Customer Reviews

Canon Selphy ES30 Compact Photo Printer (White) (2676B001)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased two of these units. I knew what to expect as far as "time to print." It takes about ONE minute for each print. (4 passes, total. (4th is clear coat.))

So far, I've run about 100 prints through each of the two printers without any issue.

Works VERY well with Pictbridge on both the REBEL XTI and the EOS 40D. As for others, I can not state. So far this is the only method I've used to print. I have not connected it to a computer, or used memory cards, so I am unable to provide any information as to its functionality in those modes.

The "standard" paper these use is a 4X6 "postcard" prints, which come out beautifully.

The cartridge design means you will have EXACTLY the amount of each color for the number of prints in the cartridge. (Paper/INK in the same cartridge!)

YOU WILL *NOT* RUN OUT OF INK BEFORE YOU RUN OUT OF PRINTS!!!!

Device appears to built quite well. Nothing feels "flimsy" and the unit does not "sound like" it's working hard while running prints. (You can tell a cheap printer quite easily by listening to the motors. It they sound as though they slow down as a print starts, then the motors are junk.)

I will probably buy yet another..... :-)

The prints look just like the photos you get at a photo lab. A tad smaller, as many have said, maybe 1/8" narrower and 1/16" shorter than the standard 4x6. Quality-wise, vibrant color and good detail, just as a lab print. Photos are coated with a waterproof and UV-resistant layer.

Cost, ~26 cents a photo (or a bit more if you take printer cost into account, which you should), worth the convenience. The paper/ink kit to buy is Canon E-P100 with two 50-page cartridges. Caution, the E-series printers are not compatible with the paper kits for the CP-series.

As in all dye-sub printers, you make exactly the number of photos indicated on the cartridge, no matter the color coverage. You won't run out of ink before the paper, because the "ink" is in a film form sized just for the paper. For that same reason, you don't need to worry about ink drying in a printer left unused for a while. It will be just as ready to print months from now as it is today. Just keep it away from dust.

A 3:2 format photo - as from a DSLR - fits the 4x6 paper better than one from your common point-and-shoot 4:3 camera, which will have to get chopped top and bottom or printed with white space on the sides to fit. You already know this if you have ever had photos done at a lab. You can choose how this is done using the LCD and you can even print a portion of the picture.

The scrolling wheel is useful at going through many pictures. The LCD is better than the older CP models, but still can't be used to gauge colors. The menu has options for automatic or manual color adjustments (saturation, contrast, brightness, that sort of thing). Useful thing too, as some of the photos came out a bit too saturated. You can add borders or print a month calendar alongside your photo if you want.

You can print straight from a memory card, which I suspect will be the mode used by most. It supports many memory cards, Compact Flash, SDHC and Memory Stick for sure. There is a dedicated slot for the mini versions of the latter two cards so you won't need an adapter. Insert the card, select the photos, edit if you need then print. Alternatively, you can prepare a "print order" right in the camera: when you view your images in PLAY mode look for a "Print" or "DPOF Print" option. Then stick the card in the printer and it will get to work automatically.

Another way is to hook the camera directly to the printer and use the so-called PictBridge mode. This way you can send photos from the camera to the printer over the USB cable. I do not find this mode very useful, as it wastes camera battery.

You can also print wirelessly, straight from your phone or laptop, by sending photos to the printer via Bluetooth. Canon says to buy the BU-30 adapter but I am happy to report that a 3rd party laptop Bluetooth adapter worked just fine for me.

Finally, you can print from the computer via USB, for which Canon provides a CD with software (Win/Mac). Didn't try this yet. Not supported by Linux currently. Possibly a later version of Gutenprint-cups may know this printer, that's the Linux print driver to use for the Selphy printers.

Major plus over the CP-series is that the ink and paper come in one cartridge which can hold 50 photos (the CPs use a lower capacity external paper tray). Also, the power adapter is integrated and all you need is a power cable. This is a step forward towards a portable solution. However, Canon took two additional steps back by making this printer roughly twice as large and twice as heavy as say, the CP-760 model with tray and power adapter. See the product photo I uploaded. That is the reason for the four stars. This isn't something I want to take in my backpack on a trip or on a flight, though I would definitely take it in a car and the convenience of having 50 photos packed inside is not to be overlooked.

The ES-30 is slower in printing than the CP-760 by a good ten seconds, taking almost a full minute for each photo. As I patiently waited for my first print, it became quite clear why it is so, and also discovered the reason for the hefty weight. The printer spends all that extra time doing some alarming gymnastics with the paper in order to position it where the CP-760 already has it. I could barely stop myself from grabbing that first paper as it was slowly pushed out the front slot, almost all the way, then rotated in place like a card being dealt, finally coming to rest in a crooked orientation which brought flashbacks of horribly torn laser printouts caused by bad manual feeders, while the printer whines some more so as to confirm my growing suspicion that it has failed to grab the paper. But as I move to try to "fix" the problem, the printer snatches it and goes to print as if nothing happened. Turns out, that is how it works, and there is no cause for alarm, although I learned to protect it from similar instincts of well-intended friends seeing it print for the first time. Other than that, it's quite entertaining to watch it work.

I bought this to take on vacation where I wanted to be able to quickly print pics of people, flora and fauna. I chose the 30S over the 3S beacuse I didn't need the printer to have memory.

The internal editing capability is totally intuitive. I plugged it in and went to printing without reading anything; it's more fun that way! Though I read the manual later. If your camera does a decent job, this printer is great. And you can only guess at how much fun it is to print pics and share/give them to people either on the spot or the next day.

The editing capability without a computer ...well, it wasnt a surprise because I read the reviews and writeups, but how easy and effective it was, truly was a delight.

My only beef is I wish it was smaller...it's small, but I don't think you'd try to pack it on an airplane trip or a cruise...maybe. And if you're goint to try to pack it for a cruise, load a cartidge in it to save a little space.

All things considered, the picture quality is excellent, the editing capabilities are way more than I expected without a computer and this is one terrific little picture printer. Fun, fun, fun.

I bought this for christmas last year and have easily produced over 300 photos so far. The pics looks WONDERFUL! Sooo easy to use, set-up, move around. I LOVE this printer. The best thing is that it's a dye-sub printer, meaning the photos WILL NOT fade, or bleed, or look flat. I'm a graphic designer and have worked within the print industry for over 12 years. I've tested all types of printers, for every application, and this is one of the BEST. Do not consider buying anything else for photo printing. For the price, you could easily afford this printer and something else to print documents.... this will only be good for photos, in a 4x6 size. The one and only downside is that you can not run out and pick up extra cartridges anywhere... Best Buy is the only local store carrying them, and they are often sold out. Buy extra cartridges on line and plan ahead!

Canon Selphy ES30
I absolutely love the quality of these photos.
I love the ink used for these photos. Photos printed with this printer will last 100 years.
I love being able to take this printer almost anywhere to use (it needs to be plugged in)
I love the extra editing features built in.
I love being able to print more than one photo on a 4x6 card.
It's fun watching the photos print.

Even though I love this printer, there are a few minor irritations.
~The cable, USB A/B, that connects the printer to your PC is not included. We used the cable that came with a portable hard drive. The printer doesn't need to be hooked up to a PC to print photos, but there are some editing functions that can only be performed using a computer. The edited photo can be sent to the printer using the cable.
~Some of our photos printed out with a small top and bottom portion cropped out. Installing the software included on the supplied CD-ROM, we were able to use our computer to see which photos would be affected and make adjustments.
~Printer cartridges have an expiration date & are hard to find. You will probably need to order them online. The cartridges we rec'd, which were ordered online, expired 5 1/2 months ago. I'm happy to report that the prints from the expired cartridges are excellent quality.

Great printer!!!

UPDATE: I purchased 3 of these printers for gifts in 2009 and paid $79 for one, $50 for another and less than $100 for the third. I'm shocked by some of the pricing I see on this printer now. Maybe the Amazon dealer I purchased from was trying to clear out their inventory.

We ordered this for my 88-year-old grandmother who discovered the joys of digital cameras last year. Her memory card was totally full and she didn't know what to do with the pictures. After doing some research, we settled on this model based on other consumers' feedback. The printer has been extremely easy to use. She is completely confident in printing images off her memory card. She has been extremely pleased with the pictures. We would definitely order this again should the need arise.

I've always been pleased with Canon products. I highly recommend this printer , easy to use, pic's are great, very portable
you won't be disappointed ! My sister in law ordered and HP photo printer, that was 3 times as much as the Canon Selphy ES30, picture
quality is the same. Highly recommend getting this photo printer. !

It was so easy to use and edit my photos. I like that the ink and paper are one unit. I hope the price for the cartriges isn't to much. I have a Kodak all in one and it never worked right, this will definiately take its place. Good bye Kodak.

I took it right out of the box switched out the cartridge it came with, and started printing. The picture quality isn't HD, but it is good. The little guy does all the work. It runs through the printer 3 times to get all of the colors on it, so don't get worried when the picture looks yellow during printing. I didn't think I'd care for the borders & picture layout options, but I'm really appreciating it! I love it!!

I have an Epson R800 printer. I ordered this to be my main 4x6 photo printer. I like Canon and always using Canon photography products.

Pictures are beautiful and colorful.

Thanks Canon and Amazon for this great product.