Canon CanoScan N650U

Advantages: Quality scans, very fast, good price
Disadvantages: None really

...impressed – I bought a Canon branded product, as I know from past experience that with devices such as optical peripherals the branded items are usually the best. I was impressed when I first tried it out. It is a USB product (although there is a similar product available with a parallel connection), and plugs straight into the PC and is nearly ready to go. The supplied software is very easy and quick to install, and the scanner is ready to ...
...photo editing software that is surprisingly good considering it is given away in the package. It also has the standard TWAIN drivers necessary for scans to be made in any application. The supplied OCR software is OmniPage Pro 9.0. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is, if you don’t know, a way of recognising the text of a document and allow editing rather than treat it as a graphic. The packaged software, in conjunction with this scanner, ... Read review

Advantages: Superb quality scans, fast, reliable, ultra-easy to install and operate, USB a genial idea!
Disadvantages: So light as to be almost flimsy?

...results. In the knowledge that Canon have been professional market leaders in the optival and photographics industry for longer than I have been around, I thought their products would be a good place to start. I was initially suprised at how Canon could offer such an innovative scanner as the N650U for such an affordable price (£65-£69). It truly does knock spots off the competition being considerably smaller, sleeker, and tidier on the desk. Power ...
...impressed at the wasy that Canon had compiled all of the software onto a CDRom which had an auto-install utility set up on it. This only added to the ease with which the scanner was set up, and also ensured that the maximum compatibility was achieved using the optimal drivers. For those less technically minded, and for those seeking beautifully designed home office equipment, I do not think that you can get much better than this. The scan quality ... Read review

Advantages: Speed, size, no power cable and quality
Disadvantages: None really

When My last scanner took 15 minutes to scan an image in low res, and then crashed my computer, I knew that it was time to get a new one. So I looked hard at all the possibilities. As my last scanner (A very large UMAX 1200u)had been free when I bought my Bondi-Blue iMac so many years ago (well a little over two...), I had never really looked into the Scanner Market before, but there seemed to be only one real choice - The CanoScan 650u. It has: ...
...and scanning for the web - in fact, only Graphics pros will really see the difference between it and one costing 10 times the price. USB powered - only one cable! Tiny - We are talking only the size of a small A4 Pad of paper! Z-Lid - Enables the lid to lift up, but stay horizontal for scanning books. Really cheap - only costs 70 pounds, when you consider that the cheapest USB scanners cost 50. I was also delighted by the ease of setup - I run ... Read review

Advantages: Small, cheap, quality.
Disadvantages: None.

...sites pointed me at the Canon N650U. Not because it is the absolute best, but because it is: a) Sensibly priced. It can be had for between £50 and £70 depending on where its bought, and what discount vouchers you have in your sweaty palm this week. b) Better than a home user is ever likely to need. 1200x600 doesn't sound like much these days, but it is all you are ever likely to need unless you plan on doing photo-editing at a professional level. ...
...could go and make a cuppa while I waited for the preview scan. Now I just wait a few seconds. d) Very good quality. When I first scanned some photos I was most upset about the white dots all over the end result. I looked at the original, which was spotless... There was some almost-invisible dust on the scanner glass, and these tiny specks were being picked up like I've never seen! e) Comes with some very nice software. Usually I will install drivers ... Read review

Advantages: Small, good driver interface
Disadvantages: Low colour-accuracy, only 600x resolution, moire

...poor quality, so I called Canon and they sent a Canon Technical Support Engineer around. He looked at the scanning and agreed that it was too poor quality and that the scanner must be malfunctioning. It turned out though that the scanner was functioning within normal parameters. What does this tell you? The scanner does however have a USB, as most modern scanner should, leaving out the parallel interface. The driver is also the best I have seen, ...
...then select your application. There is also a basic and advanced mode. The software bundled with the scanner is also great - it comes with Omnipage Optical Character Recognition, which is better than the more common Textbridge. The speed is not the fastest, but it is not the worst either. And it is fairly quiet. The resolution of the scanner is only 600x1200 dpi, but for this price it is an acceptable compromise. Overall - do not buy this scanner ... Read review