Canon Canoscan Lide 600F Scanner (0302B002)

I've only used work-related scanners for a long time, and these were big high-end models that had their own power source. I didn't expect this Canon to be as fast or have as a good color fidelity from the outset, but certain design aspects impressed me quite a bit <-- disclaimer for why I went so crazy with so many customer-submitted pictures. Hmmm, After submitting the pics, I realized that the flash demo on the amazon page is pretty darn good.

Anyways:

1)The USB powered scanner is quite useful in that it's only powered when plugged into the computer. There is no power button, but all you have to do is unplug it from the computer, and it's off. Bootup/warm up time is quite fast. Just plug into your computer, start the included software or Photoshop, and import/acquire.

2)It does scan a little slower than the power scanners I'm used to, but it does the job.

3)I remember awhile back an HP version of a tilted scanner (Scanjet 4600 series), and I wasn't too impressed by its scanning quality nor its functionality. The "upright" function, I thought, was a gimmick, and not very useful. But now I find that for things I want to scan quickly, a page at a time, I can just slide it in and scan.

4)The included film adapter is very substantial. It has its own light source, in comparison to other scanners which give you a slot/hole to shine light out of. A substantial/separately mounted film adapter piece ensures that the background of the scanner is a nice even white as well. On some of these other scanners, you see ridges from the plastic moldings that double up for the negatives.

5)I am just soooo impressed by the design for the stand and the multi-angle lids. The option of changing the angle of the lid WHEN you want to is a godsend.

6)the lids and the negative film adapter are held in place with magnets. This is great, as lids and adapter will come off and attach easily, without the wear-and-tear imposed upon plastic latches.

7)I have been forever turned off by Epsons, as they are notorious for not updating their drivers for new OSs. I remember trying to update an Epson from Win2K to WinXP, and I just could not do it. Bye bye Epson.

8)I've tried the negative scanning once, and although a little on the slow side, (1200 dpi), the resulting image was quite good.

I think this is a great scanner for home usage, and even for perhaps small businesses. Of course, it doesn't have a feed tray, nor is it the fastest scanner out there, but its design and portability (there's a large lock button on the bottom to secure moving parts during transport) as well as its functionality deserves it 5 stars in my book.

Some addenda to the previous reviews. The software isn't great but I've found I can make this scanner work with OmniPage and Adobe Photoshop Elements. Since my main needs are scanning text for optical-character recognition (OCR), and some photo scans, this makes the 600F fully functional, thank you.

The scanner isn't as fast as some desktop scanners I've used, but it makes up for it in portability and lightness, i.e., as a mobile scanner for use with a laptop. I would've liked having this on a recent trip where I needed to scan a number of legal and administrative documents and found myself making a number of trips to Kinko's. Given a small printer, this scanner and my laptop I could've saved a lot of time and expense with the 600F's copy feature.

The 600F is also quiet enough that I would be comfortable using it in a library (i.e., doing research), and it seems to make reasonable demands on the laptop power. Given that the USB cable is also its power source -- and no bulky AC power cords to go with what the laptop already has -- this adds to the scanner's simplicity and portability.

Highly recommend.

Shock and horror was my conclusion after reading the countless reviews from previous flatbed scanner purchasers who bought from Canon, Epson, HP and others. How could my limited computer skills possibly solve the described problems, I wondered? Being extra cautious, I resolved to buy from Amazon, who promised a 30-day refund policy.

Based on total satisfaction with my Canon Powershot S50 camera and my Canon i960 photo printer, I chose the LiDE 600F scanner, which seemed to have fewer negative reviews. And a wise choice it proved to be.

Connection of the single USB cable and software installation were a breeze, yielding excellent printed scans in less than a half hour. The installation wizard handled the chores perfectly on my Dell E520 with Windows XP Media Edition. My sympathies go out to anyone with installation problems who didn't buy an LiDE 600F.

Then there is the extremely clever ultra-thin case design. The cover handles single sheets or a stack of pages and objects up to about one inch thick, or it folds back to accommodate books and magazines. Alternatively, the stand-up bracket permits operation of the scanner in a nearly vertical position to conserve desktop space.

The equally clever software is well suited to simple push button scanning and copying for dummies, as well as advanced modes for a variety of selectable image enhancements. For me, its biggest plus is the ability to launch a scan with Photoshop (File>Import) and have the scan returned directly to a Photoshop canvas for editing or filing (an unadvertised but most pleasant bonus).

The machine's only apparent shortcoming is its inability to handle mounted 35 mm transparencies.

Coupling all this with the excellent scan quality and speed for printed pages and 35 mm negatives, the LiDE 600F has proven to be a dream machine, far exceeding my pre-purchase expectations and hopes for a successful scanner experience. It's hard to imagine anyone being disappointed with the LiDE 600F, provided you don't need to scan 35 mm slides or large volumes of negatives. Thanks, Canon, you got it right this time.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 61 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars