[sane-devel] SANE backend epson2 and Epson Perfection V700 Photo

[Adolf Winterer]

Hello,

after my old scanner stopped working after 9+ years of good service I started 
looking for a new scanner some weeks ago. After many increasingly frustrating 
hours of online recherche in online stores, the SANE supported devices list 
and Google I found three candidates: Epson Perfection 4990 Photo, Epson 
Perfection V700 Photo and Epson Perfection V750 Pro.

The selection criteria are:
- USB 2.0 connection (no SCSI or ParPort)
- Self powered (no power from USB)
- Flatbed scanner (no ADF)
- High optical resolution (2400dpi or more)
- Runs in 64-Bit Linux environment (Debian Lenny)
- SANE status: "Complete" or at least "Good"
- No proprietary software (but a firmware file would be OK)
- Price below 1000 Euro
- No "ancient" hardware

The above mentioned scanners fit the description well. I only discarded the 
Perfection 4990 Photo as it is already about 4 years old and availability is 
not too good, a repair may get increasingly difficult.

Therefore the Perfection V700 Photo or Perfection V750 Pro look like my best 
choices. As far as I understand the technical data, the V750 Pro only has 
more/other (Windows) software bundled, giving me no real advantage under 
Linux, but making it more expensive. So it is the V700 Photo I'm looking at.

Can anyone on the list please help me with the following questions?

1. What is missing from the epson2 backend to reach the "complete" status for 
the Epson V700 Photo?

2. What function is currently NOT supported in the epson2 backend for the V700 
Photo?

3. Is there currently any work in progress for the V700 Photo in the epson2 
backend?

If the answer to question 3 is "no", how can I help with this (I'm not a C 
programmer)?

Best regards,
    Adolf Winterer