Epson's Stylus Photo range has consistently been at the forefront of the photo reproduction market and this latest model follows the same precedent with an all-in-one photo centre that is stuffed with features for the camera enthusiast.

The first impression is of a unit that's both compact and solid, one that means business and is ready to do almost any task you can throw at it. The scanner is a 2400 x 4800dpi MatrixCCD that is quickly installed and results in pictures of very sharp quality - the print resolution can extend to an impressive 5760dpi.

The beauty of this machine is that it will appeal to the computer wary as well as to the computer literate. There's a USB 2.0 port on the front that allows you to connect directly to a PC in addition to external devices like Flash Drives and Pens, and of course digital cameras.

But you can bypass a PC entirely by feeding virtually all popular models of Memory Cards (including xD-Picture Card, SmartMedia, SD and at least three types of Memory Stick) into the three external slots. You can then choose whether to print the photos they contain directly or transfer the images to an external source.

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You can print off index sheets and mark up the specific photos you want to keep, as well as thumbnails of all photos. DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) is also recognised so you can prioritise what images you want printed from a digital camera that supports this system.

The built-in, high resolution 2.5-inch screen displays the control panel which enables you to preview, edit, crop and restore photos both via a PC and straight from a digital camera, camera phone or PDA that supports PictBridge, USB Direct Print or Bluetooth. The control panel is easy to use - simply scroll down to the various options (and there are several of them!) and it's worth spending the time to get the optimum level for each photo you work with.

The other main improvement over the Epson Stylus Photo RX420, which was released in January, is the ability to faithfully reproduce analogue photos as well. Both positive and negative films and slides can be loaded onto the supplied film holder and you can then crop, enlarge and print the results. As the RX420's scanner was exactly half as powerful as the RX620's and the RX620 has two extra ink cartridges (making a total of six), the colour reproduction quality is truly outstanding.

The bundled photo printing and editing software includes PhotoQuicker 3.5, Print Image Framer Tool and Designer 2.1 and some glossy paper is thrown in to get you started on your new photo album. One word of warning - you'll need to set aside a large section of your workspace for this machine as it's quite a sprawling beast (456mm x 439mm x 256mm) and weighs a good 10kg.

For serious photographers who want to archive their work both on film and on digital camera, this is an absolute marvel. If you just want a fast and efficient printer and scanner, the RX620 is well above average but there are better options on the market.