CanonCanoScan LiDE 600F scanner (0302B002)

The CanoScan 600F is an incredibly sleek, thin and lightweight scanner. It's also quiet and can be used vertically. Another plus is that it requires no power cord. One simple USB cable provides both power and data transfer. It also has some remarkable automatic tools to restore faded photos. It can also remove dust and scratches by using a separate infrared scan. Pretty cool!Unfortunately, you have to use Canon's miserable software to access these features. And if you are a Mac user who is used to sleek, good looking interfaces, be prepared for a fright! Canon installs this terrible third rate Photoshop knockoff that forces you to scan within the program. (It, of course, isn't Universal Binary) The interface is what I'd expect from some shareware Windows 95 program, not one of the top global imaging companies.You can avoid this monstrosity by using Mac OS X's Image Capture or the VueScan, but then you can't use the image restoration features. Additionally, I never got the function buttons on the scanner to work. It appears the minimal amount of work went into making this work on a Mac, which is very disappointing.

I have been loyal to HP for printers, and had an HP scanner (5500 series) that got a LOT of use. When it died, I was disappointed that I couldn't find anything on HP's site to try to fix it, so I decided to try another brand. I already have a small portable Canon for my (Apple)laptop, so I thought I would give their larger scanner a try with my desktop PC. I'm more than happy with it. It has about the same footprint as the HP, and the footprint COULD be reduced by standing on edge, as designed, but I'm leaving mine flat. My wife even remarked how much smaller it seems (closed, it's less than two inches high, compared to at least 4 inches for the HP). This Canon is much quieter than the HP was, scans at about the same speed, and allows me change settings more easily than I could with the HP. This is not intended as a slam against HP, which offers high-quality products. I just think that, for me, this scanner is better suited to my needs (scanning photos and postcards, with occasional full-page documents). I looked around, and found Amazon's price to be the lowest, and the free shipping cinched it. The product arrived just a couple of days after I ordered it. It was up and running within about twenty minutes of unpacking.

The scanner itself is ok. When I scan pictures and go to use the photoshop associated with it, the scanner constantly is making me "end task", so I can start scanning again. I cannot x out of the program. I either have to shut the computer down and restart, or end task. I just had to do it after 58 picture scans. I would never buy this product again. I'm going to try and return it because it is faulty. I should not have to restart this program consistently. I don't know if its the software or the scanner itself. Also, every single picture I have to photoshop. They don't scan directly the same, there is always some sort of adjustment. I made the mistake of waiting 3 months to start using it, so not sure I can still get a different one.

The CanoScan LiDE 600F worked great for about a month, then the mechanism began to jerk and blur the image. Amazon replaced it, and the new one failed in about a month, with the mechanism frozen in the park position. Now I had to deal with Canon tech support. (and yes, for the idiots at Canan Tech Support, the shipping lock was unlocked.) The third unit arrived DOA.What happened? Canon used to be a name you could trust

So far, I'm pretty pleased with this CanoScan LiDE 600F scanner. After my old Epson 1200U scanner died, I started researching scanners again. I was somewhat depressed when I noticed that most of scanners sold these days are huge. Luckily, this scanner counters that trend. It's got a nice, small footprint and, best of all, doesn't need a separate power connection. Plus, Canon's web site has Vista drivers (as of this writing, version 12.1.2, released June 2007). Since I'm using my own applications instead of what comes with the scanner, all I had to do was download those drivers, install them, then plug the scanner into a USB port. Everything works fine (not the buttons, I haven't set those up yet). Some observations:- I don't know why, maybe the scanner does some kind of automatic processing on the scans, but the scans I'm getting seem crisper and clearer (at the same resolution/color settings) than did those from my Epson.- The driver is very good at finding the area I want scanned and automatically cropping it. I haven't had to adjust the crop area yet. With the Epson, I always had to adjust it.- The speed is pretty much a draw. The physical scan (movement of the scanning bar up and down the platen) takes slighly more time than the Epson, but the transfer of control and data back to my calling program is faster.- The sound isn't loud, but it has a rougher tone to it than the Epson.- The only real negative I can find directly attributed to the scanner is the magnetic "latch" on the cover. In theory, it seems like a good way to keep the cover closed (especially when the scanner is in its space-saving, upright mode). But, in practice, the magnets just make it hard to open the lid. If there were more of a lip available for grabbing the lid, it might not be as bothersome. But, as is, I wish I could remove those magnets.I do have one other problem with the scanner. But, I'm not sure if it's caused by my scanning software (Acrobat 7.0.9) or by the driver. Every time I tell Acrobat to go to the scanner and get a document, the scanner defaults back to Black & White mode. No matter what I do, I can't get it to stick across sessions in Grayscale mode. I'm going to have to try installing Canon's Vista Toolbox software and set up the buttons. Maybe I'll be able to do Grayscale scans from one of them. But, I'd much prefer working from within my application and calling the scanner instead of working within the scanner and calling the application.Ignoring the difficulty I'm having with default settings (since that could be my fault), I rate this scanner at a Very Good four stars out of five. If I could get rid of those lid magnets, it would probably be very close to a five star scanner.