Canon CanoScan LiDE 700F

Product Survey: Scanners

The Canon LiDe700F is a Contact Image Sensor (CIS) scanner that's a lot flatter than average, a whole centimetre thinner than the Epson Perfection V30. Its major strong point: it can scan both printed photos and your original negatives for a low price. An entry-level option, the 700F is powered by the USB connection with your computer. Photos can be scanned at up to 4800 dpi, while negatives reach 9600 dpi. A series of buttons allow you to scan directly to an e-mail or a PDF ... The scanner uses very little power while it's working: just 3 W. In standby mode, it requires almost no power--nothing power than a few mW. One practical feature is that the 700F can be operated in a lot of different positions. It can lie flat on your desk, of course, but also vertically to save space. A preview scan of a document only takes 10 seconds, which is fast. Scanning a 4 x 6'' colour photo at 300 dpi is also fast at just over 5 seconds. However, when you increase the resolution, the hardware begins to slow down. For instance, scanning a stamp at 2400 dpi takes almost a minute and a half, an operation that Epson's scanners can do it just 42 seconds.