Canon 2925B002 Document Scanner

I have more time than money these days. So to pay 48 cents a frame to digitize my 15 years and thousands of negatives was prohibitive. The CanoScan 5600F has been a great purchase to do that here at home. In fact, I'm scanning as I write this. Granted, to scan one frame at 2400 dpi takes at least a minute. But I can do other things while the machine scans. The quality of the scans has been fine for my purposes. You can scan at higher and lower rates, scan paper documents, put the output in pdf, or email it - right from the scanner. I got it for transferring my photo negatives to DVD, which it has done like a champ. It's easy to set up and easy to use. I could even lend it to my in-laws without having to give them a lesson in it's use! The thing does have a large footprint, but I figure it will only be on my countertop for another few months. The it's off to one my relatives so they can scan and digitize their negatives and slides. Other reviewers commented on the flimsy nature of the film holders. They are somewhat fragile, but if you handle them gently, they should last. You can order more from Canon, which I did. It makes setting up an assembly line to get this done easier. I got two, in case of breakage. PLus the shipping stayed the same. It was around $25 to have both shipped to my door. And the Canon service reps were great! Prompt, professional, and accommodating sums them up. Because of my experience, I would even consider buying Canon stock. I just wish I had bought a Canon camera last time we purchased. I did also buy the Pec Pads, Pec 12 cleaner, and a Giotto air blower to help get my negatives as clean as possible. They have been a good investment as well.

I'm no computer wizard, just a competent computer user. I got this scanner to replace an older Canon scanner. The old scanner was still working fine, but I wanted something that will scan slides as well as printed photos. I've been scanning old family photos and slides that were taken fifty to one hundred years ago. I'm very pleased with the results. The scans have been unquestionably equal to the original photos and slides. I like it that the software that comes with the scanner enables the scanner to recognized multiple separate photos, so I don't have to scan the photos one at a time. It does the same for slides. The slide/negative attachment is nothing than a plastic guide that hold the slides or negatives on the platen where they need to be to get scanned. It holds up to four slides and works just like it should. If there is anything to quibble about, it is that the software is a little complicated. There's a modest learning curve to deal with to get comfortable with it, but once you're there it all makes sense and works well. Of course, you can scan into your favorite image editing application if you want. I use Picasa to keep it simple. All in all I think this scanner is worth every penny of the $130 I paid for it.

I bought this specifically because it appeared to be easier at scanning negatives than other scanners at this price point and with better image quality. In this regard it absolutely rocks. Also, we went to my wife's grandmother's house and she had cases of slides. Again, this scanner rocks. It is so easy to use and relatively fast. I can almost overlook the size of this thing. Except it is so huge and non portable. I use a grocery bag to haul this thing around. But ultimately, that is ok, because this thing is really good for negatives and slides. The settings are very customizable and the pixel count settings are more than adequate. The software is adequate and easy enough to use for the scans, although I use other software to modify the pictures which is why one feature I like is that it scans in jpeg and also raw formats. It takes about a minute or so to scan each single negative or slide image. So any substantial effort will take time to complete. The good thing about this scanner is that setup time for negatives or slides is greatly reduced compared to some of the other scanners I have owned. So although the time of the scan is probably no different than other scanners, it doesn't take as long to actually begin scanning. The 200 hundred slides I scanned took me a little less than 3 hours. Negatives a little longer because the loading tray is simpler for slides than for negatives (and I felt the need to clean every single negative before scanning). The tray has tabs that separate the slides so you just drop them in a slot and then scan. For negatives, you have to snap the negative into the tray for scanning. Some of my negatives are warped and the tray works great in one direction (curve up). Fortunately, the software allows you to rotate and flip the image before scanning. Also, I tried 110 film and it wouldn't work with that size. It didn't say it did but I was hoping. I have not tried it as a picture scanner since I didn't need it for that. Anyway, I think $100 is a good price for a device that is better than other film scanners at this price point and is well worth the investment. In fact, I find that I am looking for more family members to visit for there negatives and slides...toting a shopping bag full of scanner! 5 stars for performance but a drop to 4 stars for being so bulky.