Customer Reviews

Canon CanoScan D1250U2F USB Flatbed Scanner

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

After reading other folks' reviews on scanners and seeing all the problems they had with cheap ones, I decided to spend a bit more for something better. It was a good decision: the CanoScan D1250U2F has exceeded my expectations.

Software and hardware installation was straight forward, and the documentation is clear and simple. An important factor in my decision to buy the Canon was its inclusion of Adobe Photoshop Elements -- it is very intuitive software, powerful, and it interfaces well with the scanner.

Color rendition is excellent, and scanned photos appear well-balanced and clean. On my computer (running Windows XP, 1.8GHz, 384MB RAM) scanning at moderate resolutions is reasonably quick and downloads are prompt, even though I'm running with the USB 1.1 driver and not 2.0. Scanning a 3x5 photo at 600DPI takes about 15-20 seconds, maybe 10-15 seconds at 300DPI. A lot of that time is the scanner "adjusting the lamp" before the actual scan.

The film and slide scanning apparatus is easy to use and produces passable results. The images can be contrasty and the colors somewhat subdued, but in this price range I don't expect professional slide scanning. At 2400DPI it makes an image fairly close to the resolution of the film and is certainly good enough for most email-the-photo and web publishing applications.

The scanner also comes with optical character recognition (OCR) software, which works, although I did not find it intuitive. Also, the OCR software makes some bizarre decisions, especially concerning spelling correction, and seems eager to take control of the scanner, initiating scans at unexpected times.

Aside from the puzzling OCR software, if I wanted to be nit-picky I'd say the lid hinges are a bit flimsy, and the buttons on the front of the scanner are pointless. In my opinion it would be a better product if they removed the buttons from the front and put a power switch on the back. But that's all just nits... The scanner does a great job overall.

So far, it works wonderfully. I'd read a millon reviews of other scanners -- Agfa, Umax, HP, Microtek etc., but after a while it all evens out. I couldn't afford the next level in 'professional' models and really didn't require all the gizmos that accompany them. So the Canon was my final choice.

Using Windows ME, it set up in less than 10 minutes. Hardware was found easily and there was no driver problem. I was scanning immediately. Up until this point I was using a friends scanner on Windows 98. A heavy model, 4 or 5 years old (clunky parallel/serial port etc.) and it was incredibly slow, and loud.

This was such a difference. I only tested a color photo (5 x 7) at 200% (dpi) and it did it in just under 30 seconds. I also tried a large color drawing from a book and it was surprisingly good. I'm sure the real test will be images at much higher res (but who really needs them that big?). Plus I've yet to try grayscale or scan from magazines/newspapers.

Using the 'descreen' option worked exceptionally well. It completely removed the moiree pattern from an album cover. Very surprised that it did it so well.

I'm also using it with an Adaptec USB 2.0 card. It's certainly fast. I haven't done really high-res stuff yet, but I'm sure it'll be better than what I'm used to.

The software is fine although I haven't used its archival/Photo record stuff. It seems aimed at beginners and may be useful. If you already have Photoshop 5 or 6, you probably won't need Photoshop Elements that comes with it.

While there are obviously better scanners out there with more gizmos and larger scan areas (at a higher price of course), I've no complaints. It seems ideal for my home/office use and is intended to scan family photos, vinyl album covers and wide array of other materials. It comes with a slide tray that, also looking a little flimsy, may work just fine.

Before it arrived, I'd read a less than glowing review on [another website] and was mortified. They hated the results. But so far, I disagree. I'm very pleased with it.

Attn: Amazon, please delete my "Going back in the morning" review currently in the 5 day review/processing.

Initially did have problems with the worst scans ever seen that both Photoshop Essentials and PaintShop Pro (I'm more adept with) couldn't correct. Muddy background, no fine details, and blotchy skin tones. Compared to so Epson scanners, Canon wasn't even in the running. While intending to take back in AM, when deleting scan's from harddrive, noticed how small the files were compared to the identical Epson scans. Reviewed the twain setting, and sure enough the Canon defaulted to 75 dpi, while the Epson were 300 dpi. Canon's instructions didn't indicate to review/set the dpi so was easilly overlooked.

Rescanned the original 4X6 photo @ 300 dpi for "like" comparisons. What a difference. I originally consided the Epson 1650 scan to be 'excellent' - just had software issues downgrading the scanner. This Canon matched it, easilly. Without touching up eather, fine detail in branches,leaves, strands of hair, and sweater knit. Crisp edges on clothing that was blurred with the 75 dpi scan. No dark blotches on skin that looked like 5:00 shaddow on guys or a female in desperate need on makeup. Between the two, neither matched the original, but that is normal with any 'first generation' copy. Both had a more reddish cast compared to the original that tended to enhance skin tones, but the Epson was more extreme in it's red bias, while the Canon was closer to natural.

Speed - excellent with USB 2.0. Software, no problem, but dated. OmniPage v9 provided, while v12 is in the stores and costs as much as the scanner. Seems like both Epson and Canon should update the disks with the most current drivers and 3rd party software versions at each scanner production run. I don't think that is asking to much. Hate to 'try out' Canon's 5000 scanner released this week just to update the OCR software - then take it back with store return policy!

Only continuing problem that I have with both scanners is printer specific. Since it is a Canon printer, I hoped it would be resolved with a Canon scanner. The copy utility with both Epson and Canon doesn't adjust for the 1/4" mask that the printer creates, shifting the copy 1/4" further from the left side and lopping off on the right side. Requires changing printer defaults to 'borderless' then reducing the scan copy to 97% to offset the printer enlarging for borderless. Took me a while to figure that one out.

Overall, this one is a keeper. While neither are replacement for true photoprocessing, both lead the pack on scanners. With the Canon $50 cheaper, it is a steal.

After returning from vacation, I wanted to scan some pictures to send to my family, but I discovered my old HP scanner had finally died. Without doing a lot of research (something I usually take pride in) I bought this scanner and have been very impressed. In less than 10 minutes I had this baby up and running. I have a 1ghz processor, 512 megs of Ram and USB 2.0. This puppy is working like a champ.

I found the software exceptionally easy to use, but I bypass most of it and use the Adobe Elements (which is included). I was already familiar with Photoshop, so this turned out to be the quickest and most convenient way of doing business. The other programs have a lot of bells and whistles, but I'm afraid they're really wasted on me with the exception of the OCR and the film scanning functions. To the reviewer that complained about the "crippling software" problems, here's what I suggest: go to page 12 in the Quick Start Guide and follow the instructions for scanning photos with the Adobe program. I think you'll find this much easier than pushing buttons or messing with any of the other software.

Anyway, this is a fine scanner at a great price. This thing is a monster compared to my five-year-old, bulky HP and I paid less for it. My photos have turned out beautifully at various sizes. Since I post most of my pics on the web, quality compression is a major factor and even the 75dpi pictures look vibrant and clear. Advanced users will be able to get a lot more out of it than I will, but entry level users with a little patience will also be satisfied. I know I am.

We ordered this scanner through a special priced Amazon.com "gold box" offer for under $. We wanted to be able to make prints from old negatives, and the Cannon was highly rated. We are thrilled! We're having loads of fun!

--The colors scan very true.
--It scans a bit slower than my old H-P scanner, but this is just home use, not for production. And it is compatible with the new, faster USB2 connection, but I haven't yet sprung for the USB2 installation (I think it's around .
--The adapter is for 35mm negatives and slides, but I've even been able to make prints from old 110's. These very old, small negatives take more treatment in Photoshop to get them to look acceptable, and the finished product is not quite as good as the 35mm, but I don't think that Canon even claims that the product will handle these old odd-sized negatives.
--The software that comes with the Canoscan is worth the price of admission! It comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements, plus programs for storing photos in digital scrapbooks, showing them as a slide show, and a handy printing program which allows you to quickly and easily arrange any number of photos on a page for printing.

I've been able to scan in old photos that were too dark to display, and using Photoshop Elements, remove imperfections, tweak the colors, and balance the brightness and contrast and end up with a fine picture enlarged for framing.

Thanks to Canon for making a fine product, to Adobe for a great, easy to use program for working with negatives and photos, and to Amazon.com for bringing it to me at a great price! Quickly!

I've been scanning photos and documents for a long time. Last year I purchased an HP 750 all-in-one, and overall I would say I was happy with the results I was getting. I've been wanting to scan slides/negatives and also wanted a smaller device, as I sometimes need to take my scanner with me to relatives to scan things onsite. So, after reading reviews of several scanners and looking around, I finally decided to get the canon D1250U2F.

I can say overall, I am VERY pleased with it. I have been able to scan negatives and slides with amazing results. I scanned some old slides that were probably 30-40 years old and while the colors were off, might have always been though, the clarity on the good ones was fantastic. Good enough I'm sure to get a good 8x10 print out of. Slides/negatives weren't always perfect though, some I just could not get a decent scan from, even though the source "looked" ok to me, the scans seems sometimes to be more blurry than the source, as if the lense could not find a proper focal point.

My only 2 complaints with this product are the speed of scans (the lamp takes a while to get calibrated each time) and the some of the software (I'm getting errors, non-fatal, but errors nontheless when I scan, the photoRecord software does not work).

Even the scan speed, I must concede, I did not buy a $400 scanner, so if that's one of the things that I need to give up, I'm more than willing to do that.

I did a bit of research, reviewed the opinions here on Amazon[.com] & bought this scanner. I wanted to scan photos and slides/negatives to put on web sites. I'm a little old lady with not a lot of tech expertise, so I need something simple. I got it. The price was right, I ordered on a Thursday, it arrived the next Tuesday, it took less than an hour to set up hardware, software and scan a photo and a 35mm negative, and the results were very satisfactory. What's not to love about this deal? Maybe if you're a high-end user it won't meet your needs, but for those of us who are tech-challenged and still want to have fun in the playground, this is great.
I'm using WinXP Home without the USB 2.0 feature and it's still faster than my old Win 98 scanner, so I'm tickled.

This scanner is the perfect combination of features and price, I got some problem trying to install the software in Windows ME, but after that it performed very well. The scanner supports USB 2.0 but I felt it pretty fast with the USB 1.1, it spends more time adjusting lamp that the actual scan. The scanner doesn't need any power button because it turns on when you are going to scan and turns off after short time of inactivity, this is better that a power button because I usually forgot to turn off the scanner leaving the lamp on. The film scaning is not for bulk scan but it works well, at 2400 dpi it will scan all the scratches and finger prints, so clean your film well before scaning and correct the scratches with the Adobe Photoshop Elements, a very nice software included with the scanner.

This is the first Canon Scanner that I have purchased. I am normally an Epson fan. This was so easy to hook up it took me all of 10 minutes. I think it took me longer to unpack the scanner then it did to hook it up. I love the scanners ability to scan slides and negatives. I have enlarged the slides and negative scans to 5x7 size without any distortion using top of the line photo editing software and I am very impressed. Dollar for Dollar I feel that this is one of the best buys on the market at this time. It is a great scanner for beginners and also for experienced photo editing persons. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good inexpensive scanner.

This was my first time trying to buy a scanner to go with my printer and PC. I was overwhelmed with all the reviews and information on scanners. I bought the Cannon D125OU2F scanner based on price and the film negative scan feature. I was not disapointed. Easy to install, I was scanning in no time. The instructions made it simple and easy to use. Since I am a novice I don't know what I am missing in the other equipment, and for a first time purchase, this was an excellent choice.