Rating: Summary: Most Excellent Review: After reading other folks' reviews on scanners and seeing all the problems they had with cheap ones, I decided to spend a bit more for something better. It was a good decision: the CanoScan D1250U2F has exceeded my expectations.Software and hardware installation was straight forward, and the documentation is clear and simple. An important factor in my decision to buy the Canon was its inclusion of Adobe Photoshop Elements -- it is very intuitive software, powerful, and it interfaces well with the scanner. Color rendition is excellent, and scanned photos appear well-balanced and clean. On my computer (running Windows XP, 1.8GHz, 384MB RAM) scanning at moderate resolutions is reasonably quick and downloads are prompt, even though I'm running with the USB 1.1 driver and not 2.0. Scanning a 3x5 photo at 600DPI takes about 15-20 seconds, maybe 10-15 seconds at 300DPI. A lot of that time is the scanner "adjusting the lamp" before the actual scan. The film and slide scanning apparatus is easy to use and produces passable results. The images can be contrasty and the colors somewhat subdued, but in this price range I don't expect professional slide scanning. At 2400DPI it makes an image fairly close to the resolution of the film and is certainly good enough for most email-the-photo and web publishing applications. The scanner also comes with optical character recognition (OCR) software, which works, although I did not find it intuitive. Also, the OCR software makes some bizarre decisions, especially concerning spelling correction, and seems eager to take control of the scanner, initiating scans at unexpected times. Aside from the puzzling OCR software, if I wanted to be nit-picky I'd say the lid hinges are a bit flimsy, and the buttons on the front of the scanner are pointless. In my opinion it would be a better product if they removed the buttons from the front and put a power switch on the back. But that's all just nits... The scanner does a great job overall.
Rating: Summary: Excellent scanner for the price Review: I've been scanning photos and documents for a long time. Last year I purchased an HP 750 all-in-one, and overall I would say I was happy with the results I was getting. I've been wanting to scan slides/negatives and also wanted a smaller device, as I sometimes need to take my scanner with me to relatives to scan things onsite. So, after reading reviews of several scanners and looking around, I finally decided to get the canon D1250U2F. I can say overall, I am VERY pleased with it. I have been able to scan negatives and slides with amazing results. I scanned some old slides that were probably 30-40 years old and while the colors were off, might have always been though, the clarity on the good ones was fantastic. Good enough I'm sure to get a good 8x10 print out of. Slides/negatives weren't always perfect though, some I just could not get a decent scan from, even though the source "looked" ok to me, the scans seems sometimes to be more blurry than the source, as if the lense could not find a proper focal point. My only 2 complaints with this product are the speed of scans (the lamp takes a while to get calibrated each time) and the some of the software (I'm getting errors, non-fatal, but errors nontheless when I scan, the photoRecord software does not work). Even the scan speed, I must concede, I did not buy a $400 scanner, so if that's one of the things that I need to give up, I'm more than willing to do that.
Rating: Summary: Very Nice Scanner Review: This is my second Canon Scanner, The other one was the little skinny one, I dont remember the model number, lasted for years and gave me excellent service. Bought the 1250U2F today, had it set up in notime, tried the first scan, was not so great, realized I was scanning a photo at 75 DPI, corrected this, results, typically Canon,excellent. The setup looked a bit glitchy, I was warned by Win. XP home there was something on this device with a logo problem and that if I continued the world could come to an end, I continued, I was then warned that this was a USB 2 scanner and it will not work with, USB 1, I continued, finished, started scanning, not a glitch, all is well. Have not tried to scan film or slides, will do that during the week, this is a very neat scanner, I couldnt be more pleased. I did notice that on some of the reviews, some people thought that competitive machines were faster, they probably are, but, this one works so well, a few more seconds makes no difference. I am a totally pleased customer
Rating: Summary: What a difference 24 hrs makes Review: Attn: Amazon, please delete my "Going back in the morning" review currently in the 5 day review/processing. Initially did have problems with the worst scans ever seen that both Photoshop Essentials and PaintShop Pro (I'm more adept with) couldn't correct. Muddy background, no fine details, and blotchy skin tones. Compared to so Epson scanners, Canon wasn't even in the running. While intending to take back in AM, when deleting scan's from harddrive, noticed how small the files were compared to the identical Epson scans. Reviewed the twain setting, and sure enough the Canon defaulted to 75 dpi, while the Epson were 300 dpi. Canon's instructions didn't indicate to review/set the dpi so was easilly overlooked. Rescanned the original 4X6 photo @ 300 dpi for "like" comparisons. What a difference. I originally consided the Epson 1650 scan to be 'excellent' - just had software issues downgrading the scanner. This Canon matched it, easilly. Without touching up eather, fine detail in branches,leaves, strands of hair, and sweater knit. Crisp edges on clothing that was blurred with the 75 dpi scan. No dark blotches on skin that looked like 5:00 shaddow on guys or a female in desperate need on makeup. Between the two, neither matched the original, but that is normal with any 'first generation' copy. Both had a more reddish cast compared to the original that tended to enhance skin tones, but the Epson was more extreme in it's red bias, while the Canon was closer to natural. Speed - excellent with USB 2.0. Software, no problem, but dated. OmniPage v9 provided, while v12 is in the stores and costs as much as the scanner. Seems like both Epson and Canon should update the disks with the most current drivers and 3rd party software versions at each scanner production run. I don't think that is asking to much. Hate to 'try out' Canon's 5000 scanner released this week just to update the OCR software - then take it back with store return policy! Only continuing problem that I have with both scanners is printer specific. Since it is a Canon printer, I hoped it would be resolved with a Canon scanner. The copy utility with both Epson and Canon doesn't adjust for the 1/4" mask that the printer creates, shifting the copy 1/4" further from the left side and lopping off on the right side. Requires changing printer defaults to 'borderless' then reducing the scan copy to 97% to offset the printer enlarging for borderless. Took me a while to figure that one out. Overall, this one is a keeper. While neither are replacement for true photoprocessing, both lead the pack on scanners. With the Canon $50 cheaper, it is a steal.
Rating: Summary: A real bargain! Review: We ordered this scanner through a special priced Amazon.com "gold box" offer for under $. We wanted to be able to make prints from old negatives, and the Cannon was highly rated. We are thrilled! We're having loads of fun! --The colors scan very true. --It scans a bit slower than my old H-P scanner, but this is just home use, not for production. And it is compatible with the new, faster USB2 connection, but I haven't yet sprung for the USB2 installation (I think it's around . --The adapter is for 35mm negatives and slides, but I've even been able to make prints from old 110's. These very old, small negatives take more treatment in Photoshop to get them to look acceptable, and the finished product is not quite as good as the 35mm, but I don't think that Canon even claims that the product will handle these old odd-sized negatives. --The software that comes with the Canoscan is worth the price of admission! It comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements, plus programs for storing photos in digital scrapbooks, showing them as a slide show, and a handy printing program which allows you to quickly and easily arrange any number of photos on a page for printing. I've been able to scan in old photos that were too dark to display, and using Photoshop Elements, remove imperfections, tweak the colors, and balance the brightness and contrast and end up with a fine picture enlarged for framing. Thanks to Canon for making a fine product, to Adobe for a great, easy to use program for working with negatives and photos, and to Amazon.com for bringing it to me at a great price! Quickly!
Rating: Summary: Maybe I got a lemon Review: I purchased this unit a little over a year ago and have only used it about 3 times but now it doesn't work right at all. Maybe from lack of use? I like Canon products in general(I have their i950 printer, a Canon camcorder, & a Canon copier), however this scanner should have lasted longer so I'm not satisfied with it and would probably pick a different brand next time.
Rating: Summary: Great scanner at a GREAT price Review: I love my scanner. I got it last Christmas and have been using it non-stop without any problems ever since. I did have a little trouble hooking it up at first, but it turned out that I wasn't reading the directions as well as I should have been. So that was my fault, not theres. It is easy to operate and I love the programs that come with! They are great for picture making! Great product! Very happy that I got it.
Rating: Summary: Outstanding scans of platen materials... Review: I have used this scanner for a little over a year now, and it really provides incredible results on printed and other opaque materials. Colors are very true (perhaps a slight warming on the color-temperature, as others have mentioned), and sharpness is fantastic. The scan-times were relatively slow, but an upgrade to a USB 2.0 card on my computer (cost me about $20) solved that problem. Scans times are very acceptable now. I have never had much use for the OCR software, but it seems intuitive enough and does a decent job. The rest of the software is not used much either (aside from the drivers, of course). My only beef: the transparency scanner is not what it was cracked up to be. The few negative scans I have made did not come out so well, and the reported competency of the integrated transparency scanner was one of the selling points for me. Maybe this is as good as it gets for a flatbed with an adaptor, but if you really want to get good results with transparencies, get a dedicated film scanner.
Rating: Summary: It is worth what I payed for it Review: I am pleased with the scanner and as far as I know it will do what it is suppost to do . If you by one you need to make sure that you have alot of ram because you will need it . I have not learned all the functions that it has but it has preformed well . I don't like the fact that canon does not have a toll free number to call if you need help .
Rating: Summary: USB 2.0 is the way to go! Review: I'm impressed with this scanner, and currently use the USB 2.0 speed. Needless to say, speed is the keyword here! I am so sick of slow scanners - they drove me nuts for years. Let's get to the facts: I wrote to Canon with questions before purchasing this item. The unit scans at 4 msec / line (at 600 dpi), and 8 msec / line (at 1200 dpi) for either color or black and white. This is twice as fast as the Epson brands I was considering with USB 2.0 capability. In addition to that, a friend of mine swears that Canon twain drivers are the best quality. The only downfall about this unit is that it's kind of noisy, which surprised me. My Canon scanner at work is silent as a mouse. But, I'd take speed over silence anyday, and the quality is excellent too. Epson is a great brand, but this scanner by takes the cake.
|