Canon CanoScan LiDE 30 Scanner

Looking for an easy-to-use scanner that offers high-resolution scanning and all the latest features? The CanoScan LiDE 30 USB Flatbed Scanner has it covered. Just over an inch high, it has all the features you need to scan images, copy documents or e-mail your favorite photos. Quality is outstanding with up to 1200 x 2400 dpi resolution and up to 48-bit depth that delivers stunning color reproduction with more than 281 trillion possible colors. All at the touch of a button. To scan, place the photo on the platen and push the "scan" button - that's it. "Copy" and "e-mail" functions are just as simple. Operation is made even easier with just one cable for power and USB - no extra AC adapter needed. The LiDE 30 scanner even removes much of the minute dust and scratches on photos automatically with built-in QARE 2.0 (Quality Automatic Retouching and Enhancement) technology.Scan multiple photos at once with the push of a button. "Multi-Scan mode" is automatically activated and scans all the pictures in a single pass, preparing a separate image file for each. It will even adjust any slightly misaligned photos. Scanning multi-pages into a PDF file is just as easy. Innovative software even allows you to save your images directly to CDs as easily as scan, click and burn. The LiDE 30 scanner is small but can tackle big jobs. The exclusive Z-Lid expansion top lifts high and stays flat for scanning books and magazines. Most other scanner covers lift only at an angle, often resulting in poor scans.

1 Good scanner, dubious quality
I had a UMAX SCSI scanner that was a workhorse from 1997 through 2002. I got a LiDE 30 about a year and a half ago, and it has developed a short in the USB port, which causes it to be uncommunicative with the computer unless you hold the cable in the socket JUST right. I am unimpressed with the durability of this scanner. It scans SLOOOOOOOW compared to the SCSI or USB 2 scanners on the market.

I would only recommend this for light use home users that do not have any need to move peripherals around, plug and unplug the device, and are amenable to slow scanning speeds.

2 I love this scanner. It's just simple, plain and simple
As noted in one of the reviews. The software is in great, but the fact it is powered by USB is one less chord to worry about. I recommend it to anyone interested in a cheap portable scanner. You'll fall in love with it. Again, don't expect too much and we pleasantly surprised.

One thing I love the auto crop feature when I scan a photo it crops it in the final image. Instead of having a big white area where there was no photograph. It is cool.

Peace out

3 Dirt on inside platten!
This scanner can with dirt on the inside platten, so my scans are all grainy! Very poor quality control. Read the web, others have had this problem too. Stay away; you'll be sorry.

,

4 GREAT!!!
This is a GREAT scanner. Though on some settings it is somewhat slow. It does a great job of scanning.

5 Not XP friendly, produces scans that have artifacts
This scanner has a couple of pro's to its credit, but several serious flaws. On the pro side is its small form factor and its ability to obtain its power from the computer's USB port. Both of these were very nice inded. Unfortunately, the down side by far outweighed these factors. Running an XP system, I found (in fact, was told in the documentation) that I could either install the standard driver, which would give me access to operation from the front panel buttons as well as the enclosed software, or I could use the driver for XP and lose all of this functionality. I wasn't told I was getting a compromised item if using XP, so this seemed like an unfair trade off to me. In any case, having installed the "standard" driver first, while it's true that I had access to the buttons and the software, the pictures were skewed to the red end of the spectrum. Not a little, but a lot. They were aweful renditions, not realistic looking at all. I uninstalled the standard driver, and installed the XP driver. As promised, neither the buttons nor the software now worked, and I had to rely on my own third party application to acquire images. Happily, the skewing of color to red was no longer a problem. However, in the case of BOTH drivers, many of the scans had unwanted artifacts, mostly in the form of small white dots scattered throughout the image. On one scan, there was a large white artifact that looked like a scar on the face of the picture's subject. Although I might have been able to live with the lack of software using the XP software, I couldn't accept scans filled with artifacts...back it went to Amazon. I was surprised at the lack of quality here...I had come to expect quality from the Canon name. I was also disappointed to lose the two good features, size and power from USB, but I will not make archival scans of old pictures I want to keep "forever" that are filled with artifacts. I plan to look for a different scanner.

6 Excellent scanner and great software package
I bought this scanner to replace a Visioneer Paperport 3100 that I had for several years. I was not prepared for the change in capabilities the new scanner brought to the table. It does incredibly well with photos or OCR, and the OCR software being full-featured instead of "lite" only reinforces this. I had to OCR a 10-page document and it took me longer to swap pages than it did to correct and finalize the scanned version. A great value. I recommended it to my parents to go with their new Dell 2400-First computer, first scanner. Now all I need is to be at their house for when they forget what does what. The front action buttons solved 99% of that for me...

7 LIGHTEST, SLEEKEST, MOST EFFICIENT SCANNERS ON THE MARKET
Get Lide 80 if you need a really top-of-the-line scanner without buying a mountain of machinery, but even with the throw-away deal on Lide 30, you'll do just fine for home scanning needs.

Don't let the compact design fool you, Canon's Lide series blows the competition out of the water with its crisp, swift scans. It connects through a USB 2.0 connector, so you don't need an AC adapter etc, in English, this means no additional guzzling of electricity. The bundled software (ScanGear toolbox) installs easily and you can be scanning in no more than 10 minutes.

If you're looking for something equally excellent in quality but with a slightly lower price point, and don't mind somewhat healthier body, try Epson Perfection 1670, but otherwise Canon Lide series is among the best your money can buy.

8 Compact Good Scanner - Software is Crap
Compact with decent photo reproductions but the driver software
and packaged software are crap. You can always use your own photo editing
software to acquire the image from the scanner.
The only other drawback besides the software is that the scanner
can not reproduce metallic, foil, or chrome in images. Gold & chrome
actually comes out with a heavy PINK tint. Not a problem for the average
photo enthusiasts, but this is why I had to return this scanner for an HP scanner. The HP scanners have no problem reproducing gold or chome in images.

9 info for mac users
This is not a full review because I haven't had the machine long and don't have any other scanner experience. But I wanted to comment on previous reviews that state this machine won't work with OS X unless you have Photoshop 7. Well, they are partially right. You can use the Canon software through Classic Mode.

Or if you only need just the basics like I do, you have another option. Just use the Canon Toolbox program (included) and set it to scan to either your Image Capture program (comes on your Mac) or Kodak's Easy Share (a free download). You can't use the normal Image Capture features, but you will get an image in whatever folder you set up. I like to use Kodak Easy Share so that I can immediately upload to Ofoto and do very basic editing there. Perhaps you can set it right to iPhoto, but I didn't try. This won't work for people who like more editing features and don't own Photoshop 7, but it might be all a novice needs.

10 Great and Easy Scanner to use.
This is one of the best scanner for the price available in the market. Extremely easy to use. The resolution is not the maximum in the market but produces great scans for the resolution. I have owned it for about 1 and half years now and have not encountered any problem. The software could be better, but the bundled software does provide all the basic features needed from a photo scanning software. It is powered from the USB port meaning you dont another power chord which is a big plus. The design is so sleek and tiny. It makes it look great..
Overall, a great product to buy at the price at which it is available now..

11 Poor color rendering
There are a few things that make me eat shipping costs and return it:
* The biggest problems is poor color rendering. Everything is (signigicantly) shifted towards red-yellow. My old $10-after-rebate scanned performed so much better. Please note same complaint in other reviews.
* Any slight bends in the scanned item result in lots of color distortion in this area in the scan. Must be due to use of LED technology.
* Once it overdrawn power so Windows had to temporarily shutdown the USB port. It's great it doesn't need the power cord - only if technology was more refined.
* Drivers - there are two, one can be used with in-the-box software, and one with Windows scanning software. Here is the kicker - you'll have to choose one of the two, both cannot be installed at the same time.
* As many have noted it's slow an anything above standard 150dpi (this is not a USB 2.0 device, the scanner description is a bit deceptive, not everyone knows that USB 2.0 "full speed" = USB 1.1 speed)

12 Excellent Scanner
I recently purchased this scanner and very satisfied with its performance.I did not have any problem with installation on my Windows XP pro. I just followed the instructions.

13 Easy Install and Use
Installed and used with minimal directions. Is my first scanner purchase and is working perfect for personal use. Reccommend for first time user. Using for photos and documents, who needs a copy machine.

14 The Rube Goldberg of driver installations on OS X
This is hands down the worst user experience for software and driver installation under OS X. I don't think Canon has actually used a Macintosh. The driver installation stuffit archive expands into an installation application. Launching that produces yet ANOTHER installation application. Somewhere in the process, one of these installation applications launches Internet Explorer (despite it not being my default browser) and displays a bunch of screenshots on how to complete the install. Its all very confusing and Rube Goldberg like. It took me 4 tries to get this thing installed.

I also notice that the software uses a fair amount of CPU cycles while idle.

I would recommend you skip his product if you are using Mac OS X.

15 5 stars based on price/performance - 1 for drivers
this is a nice looking scanner.. was suprised at the fit and finish when I got it... in light of the price paid after rebate!

the drivers it says are ScanGear (an all in one type driver) OR a WinXP mini driver WIA driver... the WIA driver isnt even listed on their download website for the LIDE30. only the latest version of SCANGEAR. but when I installed Scangear and looked at driver version it was 2002 even though I got the latest off the website dated 04/2004.

When using the Scan Gear none of the nonpackaged software like Office recognized the scanner, even though Windows XP said it was working fine in the driver test button. and it showed up under Scanners and Cameras section. Installed the Toolbox software from website and it worked but still no go on other programs.

Uninstalled all the stuff and just installed WIA drivers, reboot and poof ... recognized in Office, with the WINXP scanner wizzard and other programs! just now no way to get the buttons to work... the Scanner driver has a button section but no way to add programs to link to them in the box below that for tieing the buttons to programs....

scan times avg but great considering USB 1.1 and no extra power supply... a few seconds (about 20) to scan a page in 300 dpi color

16 Amazing value for the money!
Even if you don't get the current rebate from Canon, this scanner is an amazing bargain.

Pros (besides the price):

The form factor is fantastic. It's small and light and saves desktop space, and is portable if you need that. And I really appreciate that it doesn't require a power adapter: one less cable and one less plug-in. It looks attractive (and goes very well with a PowerBook, by the way).

Great scans. I'm using Mac OS X and VueScan, a third party scanning software which works with a multitude of scanners, many times better than the manufacturer's software.

Acceptable speed. The speed isn't going to blow anyone away, but it certainly wasn't painfully slow, especially at 300 dpi, which is all I generally need. (Primarily digital presentations, web work, and the occasional old photograph.)

I'm using it to replace a very expensive, but several years old HP ScanJet. The ScanJet is just taking up too much space, and is overkill for what I really need.

Cons:
Materials to be scanned must sit flush against the glass, so it isn't designed to scan 3 D objects, if you need that capability.

17 Not a Good Scanner
I bought this scanner back in December 2002 on the recommendation of a family friend. I do NOT like the scanner and am replacing it with a better product. The problem with the scans are the colors... too much red. My recommendation: Don't waste your money on this if you want quality scans.

18 Less than it appears
Despite claims that this is a USB 2.0 product, it isn't. This is USB 2.0 Full-speed, the poor cousin of the USB 2.0 standard. USB 2.0 Full-speed is only 12MBs, the same as USB 1.1. Buy only a scanner that is USB 2.0 High Speed. And send a message to Canon by buying from a vendor that doesn't try to con their customers.

19 Slow but excellent quality
I have not experienced any issues of banding as described in another review; rather, I've found the scanning to be of very good quality; it is very slow, so if you scan a lot of things this isn't for you. It's supremely handy that it's USB powered since it's only one cord and doesn't take up another outlet on my surge protector.

20 Disappointed
The LiDE 30 is not a great scanner. I am disappointed with the product. I would return it but Amazon doesn't pay for return shipping costs.

The design of the scanner is pretty good. It is slim and does not require a power cord. It has three specific autorun buttons on the scanner. However, it would be better to have only one button that opened the main menu. The scanner can be stood and used on its side. The scanner is slow, but fast enough for occcasional use. Legal size pages do not fit on the scanner. Tech support by phone is very good and accessible. Web based tech support is weak.

My main complaint is that the driver for Windows XP is very poor. It is not compatible with the Windows XP built-in scanner wizard. The scanner does not show up as a device in the "My Computer" menu. The driver does not work well with networked printers. The driver will not accept a networked printer as the default printer. Overall, the driver and software are clumsy.

21 Great scanner
(...) The scanner is great, however. It's takes up little space and is very thin and light. Using only the USB cable for both data transfer and for power lessens the clutter I already have at my station. Scanning is slow but I expected that. It actually scans faster than I thought it would after having read all the other reviews on how slow it was. The image quality is also great for a non-professional scanner. 1200 dpi is wayyyy more than an average user like I would ever need.

22 this is a usb1.0 scanner not 2.0!
According to Canon's web site, this scanner does not support usb 2.0. It is compatible with it but will not run at 2.0 speed. So having a 1.0 or 2.0 usb on your motherboard will not matter!

23 Runs Great OS X Panther
I was admittedly apprehensive about this unit, but got it based on favorable comments from those running Mac OS X. Setting up for OS X was a snap. But first go to the Canon website and download the most current (2oo3) software: ToolBox and the LIDE20-30 software. Follow the instructions. I am running Panther with Photoshop CS - I got to scanning within minutes. Perfectly fine for home, newsletter, newspaper and web design projects. Great if you have little work space. For a USB-1 powered unit, the speed is good enough. Make sure you have a working USB slot, I discovered I have a dead slot. I was very surprised with the scanning results. I'm very happy with this purchase and highly recommend it.

24 Good Value
I purchased the CanoScan Lide 30 scanner from Amazon about six months ago so I have enough usage history to have an opinion and I find it to be an adequate scanner for the price. The features I like best are the USB connectivity and the size. The USB cable also powers the scanner and reduces clutter by not having a separate 12volt transformer. The scanner is quite thin (a little more an inch) and compact and can be easily carried in a briefbag for those, as myself, that require portability. I have never used the small stand that allows the scanner to be positioned sideways. The optical resolution of 1200 dpi is generally adequate for me and I would guess would be the same for the average consumer user.

The color rendition is passable. The scanner speed is slow but I knew that when I purchased the unit. The most objectionable feature I have found is the scanner produces longitudinal alternating streaks of light and dark that are visible when a photo is zoomed to close range that gives an appearance that could be compared to corduroy fabric. Prior to using the CanoScan Lide 30, I used a HP v40xi, 4 in 1, printer, scanner, copier and fax and the streaks are not seen in these photos. I believe the streaks are probably caused by the LED light source and the LED technology is what allows the scanner to be so diminutive.

Since buying the scanner, I have become active in the restoration of old photographs with PhotoShop 7.0 and at times I wish for a higher end scanner and will probably buy another scanner down the road. Even if I owned a second, higher end scanner, I could still find times that I would use the CanoScan Lide 30 for it size and portability and I rate it as a good value for the price.

25 Not good for Mac OSX
This scanner seems like it would be a good value, but not for Mac OSX users. Mac OSX was an afterthought on this product -- you must download special OSX software from the Canon web site, you must also have Adobe Photoshop 7 and not even the newer version Adobe Photoshop CS, and even then, every time I tried to scan anything Mac classic had to launch. Those are just too many steps and too many restrictions in order to make it a nice experience for Mac OSX users. I recommend avoiding this product if you are a Mac OSX user.

26 My first scanner is great!
I purchased this through Amazon and the day it came I had it plugged in, software loaded smoothly with Windows XP and it walked me through the whole setup, no compatability issues, just plugged it into the USB in the front of the computer. Not like I've heard the old scanner stories where the scanner won't work when you have other hardware plugged in.
I got this mainly to e-mail scanned forms and text and it works fine just on its own and easily with zip files, you can e-mail in several different formats and the tutorial that comes in the software tells you everything you need to know to scan everything! The quality of the scans is great. My HP Officejet 5110 all-in-one, the text recognition software never worked to read forms or text. All-in-all I am quite happy with this product and would recommend it highly.

27 cheap and pretty easy but you get what you are paying for
this scanner is good and bad. it's cheap and it is USB powered. nice. super easy to set up and imports very quickly with photoshop. black and white images are okay. i am having problems with the color scans. they are to saturated. i have spent hours trying everything. importing through its own software, through photoshop, they just are not that great. also, works with MAC OS X but only through photoshop. its own software works in X, but then only opens images in classic. strange.
for the price, it gets the job done. don't expect anything amazing out of it. it is a low priced portable scanner.

28 Best Bargain for Home!
Last year, after extensive research, I purchased an Epson Perfection 2400 (Photo scanner) for my brother and was dead set on buying one for myself. At that time, there was no other scanner that had its quality and features at a bargain price.

Well, I finally decided to buy a scanner and surprise, surprise...it's the Canon FIDE 30.

Here's four reasons why:

Quality of scan: I think the quality of scan should always be the primary factor in evaluating a scanner. This scanner produces scans equal to those of first-rate "professional" grade scanners like the Minolta Powerlook III (which I have at work). The scanner goes up to 1200 X 2400 dpi resolution and the results are stunning.

Price: $70 (about $120 less than the Epson Perfection)

Design: The small form-factor metallic body casing is durable and eye-catching. The small footprint is ideal for notebook users who like portability. Power is supplied through the USB connection so you have one less cord to worry about. The three buttons on the scanner for scan, copy, and email functions are a nice bonus (but not really needed).

Software: The Canon scan control software is simple and intuitive. The OCR text recognition is excellent.

Now for a scanner at this price, I shouldn't be nit-picking but I will anyways for those who need to find faults in a product:

1. The scan speed as other reviewers mentioned is relatively slow. So if you plan on scanning a large number of photos or documents in one sitting, it could get a little frustrating. But if you want quality WITH speed you really should be looking to a "professional" grade scanner (and get ready to spend some bucks). Even then, the speed difference would be seconds and not minutes.

2. The small footprint is great for portibility but for some people it may make the scanner seem flimsy because it is so thin and light.

3. XP users: DO NOT install the software on the cd that comes with the scanner. Go to the website and download the updated versions.

Well that about sums it up. To get a scanner like this for $70 is an outright steal.

29 Great for Travel
I bought the LiDE 30 for use with my laptop when traveling. No power cord is a plus. It's slim enough to fit in the extra compartment of the computer bag right beside the laptop (and because it's lightweight, it doesn't load up the bag). It has a locking device for the moving parts inside. If you forget and leave it locked while trying to use it, it doesn't break. It just tells you to unlock it. The kicker -- it makes better quality scans than my giant multifunction machine. I used it to get high-quality scans of photographs from 1910. After applying PhotoShop, the detail and clarity of the photos far surpassed what the photographer would ever have dreamed -- astounding!

30 GREAT HOME SCANNER
I PURCHASED THIS SCANNER AND AM VERY WELL SATISFIED WITH IT. I THINK THE MANUAL THAT COMES WITH IT COULD BE MORE HELPFUL. THERE ISN'T MUCH ON THE OPERATION OF THE SCANNER. THAT ASIDE IT DOES THE JOB IT WAS INTENDED TO DO AT A VERY RESONABLE PRICE

31 O.K. Scanner & Software; better than I expected
I purchased this scanner specifically for the task of digitizing a box of old, disintergrating/fading old family photos, almost all being Black&White. I tried a few photos at a local copy place, but the $18 per hour (plus $10 CD burning fee) quickly convinced me that I could purchase a scanner for a lot less than what it would cost to scan the photos on an hourly fee basis.
With a few dozen exceptions, this scanner was able to satisfactorily scan my old photos. Even though this scanner has a number of limitations, I gave the scanner the top rating because it did perform as described/intended and is a good value for the dollar. I would buy this unit again. The ease of hardware and software installation was a pleasant surprise, and are easy to use. Even the included OCR software suprised me with the quality and accuracy of the resulting Word or PDF documents; it even could, with a little tweaking, scan and convert tabular information. (This is an added, unexpected benefit, as I have a 200+ page document, mostly tables, that I have always intended to convert to PDF format but postponed the task due to the emense retyping involved.)
I have always disliked the "Stars" and "Best Buy" rating systems as I have been 'bitten' several times when I bought some highly rated products. No product is perfect; all have things that it can do well, and some things it can't do well (or at all). If you are unfortunate enough to buy a top rated product that can't do the one thing that you need it to do, top rated or not, you have wasted your money. [It is interesting to note that many 'impartial reviews' tend to rave about a product's good points and 'gloss over' deficiencies.]
So, you should be aware of what this scanner could NOT do for me:
.It does not scan transparencies (I had one 4 X 6)
.It has a VERY limited depth of focus: things not in intimate contact with the scan plate WILL be out of focus (a dozen or so photos mounted on stiff, warped backings could not be satisfactorily scanned, even with a phone book on the scanner cover)
.The scan plate is recessed making scans of oversized items impossible: the item is not in contact with the glass and thus out of focus (I had a couple of oversized photos and a few 8 X 10 photos permanently mounted on an oversized backing/frame that could not be scanned satisfactorily)
Also, the unit is a bit 'flimsy' (dropped my mechanical pencil on the cover and it left a 'door dingy') and the cover not heavy enough to flatten the folds even in standard paper to maintain full scan plate contact without assistance (phonebook).

32 Problems with the newer ones?
Bought one 6 months ago and love it. Got another one for my sister but the background scan had a green tint to it plus it made a scratchy sound when scanning. Return it for another one, this time the scan image had a green tint to it. Both were brand new at the store so I can't figure out what the problem was?

33 Love it!
I bought this recently and am very happy. Its small, quiet and works exactly as described.

Absolutely no problems setting it up in Windows XP - took just a few minutes.

It only has one cable - USB - that provides connectivity to the PC AND power to the scanner! Very convenient and keeps me from adding yet another cable to the tangled mess behind my computer desk!

34 The LiDE 30 or LiDE 50? - Depends on your USB Capability
I read the great reviews here (and elsewhere) on the LiDE 30, prompting me to buy the newer, faster 50. I have USB 2.0 ports and wanted the better performance ? and wasn't disappointed! The 50 can scan a full 8.5x11 color image in less than 30 seconds at 300dpi, including several seconds for the scan mechanism to reposition itself afterward. The optional "preview" was so fast it wasn't worth timing. My guess is 5 seconds or so for the above preview.

I won't rehash all the nice features of this scanner since many of you have read the LiDE 30 reviews. It seems to be an LiDE 30 with impressive USB 2.0 Hi-Speed performance added. It's also capable of generating 48bit color output and 16bit monochrome output, whereas the liDE 30 is half that, not that this is really important. 24bit is 16 million colors and 281 trillion colors is something I don't relate to.

Aside from speed, I was pleased with the space saving design and attractive "stainless steel" appearance. The scanner bed has sufficiently high edges to allow me to easily position a sheet of paper in proper alignment, without it trying to climb over the edge. A lot of human engineering went into this product!

Windows XP really loves this machine. The software installed without the slightest hiccup. This scanner is as hot-pluggable as any device could be. XP recognizes its presence and absence immediately. Even though the LiDE series requires no power source other than from the USB port (boy do I enjoy the absence of another power brick!), I prefer to remove power from the scanner when it's not in use and it's a snap to pull the cable from the front USB port. (If you're curious, the LiDE requires 498mA against the standard USB output of 500mA. Probably 10% or less of the current draw of CCD technology scanners.)

The package comes with some impressive looking software but all I wanted to do was scan images from PaintShop Pro and Adobe Acrobat and enjoy convenience copying. There is appx. 500MB of software if you load everything but I only installed the XP Driver and the CanoScan Toolbox. I did this not because I didn't want the other software, but really to see if the scanner would be fully functional without it (including the 4 "one-touch" buttons).

I was glad to discover that the CanoScan Toolbox has everything that's required to Copy, Scan to a program (PaintShop Pro?), Scan to email, and Scan to a file (including a PDF file). You may like some of the other programs they offer if you want to try your hand at OCR, manage photo albums, and similar tasks. I did install the Adobe Photoshop Essentials 2.0 because I respect Adobe software and wanted to see what this entry level image editing program can do. Not counting the 95MB for Photo Essentials, the driver and Toolbox took only around 30MB or less out of the potential 500MB.

The CanoScan Toolbox is very functional, impressive software. It allows you to setup 7 discrete type of scans with their unique resolutions, scan method (color, grayscale, etc.), paper size, your printer, specify your pet image editing program, etc. Then, you can associate your choice of 4 of these 7 functions with any of the 4 physical buttons at the front of the scanner. Canon has preset reasonable defaults.

There are a couple negatives to be aware of. CIS technology, as has been reported by some LiDE 30 users, is sensitive to the item scanned hugging the glass. This is quite true and even a thin pamphlet will produce a distorted scan, especially at page edges and corners where there's curl. The solution is to press the lid down to flatten the page against the glass. Consider this if you do a lot of scanning from magazines and books.

Another negative is my mild disappointment with the automated scan functions and single button functions --- a bit overrated in my opinion. Scanning to a program or file creates a JPG file first and then saves it and/or gives it to the image editing program. The quality of that JPEG was not to my satisfaction and I'd rather have the imaging program manage the scan and work with the raw scan data.

PDF files can be created automatically but may be a bit bloated and can have a grayish background. This can be improved considerably by choosing "Text Enhancement" or "Black and White" as the scanning mode. If you want to create an occasional PDF file, the Toolbox can do it for you rather easily.

The scanner appears to be durable. I scanned 120 8.5x11 color glossies over a 2 day period and it didn't breathe hard or make any strange sounds. It's also pretty quiet, in my view, although a few have complained it was loud. It could easily be used in a home office environment while you're talking on the phone.

Today I called Canon's technical support to ask some "how-to" questions. It was not toll-free but I got through very quickly and the technician was extremely courteous, knowledgeable, and generous of his time. After one year, they will continue to help but at only $10 an incident. Very good first impression here!

I hope you learned something about the LiDE 50 and its software and technology from this review. If you're on the fence between Canon and another vendor, you'd likely be happy with the LiDE series. If you're on the fence between the LiDE 30 and 50, you'd save $$$ and probably be just as happy with the 30 if you don't have USB 2.0 capability or plan to install a PCI USB 2.0 adapter. (Canon explicitly supports a wide array of Adaptec adapters.)

Good luck with your decision and enjoy the Canon experience if you take the plunge.

35 faulty buttons
My buttons also do not work. Reinstallation did not help. I returned my scanner and got a new one. The buttons still don't work. Has anyone figured out what the problem might be?

36 Thin but noisy
This is a sleek scanner that performs well overall. No adapter needed for power in most computers including mine which is a Toshiba Satellite laptop. You can have it to stand on its side as well. On the other hand, it is more noisy compared to other scanners, so if you really want to get it, try to see it in action first. The noise is not that disturbing but definitely noticable.
The three buttons that come on the scanner do not work at all and other users have had this complaint so there is a good chance yours won't be working if you purchase it!

I would recommend this product esp. at the price Amazon is offering but if you don't like noisy and screechy scanners, you would be better off with another one.

37 compact scanner at a great price!
no problems with installation. scanned images from many different sources for a number of powerpoint presentations - images looked great. highly recommended

38 Excellent--for the price.
I've been using this scanner with Mac OSX (native) for a few months, and I'm very pleased with the performance. When I first plugged it in and installed the enclosed software, it wanted to run in classic mode. After I downloaded some driver updates from the canon USA website and adjusted some of the settings (all very easy), it worked flawlessly in native mode. Beware, however, that Photoshop 7 is required. You can't beat the quality of the scans for the price. Sure, it can be faster, but for average home use, it's just fine.

39 Value for money!
This is my first scanner and I'm impressed with the features and the output. Its not as fast as I thought it would be but looking at the value for money, what the heck a few more seconds don't matter!

40 I love it!
It's so great. So compact,and looks sharp.It's easy to install and use.And the price is good.

41 Good picture quality, but very noisey
This scanner has a high picture quality for a very low price. It scans photos with very high resolution and comes with some pretty good software that is easy to use. However, the scanner makes horrible high pitched noises while scanning that take some getting used to.

Overall, the Canon LIDE 30 scanner is a good buy and I would recommend it to anyone who likes scanning things.

42 Sleek, silent and fast...
Probably the most affordable of the lot for resolution and the clarity of the scans.

The Z-Top lid make is convenient with fat books that need to be scanned and there is enough room to scan 4 or more 6' prints at a time.

The software packages for OCR and PDF conversion are pretty neat too.

43 Scanner is Great is OS X!
Not much to say. It works. Even in Mac OS X.

I primarily use this scanner with Photoshop 7, and there are no problems with it. The scan are nice, sharp and crisp. You could do a lot worse than this scanner, especially at this price.

44 great product and software for a low price
I bought this scanner primarily for document scanning & OCR, and it would be hard to find a better value than the LiDE especially if this is your main interest. It comes bundled with Omnipage SE, an excellent OCR app (but with very limited file conversion capability), as well as decent photo editing software by Arcsoft. The 'toolbox' user interface software allows you to create PDFs from document scans, which is helpful since Omnipage SE doesn't do this. It takes about 20 seconds to scan a page, which is a bit long, but if you need to you can scan a whole book reasonably quickly. A great value for the price.

45 A wonderful scanner for a great price
My canon 1240u scanner fell on the floor & the glass broke. I replaced it with the virtually identical lide30. Awesome product/same product for an even cheaper price.

Nice software bundle, great size, just not ultra quiet (if that's important to you).

46 Very nice little scanner.
The Canon CanoScan LiDE 30 Scanner is a very nice little Scanner. I would recommend it to anyone.

I did quite a bit of research on scanners before purchasing. Including reading nearly all of the reviews here on Amazon. My old scanner is still working but I recently purchased a new computer and it came with Windows XP. From what I read, there were quite a few people who experienced problems with XP regarding compatability with certain brands of of scanners on the market. Especially the brand my old scanner is.

Canon CanoScan LiDE 30 Scanner installed like a breeze. Pay attention to the fact that the stickers on the scanner direct you to load the software first. This is important as XP will select drivers that are not quite correct, if you do.

The scans are slow on my computer but not all that slow. Besides, I'm not that important that I can't wait 30 seconds for a scan. The scan speed is not that important to me so I won't be messing with my computer's BIOS regarding USB 2.

The scans on the Canon CanoScan LiDE 30 Scanner are very good though. The bundled OCR software "OmniPage SE" is terrific. I have the full version OmniPage v10, and this comes real close to it in performance.

The CIS method of scanning requires that the page you are copying be abolutely flat against the glass. I did a couple from a magazine and the page sort of raised up a bit, resulting in a blur. Once I pressed the page flat to the glass, no problem.

I did not install the other bundled graphic software included with the Canon CanoScan LiDE 30 Scanner, because I have Photo Shop, Paint Shop Pro and Adobe Elements on my computer already. The bundled software is a good reprentation of graphic enhancement software, though.

This little scanner works. Buy it....

47 Great scanner!
The one cord is incredibly convenient, it's an attractive addition to your office, and it makes great high-quality scans. It's a little slow, so it's not for hardcore scanning, but it's definitely great for occasional use.

I love this thing. I'm looking around for things to scan. :P

48 Easy to Install...
Since switching from Windows 98 to 2000, things haven't been easy trying to get a scanner hooked up. This LiDE 30 was a breeze, worked the first time, no need to download useless drivers. It has a self-adjusting top for scanning thicker items, like a book; 3 easy to understand and use buttons; it's compact, which I really like. I have scanned my art work and some photographs, both are clear and of good quality. The software allows for plenty of options. This should satisfy most needs and then some.

49 Very Nice
I have put off buying a scanner for a long time. I saw the LiDE a few weeks ago in a store and thought the small size and USB connectivity were perfect for my work area. When I looked at Amazon and found a great price, I was sold. The Canon software and drivers installed without a problem and XP recognized the scanner immediately. It does a great job with pictures and integrates well with my imaging software (Ulead PhotoImpact). I use the included stand to keep it in a vertical position on my desk-and out of the way. So far, Canon has not let me down with any of their products--I love my S30 digital camera.

50 Very Nice
I have put off buying a scanner for a long time. I saw the LiDE a few weeks ago in a store and thought the small size and USB connectivity were perfect for my work area. When I looked at Amazon and found a great price, I was sold. The Canon software and drivers installed without a problem and XP recognized the scanner immediately. It does a great job with pictures and integrates well with my imaging software (Ulead PhotoImpact). I use the included stand to keep it in a vertical position on my desk-and out of the way. So far, Canon has not let me down with any of their products--I love my S30 digital camera.

51 very satisfied, but...
For most casual users, this is a great scanner. Some people complain about it being slow (note that USB 2.0 full speed (very similar to USB 1.1) is not the same as USB 2.0 hi-speed (much faster)), but if you're not doing heavy scanning, you really won't even notice. The scans are great, it's super-easy to use, and easy to customize the settings if you don't want the fully-automated set-up. And the installation was very simple and straightforward.

I also really like that it's USB powered (but be sure your USB provides enough power if you have a laptop - the scanner uses at most 2.5 watts), and so small, as I have limited storage and work space.

The only question I have about it is that it has a CIS scanning element, which means anything to be scanned must be in direct contact with the glass, as opposed to a CCD element, which can pick up things further from the glass. While most of the things I scan are flat and have very little texture, I occasionally want to scan in an original watercolor painting (done on cold-press paper, which has a bit of a texture to it), and am not able to get a clear scan due to the texture. I'm considering exchanging it for a scanner with a CCD for this reason, but haven't decided yet. Everything else works so well and the size is so attractive, that I may just make this sacrifice.

So, if you're only scanning flat things like documents, photos, and photocopies, this is a great, low-cost scanner. If you will regularly be scanning things with a fair amount of texture, or 3-dimensionality (including collage and scrapbook material, possibly), I'd recommend buying it locally (making sure you can return it if you're not happy), and trying it out first.

52 Overview
Inexpensive, but quite slow -- even on a fast machine (G4, OSX).
(I have an OLD epson scanner that is much faster.)

Maybe good for children, but does not satisfy professional expectations.
I expect hardware prices to go down, but do not expect performance to diminish. Overall, a disappointment -- considering Canon's capacity to do better.

53 Great Bang for the Buck
...The product itself worked as the manufacturer described it. Not a single problem occured during my installation (WinXP), and the included pieces of software more than covered all my scanning needs. The product lived up to its promise to EASILY scan and e-mail, edit, and convert the scanned image to word processing text.

It is extremely light and very easy to carry from location to location, and that was another great plus. It's ability to stand upright for those tight desk spaces is another feature I enjoy.

My only complaint (and I use that word lightly) is the noise the scanner makes when it scans. I've not been around many scanners, but the ones I've heard are quieter than this product. I'd say the sound level is comparable to an inkjet printer pulling paper from its paper tray.

Also, even after reinstalling the related software, the three buttons on the scanner don't work. I'm currently looking at the Canon website to see if I can get a more updated driver that would fix this problem. For now, I'm using the included software to do the scanning.

All-in-all, I highly recommend that you purchase this scanner if you're for a 'more bang for the buck' scanner and low on the budget. However, for those of you who are professional artist and/or photographers, you might want to consider looking at more flashy scanners for your requirements; this product wasn't exactly blazing when scanning full-blown colored graphics....Mine was also a brand new product too, not refurbished, used, or "like-new" either. Regardless, it's still worth the price for new scanner owners and/or practical/common use.

Highly recommended.

54 Low Price, Moderate Performance, misleading specs
This is by far the slowest scanner I've ever had (4 others were models from HP and UMAX).
Picture quality is very good.
I like the appearance and the small footprint on the desk.
"USB 2.0 full speed" specification is misleading; this unit operates at USB 1.1 speed, although it may be using USB 2.0 protocols.
Minimal "native" support for Mac OS X. Works in "classic" mode.

55 Good Scanner !
I bought it, because of Amazon ratings.
This is a nice, simple and light piece of equipment.
And for the price and features, I bought 2 more for the office.
Easy setup made this shop worth the investigation.
Only complain: I personally found it a little slow.
But everything else is just great.

56 Easy!
The directions are simple - installation is a breeze - and it's fast, quiet and great quality! Even better, the single USB cable also cuts clutter - no power cord! I love mine!

57 Very impressive for the money
I was a bit hesitant to buy this scanner given its low cost, but I find myself very happy that I did. It is very easy to install (just remember to follow instructions and install the software before connecting the scanner to your PC).

I've scanned about 50 photos and a dozen documents the past week, with very good results. Documents come out clean and crisp, and photos scan very accurately. What more can you ask for?

The only complaint is that it is slower than other scanners I've used. And more DPI scans are very slow. Given that I am only scanning a limited number of documents, that is not a big deal for me. I find the 3 buttons upfront very useful and easy to setup. The first button I use for scanning documents, the second for copying documents, and the third for copying photos.

Re: copying photos, I've had inconsistent results scanning multiple photos at once. In multi-scan mode, the software is supposed to automatically recognize and seperate multiple photos, yet I experienced inconsistent results. Not a biggie for me, and I remain very pleased.

This scanner is a great value for the money.

58 This was gift...
I bought this as a gift for my dad. He said set up was fine and was scanning in no time. He scanned in some photos to send to me which I then printed out using a i950 cannon photo printer and they looked fine.
Its quick and easy to use even for the non tech savy....my dad!

59 Very sleek, but laptop users beware!
I wanted a no frills, easy-to-use scanner. Even though I have never had good luck with Canon, I bought this one based on the recommendations others gave, especially on its compatibility with Windows XP. I had a LOT of problems getting it running. It turns out that the USB on my laptop does not send enough power to run the scanner. Neither the tech support of Canon or Compaq (my computer) helped, but my dad suggested buying a USB hub that has an AC plug. This worked, so if you have problems I recommend trying that. Otherwise, once it I got it running, it seems great. It's kind of slow, but does the job and takes up MINIMUM desk space.

60 USB2.0 = usb1.1
Please note, this product is "usb 2.0 full speed" which is NOT "usb 2.0 high speed" - it's actually what we all use to know as "usb1.1". Buyer beware - it's the manufacturer's way of misleading consumers. That being said, the previous reviews claiming better performance using true usb2.0 ports on a computer are not valid (for the bottleneck is always going to be the output of the scanner itself).

61 "Ditto"
I've been shopping around for a scanner with a reasonable price with quality results. I read all of the reviews on the CanonLIDE30 by others who purchased this scanner, and decided to take a chance. I'm glad that I did. If I were to comment on all the great features and the excellent results on scans produced by this scanner, I would just be repeating what so many others have already said. Great product!

62 Perfect for home use
The one thing that impressed me most about this scanner was the ease with which it interfaced with my hp printer. I just went through the normal install (on Windows XP) and every function that I've tried out on this scanner, including the function buttons on the front, worked with every peripheral I have on the first go. I was away from the tech scene for a few years while I was in the military, and I definitely don't remember any periphal being this easy to interface with other components of differing brands.
Other than that, the picture quality is great and the speed is just fine for one or two page scans. I got pictures to come out perfectly clear with up to 5x magnification. It might be good for higher magnifications, too, I just haven't tried them yet. Some people have complained about the speed, but if you want to scan a 50-page report, you need to take it to Kinko's instead of using a home flatbed. Or you could spring for a business-class scanner; remember, this one is only seventy bucks. It comes with some decent software, too; I'm looking forward to trying the OCR, where it turns scanned print into text that can be edited. Maybe that's a common feature nowadays, but it seems pretty cool to me. I did some shopping before I bought this thing, and it is definitely the best home-use scanner that I found.

63 Price, ease and quality
This was my first scanner purchase. I have used different scanners in the past and this one is easy to use and set up in no time! If you're looking for a low cost, quality scanner then this one is the one for you. I also enjoy the small size and the Z lid that is condusive to scanning things from large books. I hesitated and looked at other scanners but I kept coming back to this one for the price and functions I was looking for. This one is a big thumbs up!

64 Great Scanner Great Price
Scans are very good and fast compared to what I have experienced in the past. I won't cover the same things already covered many times before.

Not having to deal with another adapter to plug in is very worthwhile.
Being able to scan multiple photos at one time and have them created as separate files is fantastic. Really cuts down on the effort to scan in old photos
It is less than 1/4 the size of my old scanner and can store on its side (holder provided). It claims you can operate it in the holder(this doesn't appeal to me).

65 I like it!
1. Software installation was easy and straightforward.
2. Connecting the scanner to the computer was easy.
3. Full color preview took 20 seconds.
4. Full color scan took 60 seconds (file size was 18 MB).
5. The scanner is extremely light, and thin.

I just scanned a color photo I am really impressed with the scan quality. I highly recommend this scanner for any home user or general business user. Since I just hooked it up 15 minutes ago, I gave it 4 stars because I don't know how durable it is. For the [$] I paid I am extremely satisfied with the Canon LiDe 30. My other scanner is a SCSI UMAX 1260, which is a 3 pass color scanner, I bought in 1995 for [$].

* I have read reviews from users who said the scanner is extremely slow, and others who said it was fast (as it is on my computer). This difference is caused by the USB version (1.0 or 2.0) that is installed in your motherboard BIOS. To really appreciate this scanner, make sure your computer motherboard BIOS is running USB 2.0!

66 I like it!
1. Software installation was easy and straightforward.
2. Connecting the scanner to the computer was easy.
3. Full color preview took 20 seconds.
4. Full color scan took 60 seconds (file size was 18 MB).
5. The scanner is extremely light, and thin.

I just scanned a color photo I am really impressed with the scan quality. I highly recommend this scanner for any home user or general business user. Since I just hooked it up 15 minutes ago, I gave it 4 stars because I don't know how durable it is. For the [money] I paid I am extremely satisfied with the Canon LiDe 30. My other scanner is a SCSI UMAX 1260, which is a 3 pass color scanner...

67 I like it!
1. Software installation was easy and straightforward.
2. Connecting the scanner to the computer was easy.
3. Full color preview took 20 seconds.
4. Full color scan took 60 seconds (file size was 18 MB).
5. The scanner is extremely light, and thin.

I just scanned a color photo I am really impressed with the scan quality. I highly recommend this scanner for any home user or general business user. Since I just hooked it up 15 minutes ago, I gave it 4 stars because I don't know how durable it is. For the {money} I paid I am extremely satisfied with the Canon LiDe 30. My other scanner is a SCSI UMAX 1260, which is a 3 pass color scanner, I bought in 1995 for {a higher price}.

68 Excellent value
All around great scanner. It's super thin and small and because it's USB bus powered there's only one cable. Scan quality is quite good, though the scans could be a little faster...speed is only average compared to other scanners I've used in the price range. Drivers work fine with Mac OS X 10.2.

The thing I like best, though, is the LED illumination. No bulky flourescent lamp that has to turn on and off and can burn out. Very sweet.

69 very good product...
I haven't written more than 3-5 reviews in my life. But this one will be one of the few. Here it goes...

I've just got my lide-30 and installed it in 10 minutes. Works prefectly. Scan quality is overall very good, and multi & auto crop always works. Scanning is not slow at all as some reviewers mentioned.

Buy this product, you won't regret...

70 An excellent home scanner
This scanner is small, sleek and attractive. It comes with a stand that holds the scanner upright on its side, if one chooses to use it. Photo scans are vivid and accurate in color. It does not have a transparency adapter or a feeder. I installed the software in Windows XP and the USB scanner in a matter of minutes. It doesn't require an AC power cord. It is powered by the USB port on the computer. The software package includes OCR, and it does pretty well on both photos and documents. I have read other reviews stating that the scanner is noisey and slow but I have not had either of those problems. If your scanning needs are simple, this scanner is the best value on the market.
I highly recommend it.

71 Excellent product
Not much to say, just that I love this scanner. It has great resolution, great colors, and it takes so little space. I usually use it for scanning photos, and it works great.

72 good low-end scanner
This scanner is great for someone with limited desk space, and no real need for speed. I bought it for scanning comic book covers, and I've found that it takes about a minute to do that kind of scan. The quality is reasonable, but not outstanding.

Also, I'm not impressed by the bundled software. I'd recommend scanning into Paint Shop Pro instead, or even the freeware program IrfanView.

73 very good scanner
Easy to use and a good scanner for the price. Would buy it again.

74 Great, but not perfect!
I bought this scanner knowing full well that it was not the fastest on the market. However, the price, ease of operation,and picture quality make it a very desirable scanner for the money. I've owned a Canoscan N650U for about 2 years now and have had no problems. I have upgraded operating systems many times and they all seem to handle this series scanners without incident. I'm now running WinXP Pro with a XP2600+ processor and I must say I'm impressed. If you are looking for a compact scanner with good looks and great resolution at a affordable price then this is a great buy. The included software makes it easy for anyone to get quality scans with little practice and is very user friendly. Nice job Canon!

75 Good scanner at its price range
Note that it is NOT a 48-bit scanner but a 24-bit scanner. It is also NOT USB 2.0 High-Speed (480Mbps) but USB 2.0 Full-Speed (12Mbps, the same as USB 1.1). Scan quality is good for greyscale but just okay for photos. Good things about this scanner is that it is powered by USB bus power (500mA) and it can be installed vertically. However, there are other hassles with the scanner like one have to remove any existing TWAIN scanner driver, or the scanner will not work correctly (in my case, I have EPSON TWAIN scanner driver installed). You can check the spec. ...

76 OSX review ... it works, PICT files no good
I hooked this scanner up to a Pismo Powerbook running 10.2.3, right after downloading all the current drivers from the Canon website. Set up was very simple, although a tad lengthy, as there are two plug-in installations that need to take place in a specific order. The installations themselves were quick.

The scanner DOES run natively in OSX. It took me a few attempts to figure out the finer workings of "Canon Toolbox", the program which allows you to scan images from scanner to file. BE SURE TO CLICK "Use Scanner Driver..." button for the advanced settings. I was running into a problem where 1200 DPI images were scanning like absolute junk...grainy, small, and totally worthless. After a few frustrating attempts I realized that the file format was the issue. SCANNING TO PICT FILES IS USELESS, but change the file format to JPG and the images scan and save as one would expect. I'm wondering if other people's comments of this scanner being "too grainy" have to do with the default PICT file format.

The scanner feels a bit slower than my ol' UMAX, but that thing only scanned up to 300 DPI, so I would image the increase in resolution has to take more time. I really like the slim design...it's about 20% the size of my old scanner.

So far, I like it enough. I'll updated this review in a few months after I've had the chance to really put it to the test.

77 Easy and beautiful scans, but....
I've been a great fan of Canon printers and scanners for years and so it was something of a no brainer to get this one.

First, it produces great and very clean scans. And this after very simple setup. However, and this is an important point, if you want to take full advantage of its fine engineering consider using different scanning software. Suffering from some slow scans and an interface which I did not like very much I switched over to a version of Paperport which came from the Visioneer scanner I replaced and, voila, speedy and beautiful scans.

This is not to say that the Canon software did not produce very good look scans, but the Paperport easily equalled them and seemed to help address the slow scanning some reviewers have noted.

78 Can't beat it for the price
I was a little concerned about getting this scanner reading several not-so-hot reviews but I have had none of the problems other people described. As for the speed, a 300 dpi image (which is all you need for most purposes, email, Web, scrapbook, not sure about printing), took just under a minute, which IS slower than other scanners, but for the quality and price of this scanner, I didn't think it was out of the question, especially for personal home use. Besides, you can scan 3 pictures at the same time and it will automatically crop three different images for you so you can save them individually. Although, this featured hasn't worked perfectly every time but most of the time it works perfectly. If not you just have to adjust your placement of the pictures.

I thought the software bundle was excellent. The OCR works quite well, and once you get used to it is pretty easy to figure it out without reading up on it. The only thing I don't like is the "CanoScan" toolbox, a feature that I think is supposed to allow you easy access to all the different software features from one screen... perhaps I don't know how to use it correctly because I've read other reviews where people liked it... but it doesn't matter, I prefer to just use the icon on my desktop anyway.

If this scanner doesn't produce great scans for you than just take it back because you either got a lemon or something is wrong with your computer compatibility. For this I used my wife's 366mhz e-machine on a Win98 platform. For [the money] you can't beat this scanner.

79 The Canon CanoScan LiDe 30
I bought this scanner for myself on December 14, 2002. It did not take me long to install the software and hook the scanner up to my USB hub. The software and scanner were VERY easy to install. The first two scans I did were too red. After some adjustment of the software, I got my scans to come out much better. The only drawback to this scanner is the slowness of scans. Other than that, it works great! I have used it to scan old family photos. I sent the pictures to a relative who was impressed with the quality! This is an ideal scanner for the home user. If you are looking for an affordable home scanner, this is the one!

80 Canon, thanks for ruining Christmas
Setup was a breeze, the scanner looks nice, and the software is OK. There's just one problem, the scanned pictures look like crapola. At first I tried scanning a magazine cover at 300 dpi and the resulting image looked nothing like what I was scanning, it was all blotchy and the text looked like garbage. Then I switched to 1200 dpi and a regular old photograph. The colors were OK but the outlines of the people looked all jagged like bad Atari graphics from the 80's. Oh and you have to wait like 3 minutes for the 1200 dpi image. I bought another brand of scanner for about 80 bucks five years ago and it beats the daylights out of this thing. Needless to say, I'm going to return this hunk of junk.

81 Slow and Grainy Resolution
I purchased this mostly for it's size, weight and "single cord" hook up (it makes it easier to "move it" between computers). While all of those aspects make this scanner fantastic... the scan quality, resolution, and speed are very poor. It took over 10 minutes to scan a photograph at 1200 dpi, and even then the quality wasn't great. The included software, however, is a nice added feature. Anyways, I'm returning this scanner and in the market now for something with more speed and resolution (even if it is a bulkier item).

82 So Good So Far (with Mac OSX.2 'Jaguar')
...

Anyhow, it's fine. It scans right into PS7 and OSX doesn't complain. It's not the fastest scanner and I've seen better image quality. For my purposes (and, once again, given that I have PS7 for touching up images) it's quite satisfying. The thin profile and small footprint (plus a stand to store it on its side) make it a welcome addition to my [CRMPD] deskspace.

There is an odd 'trick' to get the Canon software to recognize PS7 in OSX, otherwise it may activate the Classic OS instead (and that's not so bad, generally).

I have an iMac G4/17", and I'm not switching.

83 USB Connectivity after laptop wakes up from sleep
Based on the sleek design and thin profile I purchased this scanner with great hopes. Was fairly happy with the scan quality. The biggest drawback and imho a fatal one - if you are a laptop user and use this as your portable scanner - beware. Once the PC goes into sleep mode, on wake up , the USB driver never powers the scanner back again! So you have to reboot or turn off sleep mode on the PC.

Technical support was bad, blaming it on the USB controller on my Dell laptop. Other USB powered devices just work fine, it was just this scanner. So I returned it and now looking at another scanner maybe the 1660 ?

84 I am happy with this scanner
What's great about this scanner:

The slim, unbulky size. It doesn't take up a lot of room and I like the sleek silver look of it.

Of course looks aren't everything. It is very purposeful for me, I bought it to scan photos onto my computer. I wanted a high resolution but not a high price and this was the one scanner that met my needs. When I put my scanned photos on Webshots for my albums there, they are high resolution (1460 x 1028) which really pleases me. The software that comes with it is easy to use and has some great features, such as making magazine pictures look really nice after you scan them. There is a blurring feature that makes magazine photos look a little better that I have used often. You can draw on your pictures and my son and I have had some comical fun with this.

This scanner can accept books and other bulky things to scan even though its slim. Since I like to be able to "save" great pictures I see in library books, I appreciate this.

In case it helps, I have Windows Me on my computer.

85 it is not working under Win XP and also no service provided
I bought this scanner from here. But I cost me about 4 days to figure out how to let it work under win XP. I have the digital
camara so I don't need to scan picture. the only thing I need for the scanner is to scan the book or text into editable text.
But the software omnipage SE is not working under Win XP.

I search the help from this company and sent e-mail last weekend but the e-mail system is not working.

Monday and tuesday I called the 800 number the 800 number's function is to provide a pay phone number. After I dailed the pay phone number and waiting about 20 minutese still the recording.

Tuesday I sent e-mail again and again, one of them was accidentally working. Wendsday I got a reply from the technical
service. He told me that this software (omnipage SE) is working on Win XP because he got no complain ! I sent him the screenprint out error and the menu word (the manu said only working under win98, 2000, NT while the box say it is working under win XP). The service person Thurday sent me e-mail said his company can't see the attachment files. So, I sent the word description and also created a hotmail account and give him the account number and password and let him log on this account to see the attachment files.

I got no reply Thusday. So, I will return this product. My suggestion is that unless you are familar this product and expect you are not going to use Win XP you should order this product. You should not expect to get the technical service unless you are waiting a week or more!

Good luck.

86 It's okay, but not for Jaguar
This review is based on my attempt to connect this scanner with Mac OX 10.2 (Jaguar). The included software are the scanner driver, Canon toolbox (both necessary for the scanner to work), Photostudio (an image editing program), and Omnipage, which is OCR software. I installed all the software on system 9.2 of my new I-Mac, and it ran fine there; it did a decent photo scan, though it was fairly slow, and Omnipage did a decent job with a scanned document.

The Lide30 is one of the few scanners that currently claims to support OS 10 native, but here's what happened. I restarted the computer in 10.2 and from Canon's support site downloaded the driver and Toolbox for OS 10, but then I discovered that neither Photostudio nor Omnipage had been updated for OS 10. When I tried to scan a document, sure the scanner could run in 10, but it then had to switch to Classic to use Omnipage. I then tried to scan a photo, but it couldn't make a connection with the driver until I turned off Classic and restarted in 10.2. What a hassle!

The next test came when scanning a 4x6 photo on highest resolution (1200 dpi) from 10.2. My system is beefed up with plenty of RAM, but it took 20 minutes to scan! I had programmed the scanner to open this photo in Photoshop Elements (the instructions say you need Photoshop 7 to use the scanner in System 10). Elements did read and open it, but it took about another 15 minutes to do so. I have used Elements to open other large files, but it never before has taken more than a few seconds. Strange. Because of these difficulties, I decided to return the scanner. For users of all other platforms this scanner could very well rate higher than the "3" I gave it, especially considering its comparatively low price.

87 where is the product specification?
how can i buy this stuff without the detailed specification dpi etc.

88 how easy could they make it?
got this scanner out of the box. five minutes later i had an exact reproduction of a family photo on my desktop. is simple the right word? how about "best scanner for the money."

my only hope is that canon produce a film negative adapter that will fit this scanner. i'll never get rid of it.

89 Great scanner -- great price
The LiDE 30 produces great quality scans from photos, but it is somewhat slow. Also, the scanner includes software to create multi-page Adobe Acrobat files. All-in-all, this is an excellent photo and document scanner at a great price.

90 Good and Bad, it's your decision
Canon did a great job on this CIS scanner. The image 'looks' good & sharp. But be aware,if you compare with source image, the reproduced colors are not exactly same as original. Impressive scanner, but I'd recommend D1250U2F. Images from D1250U2F is much easier to enhance with sw like photoshp.

91 Incompatible with Mac OS X
I purchased the LiDE 30 at an Apple retail store based on the fact that the box and several reviews said it was OS X compatible. However, the software would only install in the Classic environment. The Canon website also proclaimed it would not have an OS X driver for the either the LiDE 20 or 30 until sometime this month (Sept. '02). When I returned the scanner, a tech at the store confirmed it was incompatible with OS X. In other words, Canon is not only are blowing smoke at consumers, but have run a number on Apple.

92 An Excellent Bang-For-You-Buck Scanner
Canon's new LiDE 30 is certainly a step up in overall image quality when compared to other slimline scanners, especially for under ... I was surprised at how good this scanner was for the price. Canon's adjustable Z-lid feature, a much-needed scanner improvement, is a must if you scan from bulky sources like books or magazines. All photo and text scans made were very crisp and accurate. (Poorer photos will need futher software manipulation to improve their quality beyond the originals.) No power cord--power drawn through the USB cable from the computer--and the lightweight portability of this scanner make it ideal for use with laptops. It can even be set up vertically if space is a problem. The only real drawback to the Canon LiDE 30 is that's it's a bit slow--20 seconds (approx.) for a 4" x 5" photo. Still, in this price range and for a 1200 x 2400 scanner, that's faster than most of the other models at this price. Like most included software packages, the software that comes with the LiDE 30 is adequate for most home uses--though no doubt some can benefit from other scanner software packages available in the aftermarket. If your scanning needs are modest-to-moderate, and your budget demands tight, this is definitely the scanner for you. The best, bar none, in terms of over all quality in this price range that's been offered to consumers up to now.