Back in March I asked for scanner recommendations. My needs weren't terribly demanding and I got some good advice. The decision ultimately came down to the Canon CanoScan LiDE 500F and some of the more expensive HP models.
I decided that it'd be best to buy the Canon and return it if I didn't like it. Amazon.com had it in stock and it didn't cost and arm and a leg--under $150.
After having used it on documents, full-page magazine pages, and some old photos, I've decided that it's a keeper.
The Good
- size: this thing is quite small
- sound: the canon is very quiet when scanning
- light weight: the glass isn't terribly thick and it uses LEDs rather than a bit fluorescent tube
- speed: it scans documents faster than I expected
The Bad
- the software: the canon "toolbox" is a little klunky and limited, but it's sufficient for scanning into PDF files or something I can toss into Photoshop or The Gimp
In summary, I'm quite happy with this scanner. For the little money I spent, it's more than I expected. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a USB scanner to handle occasional documents and photos.
Posted by jzawodn at May 08, 2005 06:43 PM
If you are using this with your Windows laptop, try using XP's built-in scanner wizard. I find it suitable for most tasks.
unfortunately seems not to be supported by sane :
http://www.sane-project.org/unsupported/canon-canoscan-lide-500f.html
i almost bought one (somehow i was sure that canon would have put some effort to make sure that their scanners work in linux...), but fortunately checked this list.
i bought a canon lide 500f about 1 1/2 years ago and hoped that a driver for linux will be available soon - but i've been disappointed
but that's the general approach of many hardware companies: they still don't care about linux users
