Strengths:Easy set up, good price, Canon imaging, scans film as well, comes with 4.5' USB cable
Weaknesses:No on/off button, not detail user manual, surface can get dirty fast
Posted Aug 30, 2007 - I have researched various scanners. Most sources (incl Newegg, Epinion, Amazon, etc.) said this is one of the very best for the money and for the resolution (most multifunction units don't have such high resoluton and can't scan negatives). Comparable Epsons were more expensive.
Set up (incl software installation) took less than 20 minutes. I chose Custom Install (skipped the ArcSoft PhotoStudio and sbecause I heard it wasn't as good as some of the free editing software and skipped Presto PageManager because it hogs up CPU). I immediately test scan with Tool box. Not counting initializing/adjusting lamp (loud noises), the actual scan process took about 15-30 sec a page depending how much was on the text page and resolution desired (15 sec for letter text at 300 or 400 dpi; 30 sec for scanning 4x6 photo at 600 or 1200 dpi) . It came out clearer than I expected and speed was okay for me. (I mean I do a lot of scanning at work with large office machines and this unit is definitely comparable). I tried scanning wallet size photo and 4x6 photos and printed them without editing and it came out impressive, according to my wife. I also tried scanning 8x10 photo at 1200 dpi (takes 1 min. 45 sec), edit it, and print it out at 4x6, very good. I tried scanning negative (takes a good 20 sec per frame, edited it, and compared the printout with the one I received from outside and it was again impressive (although you have to be careful handling the negative holder, etc.) I only use Toolbox (not the buttons, SAVE to my doc and for photos, I access, edit, print thru Picassa and it works out good for me. Toolbox function allows scanning of text as well as photos. And I called tech support at 1800-828-4040 (very knowledgeable) and they told me that I can type in higher resolution, 2400 or 4800, at advanced mode. But I hear higher resolution are not necessary except for slides or blowing up small negatives. The only other software needed from Canon was the OmniPage (harder to use) for OCR. I read that outside software such as Vuescan (at $50 one time cost incl upgrades) or Silverfast (more for batch work and higher cost) for most home use purposes, don't add much to the software already supplied by Canon. I would definitely recommend this unit, except I caution that you may need a longer USB cable depending where your tower is ( I hooked it to my LCD on the same level desk; my LCD has USB sockets). I also caution those who may have trouble with drivers if they have first versions of Vista ( I have XP Pro). And last caution is that if you are aiming at high production, then this may not be for you. I plan to scan lots of photos and old films, but over a stretch of long time--leisure use.
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Fantastic Canon CanoScan 4400F
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