Canon CanoScan 9950F Flatbed Scanner (4800x9600, USB 2.0/FireWire, PC/Mac)

Canon CanoScan 9950F

CanoScan 9950F Flatbed Scanner (4800x9600, USB 2.0/FireWire, PC/Mac) Review, by Richard Jantz January 25, 2005

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• Reviewed by: stealthman42

  Strengths: Excellent transparancy scanning, reflective very good, dust elimination very good, scratch/tear repair average, quiet operation, on/off button.

  Weaknesses: Outdated 3rd party software, Firewire not for Windows?

  Overall: I originally wanted to purchase the Epson Perfection 4990 but a good percentage of online retailers were out of stock. I needed something soon as I rely heavily on a scanner for most of my work. Decided to go with the Canon and I wasn't disappointed! I have a Canon printer, digital cameras and now this scanner and I think it is a great product for my needs. 3rd party software sucks, but scanning old dusty transparancies come out looking better than I ever thought they could. Scanning at 4800dpi takes about 22 minutes with most of the options turned on. Don't know if I'll ever use this high of a resolution as most of my work will be for HD television and below. Tried an old photograph, had some rips and the like, didn't repair very well. But the dust and discoloration were gone! I feel I definately got my money's worth!! Canon has always had a very good reputation and quality hardware like this, continues the tradition.

• Reviewed by: brubu2j

  Strengths: The COPY, SCAN, PDF, and E-MAIL buttons are conveniently located on the front of the machine, will scan 35mm slides and film strips

  Weaknesses: The ON/OFF button is inconveniently placed on the underside of the above buttons, the machine does not automatically turn off

  Overall: The CanoScan 9950F Flatbed Scanner produces very accurate scans of word documents, pictures and graphics. It is a great all purpose scanner. The color quality of the scans is very good. The CanoScan 9950F comes with plenty of software to handle all of your needs. It has single buttons for Copy, Scan, PDF and E-mail. I found the on/off button, although located on the front of the machine, not to be in the most convenient location. The machine does not turn off automatically. One of the great features of this machine is that is will easily scan 35mm slides and film strips, 120 roll film, and 4? x 5? film. Slide and film holders are provide with the scanner. If you are looking for a high resolution flatbed scanner, I would recommend buying the CanoScan 9950F.

• Reviewed by: alokoko

  Strengths: 4800dpi resolution, fast, variety of film adapters, built-in dust removal, color restoration, grain removal features, ON-OFF switch at the front, the power supply brick is universal voltage

  Weaknesses: Some bundled software slightly outdated, film adapters not strong enough to flatten the curled film rolls (see notes below for details)

  Overall: I purchased this scanner to be able to scan family photos of various film types (35mm, 6x6 etc). I was encouraged with the fact that Canon discontinued its dedicated film scanner line and offered this model as the replacement.Strengths:The scanner is easy to set up. In a very short time, I was able to start scanning all the photos that I had. The ScanGear CS driver software is adequate, and allows all kinds of settings to get the best out of those old family pictures.Weaknesses:The included version of Photoshop Elements is 2.0, which is somewhat dated by today's standards (Adobe has released Photoshop Elements 3.0 at the end of 2004, and is now shipping PE 4.0).I am also having trouble scanning some of the rolls that I have. They have been sitting in their boxes curled for too long. The adapters, even though they are helpful, are still not sufficient (not strong enough) to hold the film flat (the middle region of these scans is out of focus).One more note: I could not get the CanoScan toolbox 4.9 working. I think that has something to do with me rather than the software itself. Yet I have no complaints since I am using the scanning software interface through Photoshop (any TWAIN compliant program will do fine).

• Reviewed by: mlmckenzie

  Strengths: High resolution; Dust Removal Setting in Software; Scans up to 5 negative strips at one time; Quiet

  Weaknesses: Scan of negatives coloration effected by how many negatives being scanned at one time

  Overall: I bought this scanner to replace an old HP professional model. I'm using it to scan photos and 35mm negative strips. The scanner comes bundled with a variety of software. I'm simply using the CanoScan Toolbox to scan. Using that software (and perhaps the others) you can scan multiple photos or negative at one time and it automatically splits the photos into separate files. I've been able to scan many negatives in a short amount of time. The scanner comes with a holder that holds five 35mm negative strips (other holders are for different size negative strips and slides). You place the negatives in and select the settings. I chose 300dpi with low dust removal. It will do 5 strips in about 35 minutes. You simply set it up and go do something else while it scans. The software is not a resource hog--you can still use your computer for other things while scanning without a noticable slowdown. One problem I did notice is that if you're not scanning all five negatives, the color is wrong on the scans. Canon recommends placing a black piece of paper over the sections not being used--this works great but seems a silly solution. This scanner is quiet and a real pleasure to use. The resulting scans are clear and colorful. The multiple images at one time makes it fast to use. It has lived up to all my expectations!

• Reviewed by: cbrooker

  Strengths: Excellent scan quality, fast scans, variety of film holders, easy to use, and generally well designed.

  Weaknesses: None found so far.

  Overall: This is my first scanner purchase, and I have been very pleased with it so far. The scans are of amazing quality, and the machine is very easy to use. The primary reason I bought this was so I could scan old pictures for a family tree. With the right color management settings, and using unsharp mask, old and faded pictures and negatives scan with great clarity and color.If you are in the market for a scanner, don't pass this one up!