Canon CanoScan 5000F Scanner

Good qualities:
The scanner is great for the price range it retails in. I highly recommend it for slide scanning & platen images. I don't recommend it for scanning negatives - it takes a few tries to scan each negative which is unacceptable for me.

Speed & reliability:
Speedy USB 2.0 interface & decent looking device. Above average scanner. After six months, it still functions as new - which is very important in today's low price provides low quality type of marketplace.

I have used the scanner primarily for photos. The multi-scan mode is GREAT. I have scanned 4 pictures at a time and they are put into 4 separate files. That's a huge time saver, and it works EVERY time for me despite what the editorial review said. I would never buy a scanner without multi-scan mode. The quality is good too. I settled on 600 dpi as the optimal resolution setting (good detail scanned within a reasonable amount of time without files that are too large).

I tried scanning negatives once. It worked well, and the quality was better than scanning photos. My only complaint was that switching the scanner back and forth between regular mode and film mode is a little flimsy. I'm afraid that sliding the white shield too many times would wear it out. It slides on a groove made of poster board type material. But I don't plan to scan many negatives.

I also scanned a magazine page and that worked great.

This scanner is a great choice for a multi-purpose scanner at a reasonable price.

I mostly use the scanner for digitalizing my artwork at a resolution of 1200dpi at an output scale of 100%. The scans appear crisp and clear with well-defined gray tones and contrast levels. Given the ease of the scanning software, it's simple to make a slight adjustment during the pre-scan to change the contrast and brightness to fit your needs.

Also, the Canon 5000F is a well-built unit. All low-priced scanners consist of a plastic body for weight purposes, however, the Canon 5000F employs a solid and sturdy drive unit to guide the movement of the lamp carriage.

I previously bought the HP Scanjet 3970 because of its attractive price, but I also quickly discover its cheap construction, worthless 3-month warranty and its loose connections. Thankfully, I was able to return it for a refund.

At work, I used an Epson 2400 scanner, a comparable unit, that fell apart from the hinges inward. The Epson 2400 could not reproduce the color of photographs as naturally as the Canon 5000F. When scanning grayscale images, the Epson 2400 also could not detect gray tones as well as the Canon unit.

The Canon 5000F wonderfully reproduces the color of photographs and slides when I scan images to be posted on the web. However, for scanning negatives or slides, I use a film scanner to achieve the best results. When scanning negatives on a flatbed scanner, the machine must scan the images at a higher resolution than you intend to print. For example, scanning at 2400dpi will magnify the negative image and allow for decent printing at 600-1200dpi.

For beginners or professionals, the Canon 5000F provides excellent results at a reasonable price. There's very little difference in scanning speeds when a person scans an image at high resolutions, because we're talking about an image file 40MB or bigger. I haven't seen where the flimsy HP or Epson models scanned any faster than the Canon models. After all, if you want quality, be patient. It might take 1-2 minutes for a 2400dpi scan of a picture, but you should be pleased with the results.

For the best color reproduction, clarity and construction, I highly recommend the Canon 5000F.

Note: The Canon LiDE series of slim scanners also provide decent results, but they use a different method of scanning than the Canon 5000F in order to make the scanner 1.5 inches tall. The Canon LiDE series use LEDs for the light source and a contact image sensor (CIS) to capture the scanned image. This system, given the material you're scanning, might not provide you with the color tones you're seeking in order to print large photographs.

Instead, the Canon 5000F uses the traditional cold cathode lamp as the light source and a CCD as the scanner element which still provides the best color and grayscale reproduction.

Enjoy!