Customer Reviews

Canon CanoScan LiDE 30 Scanner

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

...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.

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}.

* 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!

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.