Excellent product (Canon Canoscan N650U)

Member Name: Morgenhund

Product:	Canon Canoscan N650U
Date:	14/11/00 (341 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Light, cheap, easy to set up

Disadvantages: none

I picked up the latest Canon Scanner for a mere ATS1690 (ca GBP75) and have been very impressed by its capabilities. Surprisingly, even though it offers better quality scanning (42 bit vs 36 bit) than the N630U it is still cheaper that its predecessor over here (only by 10 pounds!).

This scanner is excellent, not least because as a USB device, it can be used on Macs or PCs. However you do need a newish operating system to operate the scanner (in order to support the USB port), namely Mac OS 8.5 or later on Win 98.

The installation was a synch, as it is a Plug and Play USB scanner, and as a result doesn't require a power supply either. This helps to ease the general cabling mess that seems to happen otherwise.

The drivers were very easy to install, and for someone starting out with a computer, the bundled software offers an easy way of getting started. The Scanner is bundled with Canon's Scangear Toolbox, Photostudio 2000 and Photobase, Caere Omnipage Pro (OCR software) as well as Acrobat Reader 4.0. There are electronic manuals which offer instant help and the installation booklet is easy to use and you can be up and running in a matter of minutes.

The start button on the front of the scanner, can be configured to allow near "one-touch scanning" so that it automatically launches your graphics package. I have found it to run seamlessly with Photoshop 6.0 and have been impressed with the results that I had gained from it. The scanning interface is easy to use, and allows you to get what you want quickly, and there are a wide number of options, as well as further possibilities to customise settings.

The results are very good indeed, and the A4 preview mode takes a mere 15 seconds, and the scanner is quick. The start button on the front can be configured to open up your existing graphics package, and if you are scanning from books, the lid accomodates even quite hefty books.

The scanner is also
very small, being only just bigger than A4, and only 1 1/2 inches deep. Instead of the conventional scanner lamp, the scanner has a an array of LEDs which also help to keep the power consumption to a minimum. For a home scanner I would say that although you can pick up products for cheaper, the 75 pounds you spend on this scanner is definitely money well spent.

Summary: