Entered CNET Catalog: 09/24/2004
SKU: 0013803045680
Manufacturer: Canon USA, Inc.
Manufacturer description
The powerful CanoScan 9950F Color Image Scanner delivers the ultimate in scanning performance and quality. It handles a wide range of originals, from photos and documents to transparencies and negatives up to large-format 4 x 5 inch. You'll simply be amazed at the quality of your scans. The 9950F scanner achieves a spectacular 4800 x 9600 dpi color resolution (max.) and 48-bit color depth for over 281 trillion possible colors. An available USB 2.0 Hi-Speed or FireWire connection ensures the highest possible transfer rates, which is especially important on large files, and previews are available in about 3.6 seconds. For added convenience, four easy buttons - Copy, Scan, PDF and E-mail - automate the scanning process, so your projects can go much faster. Just position your original, select the use for the image, and in seconds it's ready to go. The Hyper CCD IV is Canon's first 4800 dpi CCD sensor for flatbed scanners. In combination with a Super Toric (ST) Lens and the scanner's dual light system, the Hyper CCD IV is able to produce visibly clearer results with finer details. The ST lens also has a large aperture to pick up more light than conventional lenses, a factor which leads to faster and brighter scans. Are some of your most precious images on old slides and negatives worn and collecting dust? Canon has a simple solution: FARE (Film Automatic Retouching and Enhancement) Level 3. Its built-in retouching technology handles the most common problems found with old negatives and slides. It can remove much of the dust and scratches that may appear on your originals. It can even revive images that have faded over time. Plus, Backlight Correction Technology works to adjust image exposure, and Grain Correction will help smooth out grainy images. The included film adapters let you scan transparencies and negatives, from 35mm up to 4 x 5 in. formats. You can even batch-scan up to thirty 35mm negative frames or 12 mounted slides.Product summary
The good: Adequate all-in-one scanner; quiet operation
The bad: Spartan feature set; lackluster scans.
The bottom line: An OK scanner for an OK price.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 10/21/2004
You won't have to give up much desk real estate for the 9950F; its 11.4-by-20-inch footprint occupies relatively little space. Setup is simple. Just install the necessary drivers and software, and connect the scanner to a USB (PC) or FireWire (Mac) port; you'll be ready to scan in about 5 minutes. Four buttons for accessing basic scanning options (Scan, Copy, PDF, and E-mail) line the front panel. From within ScanGear's interface, you can select between two scanning modes, Simple and Advanced. In Simple mode, you can choose the type of original (reflective, positive, or negative), pick from a few output sizes, and select 150dpi or 300dpi output resolution. Advanced mode gives you more control; you get tools to adjust brightness/contrast, gamma, and a pair of tone-curve palettes, with scan resolutions available from 75dpi to 4,800dpi. If you have a group of originals that need the same corrections applied, just save the settings in the Favorites box and reapply to subsequent scans.
Unlike some manufacturers that license Kodak's Digital ICE technology for restoring prints, Canon uses its own technology, which is simply called Dust And Scratch Removal, from within ScanGear's option menu. While much faster than the Digital ICE implementations--about 3 minutes for an 8x10-inch scan compared to about 10 minutes for the same scan with ICE--it doesn't work as well, removing fewer specks and costing you some sharpness. A 300dpi 8x10 scan took 1 minute, 10 seconds.
Our tests delivered somewhat mixed image-quality results. The 9950F reproduced a wide range of tones and handled highlight and midrange details especially well. However, our scans looked washed out, which could be the result of tweaking to deliver maximum tonal range in the midtones, which decreases contrast. Still, the contrast issue isn't so horrible that it can't be fixed in an image editor such as Adobe Photoshop Elements. Film scans were on a par with those of the other flatbeds we've tested recently: soft but good for refrigerator prints or Web work. Overall, the Canon CanoScan 9950 is moderately versatile, but it doesn't do anything particularly well. You have better options for the money.
You'll find well-organized FAQs, tutorials, downloads, and accessory information on the Canon Web site. You can download complete manuals in either HTML or as a PDF. Canon also offers an interactive troubleshooter to help you isolate and solve your technical issues. You can submit tech-support queries to Canon via an online form or try your luck with toll-free phone support, available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until midnight ET, or Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11out of 11 user reviews
Great Scanner for Both Print and Film
Pros: Does film nicely; high quality scans that result in awesome prints
Cons: marks on underside of platen glass; platen holders for film annoying; tone adjusts don't always come out right
I have three things that are slightly annoying: (1) the platen glass has some type of skudge on the underside. I have taken it apart and cleaned it, and it is better, but still visible with the illumination. (2) the platen holders for slides and film are needed to do the high resolution scans, but my stuff doesn't always fit properly and I end up having to improvise, which lowers my productivity. (3) I find that sometimes, after I adjust the tone from the preview, the scanned tone comes out very different. If I redo it, it seems to come out alright. This happens more often than I'd like and is probably a software issue.
out of 11 user reviews
Awesome scanner for slides and other media
Pros: sharpness and especially the color rendition
Cons: can't batch scan with slides at High resolution with MAC
out of 11 user reviews
Excellent for scanning dias
Pros: Fast, multi-functional, good-looking
Cons: A bit large
out of 11 user reviews
No parts available for the film scanning unit.
Pros: Excellent results all round as a scanner.
Cons: Expensive to replace if film scanning part fails.
out of 11 user reviews
Good versatile scanner for the price!
Pros: Quiet, good picture scans, great 35mm color scans.
Cons: Bottom photo using Multiple Scan mode is not fully rendered. Streaks (like smudges) under the glass. Software interface is weak.
out of 11 user reviews
Disappointing scans.
Pros: Scan is reasonably sharp.
Cons: Poor scans of shadows and saturated blues and greens. Color is weak and not accurate.
out of 11 user reviews
Great scanner for the price, fairly easy interface and not many hassles. Great results.
Pros: High resolution (with unsharp mask applied), easy to use and set-up, good quality images and enlargements from scanner.
Cons: slow (with FARE applied), and limited dynamic range (DMax)
The only negative I've seen so far is the limited dynamic range. Most of the slides I've scanned so far have come out superbly, but it has struggled with the high-contrast images. Like I said, this is a great scanner for the money.
out of 11 user reviews
What is Rebecca talking about?!?!
Pros: This scanner is an excellent, pro-caliber tool: 4800dpi, 48-bit color (16 bits per channel), aspheric lens element, ability to scan into the AdobeRGB color space, full color management support and the ability to adjust levels, curves, gamma, black &
Cons: None yet. Some have commented on the "slow" speed, but patience is a virtue. I don't think this scanner is slow at all. Thorough would be a better word.
out of 11 user reviews
Excellent Film Scanner
Pros: Makes excellent professional medium and large format films scans. Test prints up to 20x24 inches show excellent color and good detail. Did not test beyond 20x24. Replaces my Epson 3200 that was not adequate for large print gallery sizes. Color accuracy a
Cons: Included software is not adequate for advanced users. Look at Vuescan and Silverfast to supplement the included Canoscan software.
out of 11 user reviews
Use time to find best mode
Pros: It makes perfect pictures in all formats when you take the time to find the right settings. I uset 5 hours to find the best settings for negativ film and they are perfect.
Cons: A little noisy
out of 11 user reviews
I wonder if the reviewer got a bad one?
Pros: Stylish, fast and superb 4800 dpi (optical) scans. Having tried a number of top end scanners to replace my aged Agfa unit this was my choice simply for the quality of the scanned images. Colour balance is excellent and the ability to scan entire strips o
Cons: Can require a little tweaking to produce it's best results but there are plenty of options for the experienced user (which must be the target market) to play with. Noise.
