Roundup: Scanners : Canon CanoScan LiDE 700F
2. Canon CanoScan LiDE 700F
Canon LiDE 700F vs. Pixma MP260
The Canon Pixma MP260 is our favorite multifunction inkjet printer of 2008/09. It's 'multifunction' because it includes a scanner, and the whole thing--printer, scanner and copier--costs the same as the LiDE 700F.
For basic scanning, the MP260 definitely has the advantage. Images are a little easier on the eye, with more contrast and more sharpness. It's worth being careful, though, as it does have less accurate colors. To try and achieve a more attractive result, the scanner in the MP260 alters all of the colors just a little and produces discrepancies that are worse than those on the 700F. It's nothing terrible, though, and at the end of the day, both scanners are equal on this front. This verdict poses a few problems for the 700F, though, given that it has far fewer features than its all-in-one rival but costs the same.
The 700F does have a few tricks up its sleeve:
- size: if you don't need a printer, why use more space than is needed for this ultra-flat scanner?
- negative scanning: it doesn't claim to meet the needs of professional photographers who have a whole archive to digitise, but it does allow you to scan in old negatives to view on your computer or print out again.
- automatic removal of dust and scratching
- shortcut buttons to allow you to scan a page and immediately e-mail it.
- CanoScan LiDE 700F...
The Canon LiDe700F is a Contact Image Sensor (CIS) scanner that's a lot flatter than average, a whole centimeter 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 more 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.
Speed
A preview scan of a document only takes 10 seconds, which is fast. Scanning a 4 x 6'' color 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.
The scanner's other main feature is that it can digitize negatives, which is easy to do and very clearly explained in the manual. Scanning a film at 1200 dpi takes just under 31 seconds. However, when it comes to scanning at 9600 dpi, the scanner's maximum resolution, you can expect to wait almost 12 minutes 45 seconds, which is far too long.
Quality
| Original | Scanner |
96 dpi What to look out for: Orange tones that are hard to reproduce, details in the hair, skin tones. | 96 dpi Overall, the results are pleasing. But the colors aren't quite right: it's too red/orange. Some dark areas are too light also. |
300 dpi What to look out for: Details in the hair, skin tones. | 300 dpi Some details are missing. The face is bright, but doesn't have much contrast. |
600 dpi What to look out for: You should be able to see eyelashes and eyebrows. | 600 dpi There is a lot of detail missing and the whole thing is quite blurry. |
The scanner includes a sharpness mode, which is activated by default, but it's a little too powerful. It makes the image too sharp by accentuating individual strokes too much. The effect might be attractive to some people who find the result cleaner and sharper.
| Without sharpness mode | With sharpness mode |
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After our 'real photo' tests, we moved on to try our test cards. They confirmed once and for all the discrepancies we had already found, which were most troubling for reds and caused greys to be too light.
On the top row is the image produced by the 700F; below are the ideal colors from the test card.
Looking at the different errors, it's clear that the color problems are mainly found with yellows, reds, greys and blacks. The average discrepancy is around 6.2%. These results confirm what we had already been able to see: the problems with yellows and reds explain the reddy-orange tint to the test scans we made. Similarly, the grey is visibly wrong on our color test card, where the black is noticeably washed-out.| Original | Scanner |
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When scanning films, the quality is reasonable, but once again, the colors are a little washed out and lack contrast. The lack of a strong, deep black is noticeable. Any photos you can scan from negatives will be benefit from a little retouching. Nevertheless, the photo is entirely usable and can be printed with general satisfaction. It's difficult to expect more at this price!
| Canon CanoScan LiDE 700F | |
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| Pros | Cons |
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It's small, can even be used standing up and it can scan your negatives, not just your photos. There's a lot going for the LiDE 700F, even if it the color problems we found mean that a little retouching will need to be done before you commit to paper.
When will we get the reviews of the pro scanners?
well thats kinda crap you say one of the entry level does better than the pro's, but then you dont mention which one. Is it not in this part of the review? And if not why?
We wanted to test a second unit of this pro scanner. We've done it yet. Same results. It's the Epson V500 Photo.
Butaze - I'll assume above you meant "We HAVEN'T done it yet"? I'm interested to see how these scanners match up against the higher-end photoscanners... I've had the top-model Canoscan (not the entry 700f you review) that I've been pretty happy with though it's getting older and probably due for a refresh.