneath the glass. Before every transport, lock it in place with the transport lock: the V600 has a slider on the back for this, the V700 to V850 a latch. A carriage that bangs back and forth in the package can damage the mechanism. Conversely, if the lock is still engaged after unpacking, the scanner won't start. Epson lists this in the service manual as a separate cause of error.

4. What to do when the scanner stops working?

Before you write it off: many supposed defects aren't defects at all. Epson's service manual for the V700 lists, besides the motor and lamp, an unreleased transport lock, disconnected connectors, a faulty connection to the computer and dirty glass as causes of error. So check the obvious things first: latch open, a different USB cable, a different port on the computer, driver reinstalled after the last system update, glass clean. Only if the carriage still won't move or the light on the device signals an error does it get serious.

The scan unit of an Epson Perfection V330, removed. It houses the optics and sensor and travels beneath the glass during scanning. Photo: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Lamp and LED age differently

The V700 and V750 use cold cathode lamps, like those once found in laptop screens. They need time to warm up after being switched on, and this time gets longer with age; one owner on Reddit speaks of “a minute or two”. The color of the light can also shift over time, giving the scans a color cast. If the light fails completely, the lamp isn't always to blame. In the service manual, Epson also names the electronics that power it. The V600, V800 and V850 use LEDs, which are ready practically instantly. They don't last forever either: in the V600 manual, Epson writes that the brightness can decrease and the light unit then has to be replaced by service.

For the mechanism, Epson states how many scan cycles a unit manages on average before something fails: 30,000 for the V600, 100,000 for the V700. That's no guarantee, but it shows that Epson designed the V700 for considerably more cycles.

Getting it repaired

You'll only find out whether Epson Germany still repairs your model and whether parts are available by asking. Send an inquiry via the support page with the model and serial number. The only information on how long Epson keeps parts in stock we found was on the Japanese site: for the GT-X830 (the Japanese V600) and the GT-X980 (the V850 Pro), Epson Japan stocks spare parts for seven years after the end of production. According to its support page, Epson Japan will repair the GT-X830 until 30 June 2030. We found no such information for Europe.

If Epson has no solution, a good electronics repair shop can often help, since a power supply or a connector can be replaced without Epson parts. And a second, defective unit of the same type is sometimes the cheapest source of spare parts.

5. What does a used Epson cost, and what should you look out for?

In February 2025, Keith Cooper predicted that used prices would “go through the roof”. On 12 October 2026, we checked Kleinanzeigen to see what's being asked for working units. These are asking prices, not sale prices, and there are only a handful of listings for the larger models:

Cooper's prediction fits the V600 above all: used, it is now offered at almost the price it last cost new. For the larger models there are too few listings to draw a clear conclusion. If you want a new V850 Pro, you now pay roughly double the former retail price from private sellers and on marketplaces.

An Epson Perfection 4990 Photo, an older model with a transparency unit in the lid. You can also find older models like this used; check beforehand whether there is software for your computer. Photo: Gunnar Creutz, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Checklist for buying used

• Ask to see a film scan, not just a paper page. The transparency unit in the lid is a separate component and can fail while the rest still works.
• Check the scan for streaks and spots and compare the sharpness across the whole image. Streaks point to the lamp or sensor, spots to dirt under the glass.
• Listen closely when switching it on. Does the carriage move smoothly to its starting position, or does it jerk and click?
• Buy the matching power supply too. Depending on the country, Epson ships different power supplies; for the V600, for example, one for 100 to 120 volts and one for 220 to 240 volts. The rating plate shows what it can handle.
• Count the film holders. If they are missing, you'll first have to get replacements or work with glass.
• Engage the transport lock before shipping, see chapter 3.

New from the USA or Japan?

You can still buy the V850 directly from Epson in two places. Epson USA sells it for 1,999 dollars, plus shipping and import VAT. In Japan it's called the GT-X980 and costs 83,600 yen at Epson Direct; it's currently out of stock there, but orders are still being accepted. We haven't checked whether the two shops deliver to Germany. A user on r/AnalogCommunity reports buying theirs new from a Japanese eBay seller. Another wrote in summer 2025 that such a seller had cancelled their order.

With the Japanese model, pay attention to the power supply. Epson Japan specifies a mains voltage of 100 volts for the GT-X980. Before you plug it in here, check the rating plate on the power supply to see whether it can handle 230 volts; otherwise you'll need a different one.

6. What are the alternatives to a new flatbed?

In Germany, you can now only get a new flatbed scanner with a transparency unit of V850 quality through marketplaces and at a markup. That leaves four options, and none of them is right for everyone:

The prices for the Plustek scanners are those from MediaMarkt Austria on 12 October 2026. The resolution figures for the Epson come from the tests by filmscanner.info: 1,560 ppi (pixels per inch) for the V600, around 2,300 ppi for the V700 and the V850, 2,600 ppi with SilverFast. Incidentally, the Plustek OpticFilm 120 doesn't reach what it says on the box either: the Analoge Photo Gruppe measured just under 2,900 ppi instead of the stated 5,300.

Where the flatbed stays ahead

This is what a setup for photographing negatives looks like: camera with macro lens on a copy stand, below it the film holder on the light source. Whether it beats the flatbed depends mainly on the film format.

With camera scanning, resolution is a simple calculation: the camera's pixels divided by the width of the negative. A 24-megapixel camera has 6,000 pixels on the long side. On a 35mm negative 36 millimeters wide, that works out to over 4,200 pixels per inch, almost double what a V850 manages. If focus and lens are right, the camera is clearly ahead here.

With medium format, this flips. A 6x6 negative is 56 millimeters wide and has to fit into the 4,000 pixels of the short side. That gives around 1,800 pixels per inch, and the lens and sensor take a little more off that. So a single 24-megapixel shot lands roughly at the level of the V600 and below the V850. With 4x5 inch sheet film, you're left with just 1,000 to 1,200 pixels per inch. You only get more with a camera with more pixels or by photographing the negative in sections and stitching them together; some cameras combine several shots themselves for this. For sheet film and paper prints, a used flatbed therefore remains the most convenient tool.

Video: “Epson v850 vs Negative Supply & DSLR” by SprocketHoles, 2021. The same film once in the V850 and once with the camera, compared side by side.

7. Is it worth switching to camera scanning?

For anyone who mainly scans 35mm and 120 roll film and already owns a digital camera, the answer is usually yes. Many people in the forums are switching to this approach, and the reasons they give are almost always time and sharpness: a roll is digitized faster, and with 35mm the result is sharper. One user in r/AnalogCommunity writes that 36 frames on their V700 took over an hour and that they almost stopped shooting altogether.

In fairness, there's another side to this. In the same thread, someone who has camera-scanned with a Nikon D850 and a Z7 II writes that they're sticking with the scanner because they can't stand removing dust in Lightroom. A flatbed with infrared dust removal takes this work off your hands; the camera doesn't. Keith Cooper also says in his second video that camera scanning is great, but for many people this setup is simply too fiddly. For Cooper, it would be the way to go with a lot of film to scan.

What you need

You need a camera (24 megapixels is enough for 35mm) and a macro lens that fills the frame with a 35mm negative, i.e. one that reaches a 1:1 reproduction ratio. On top of that, you need an even light source with good color rendering, a holder that keeps the film flat and straight, and a tripod or copy stand that holds the camera exactly parallel to the film; how to check this with a mirror is explained in this article. To convert color negatives to positives, many people use Negative Lab Pro, a plugin for Lightroom Classic. Adobe only sells Lightroom Classic as a subscription.

Holders are available from many manufacturers, from Negative Supply and Valoi to Kaiser and Lomography. We have summed up how they differ and where each one has its weaknesses in our film holder comparison, including our own system.

We sell holders for both routes, for the Epson and for the camera. Still, which route is the right one depends solely on what you scan. If you want to try making the switch, these are our sets:

The cheapest tier, the Basic Set, is just the holder. The larger sets (called Light and Copy for the Duo) come with a CineStill light source and lens hoods, and the largest one also includes a copy stand. Our guide to scanning with a digital camera shows what a complete setup looks like.

What we would do in your place

Is your Epson still working? Then keep it. Set the holder height properly once if your model allows it, and put a spare holder aside while they are still available. Don't panic and sell the scanner just because Epson no longer offers it here. If you scan sheet film or paper prints, you won't find anything better any time soon.

Is your Epson broken, and do you mainly scan 35mm and 120? Then do the math before you spend €400 on a used V600. If you already have a digital camera and a macro lens in the cupboard, a holder and light source usually cost less than the replacement scanner. With a camera of 24 megapixels or more and a clean setup, you will get more resolution out of 35mm.

Is your Epson broken, and do you scan sheet film? Then a used V700, V750 or V800 is still the most sensible route, with a checklist and a demo scan. A “new” V850 Pro for over €2,000 on a marketplace is not.

Where to read more

The best source on the image quality of the individual Epson models is the in-depth reviews on filmscanner.info, with measurements taken on a test chart. The channel of Keith Cooper follows what happens next with Epson's scanners, and on r/AnalogCommunity owners exchange tips on spare holders and buying used. For questions about sheet film, the Photrio forum is worth a visit.

And a word on our own behalf: If you don't know which set suits your film and your setup, the Film Scanner Finder will help you in four steps. You'll find labs that scan your film right along with developing it in our overview of film labs.

Sources

• Epson Germany, product pages V850 Pro, V600 Photo, V550 Photo, V39 II, Expression 13000XL, accessed on 12.10.2026
• Epson Italy, V850 Pro, and Epson UK, V850 Pro, accessed on 12.10.2026
• Epson USA, product pages V850 Pro, V800 Photo, V600 Photo, accessed on 12.10.2026; older prices via the Internet Archive (13.11.2025, 08.02.2026)
• Epson Japan, GT-X980, GT-X980 data sheet, Epson Direct Shop, GT-X830 repair, spare parts availability, accessed on 12.10.2026
• Keith Cooper, forum post and video from 03.02.2025, second video from 24.09.2025
• PetaPixel, Epson Denies Claim That Its CCD Film Scanners Are Approaching ‘End of Life’, 05.02.2025
• Kosmo Foto, Epson pulls the plug on V850 Pro and 13000XL film scanners, 05.02.2025
• Druckerchannel, Kommende Produktionsscanner mit Flachbett beenden CCD-Ära, 02.06.2026
• filmscanner.info, reviews V600, V700, V750, V850
• Epson, user manual Perfection V600 and service manual Perfection V700/V750
• APHOG, Between Lab and Light Table, 24.10.2025
• MediaMarkt Germany, V600 and V850 Pro; MediaMarkt Austria, Plustek OpticFilm 8200i Ai and OpticFilm 120; idealo V850, all accessed on 12.10.2026
• Kleinanzeigen, searches for V600, V550, V750, V850, our own sample from 12.10.2026
• Reddit r/AnalogCommunity: PSA: Epson Has Discontinued The High-End Scanners (26.06.2025), Epson V750 vs V850, Replace Epson V750, Alternatives to the original holders, Epson V700 vs. digital camera