Great Home Office Scanner
Written: Sep 01 '01 (Updated Sep 02 '01)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Great scans from a thin, attractive unit; powered by USB port.
Cons: Only scans flat surfaces well
The Bottom Line: Highly recommend for the home office; not for a graphics professional who might want to stick with traditional CCD technology and will require higher true resolution than 600 DPI.
|
|
|
| jjobrien's Full Review: Canon CanoScan N650U Flatbed Scanner |
The CanoScan N650U (I had the silver-gray N656U) is a small-footprint, very thin scanner. Since I am interested in reducing the amount of cables that I have, I was attracted to it by the fact that it did not need to be plugged into the wall - the USB cable which it uses to transfer data also supplies it with power.
I had a lot of trouble with this machine with my ThinkPad 600, which was equipped with USB 1.0. It would scan one page, then lose communication with the scanner. I thought it was something with the scanner, but once I upgraded my laptop to a ThinkPad A21, the problems ended and I was able to scan page after page without a hitch.
On to the quality - which is first rate. Scans come out as faithful to the original as any other scanner in this price range. I always used the twain utility and scanned through Photoshop, but it comes with a toolbox that, when you press the button on the front of the scanner, asks you whether you want to scan, copy (scan to printer), fax or e-mail. The automatic settings are okay for the average user, but more advanced users may want to tweak these and adjust the exposure and resolution settings for best results.
All utilities are easy to use (as always, read the manuals for best results). The scanner also comes with a OmniPage, which is one of the better OCR packages on the market.
Another great thing is that this unit is totally sealed. Since the LED technology it uses (technically called CIS, or "Contact Image Sensor") does not get that hot, it doesn't need to release heat through vents that can also let in dust. This dust, which can end up on the bottom of the glass and become part of your scans, was a source of consternation with my previous scanners, which were based on traditional CCD technology.
The lid is adjustable so that you can place books on it, but be sure that you only scan flat surfaces; this type of scanner does very poorly with 3D images. To test this, put your watch or pen on it; you'll quickly see what I mean.
I've read reviews in PC Magazine that CIS technology is not yet the equal of CCD, but I was always very satisfied with the output of the CanoScan. I am not a graphics professional, however, just a casual user. And this is the market this scanner was made for.
If you are an average user (web, family photos, text, OCR) looking for a thin scanner that doesn't require a power supply and doesn't need to be disassembled so you can clean the bottom of the glass, then this is for you. If you are a graphics professional (the kind of guy worried about Pantone color matching), then look elsewhere.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 79
Interface: USB
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jjobrien
|
|
Member: John O'Brien
Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.