Entered CNET Catalog: 10/15/2002
SKU: 0013803022308
Manufacturer: Canon USA, Inc.
Manufacturer description
The CanoScan LiDE 50 is a sleek and beautifully designed machine. It is lightweight and versatile providing up to 1200 x 2400 dpi and gives 48-bit internal and external color. By introducing the one-touch experience with three dedicated buttons to Scan, Copy and E-mail, users will save time when performing these frequent tasks This machine offers a combination of beauty, speed and quality. Canon's own LiDE (LED Indirect Exposure) technology provides scans of up to 1200 x 2400 dpi and 48-bit color with very low energy consumption. It requires no power plug, getting all the power it needs from the USB connection. It is also extremely small and saves valuable desk space. With its supplied stand it can even be used on its side. The Z-lid can handle thick books and magazines. The USB 2.0 High Speed interface is the new standard in PC connectivity, making it compatible with Windows and Macintosh operating systems and delivering scan speeds up to four times faster than standard USB scanners. The CanoScan LiDE 50 is further equipped with four EZ-buttons which you can configure to perform the functions you use most. With Canon's fast Multi-Photo mode you can scan up to ten separate images at once and then work on each one separately. If images are turned sideways, the computer software will straighten them automatically. The LiDE 50 also includes an advanced driver and Canon Toolbox for easy operation. These are accompanied by a variety of powerful applications including Arcsoft PhotoStudio and PhotoBase for image editing, OmniPage SE for Optical Character Recognition, NewSoft PageManager for document archiving and management and Adobe Photoshop Elements for photo image adjustment.Product summary
The good: Good-looking; easy to operate; includes plenty of software extras.
The bad: Mediocre scans; no slide or film scanning; USB only.
The bottom line: This slim, snazzy-looking scanner performs basic scanning chores satisfactorily, but look elsewhere if you demand crisp color photographic reproduction.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 11/21/2003
The CanoScan LiDE 50 flatbed scanner is a slim, moderately priced color scanner that is easy to operate. Intended for light home use, this scanner adequately performs a variety of basic scanning tasks and always looks nice on a desk. But anyone demanding the best color photographic reproduction should spend a bit more on a mid- or high-level scanner, such as Epson's Perfection 1670.
With a brushed-silver, metallic lid and a dark gray base, the CanoScan LiDE 50 is an elegant-looking piece of hardware. Weighing a mere four pounds and standing less than an inch-and-a-half tall, this scanner doesn't even have a power cord or an adapter to clutter your desk. Instead, a clear-plastic-and-bright-metallic USB 2.0 cable running from the rear of the LiDE 50 provides power from a host PC or Mac. Under the lip of the front cover, four raised buttons--labeled Copy, Scan, File, and E-mail--direct scanning operations. Overall, the LiDE 50 is a streamlined and good-looking desktop addition.
Setting up the LiDE 50 could hardly be easier. Loading the software is also simple but slow--largely because of the abundance of software extras on the included CD-ROM. The scanner comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, a scaled-down version of Photoshop that's well worth installing.
The CanoScan LiDE 50's scans proved mediocre in our tests. Scanned color photographs (viewed on a 19-inch Samsung SyncMaster 957 MB CRT) appeared fuzzy around the edges and had an overly grainy appearance. The color graphics test document we scanned came out looking somewhat overexposed, but scanned text showed up clear and legible, if a bit light.
Editor's note: We have updated the ratings of this product to reflect changes in this category.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10out of 10 user reviews
BEWARE: NOT FOR MAC OSX 10.3.3
Pros: n/a
Cons: I bought this scanner when I was running 10.2 and it cranked along for straight forward photo scanning. The specs say campatible with 10.2 and higher. But, the truth is not higher than 10.3.0. I contacted Canon and got the 7 jillion patch 87 zillion work
out of 10 user reviews
Great Scanner for poco dinero
Pros: Small size, good looks, easy setup, simply works well! Comes with LOTS of useful software. A great scanner for a little money!
Cons: I haven't really noticed any.
out of 10 user reviews
great buy, wish it was faster
Pros: I have the N670U, the predecessor, and have used the heck out of it, with no problems. Have LIDE 30 on another PC, works just as well. Love USB self-powered, to reduce clutter and for portability. I didn't install the additional software, just TWAIN dr
Cons: Speed is a problem. 36 seconds for 75dpi greyscale on USB 1.1, but I read that USB 2.0 only slightly improves speed. Kinda noisy, about the same as the pricey HP SCSI bought in 1994 (but the HP is faster).
out of 10 user reviews
LiDE 30 looks and preforms great. I'm sure the 50 and 80 will too.
Pros: It is a great scanner for everyday use. Scanning photos is simple and the quality is great.
Cons: Unsharp mask default setting can ruin your scan. The setting must be changed for best results.
out of 10 user reviews
REPLACES THE NEED FOR A DIGITAL CAM!
Pros: I love the quality of this scanner for the price! It does an outstanding job of producing perfect quality scans and with all the manual settings including the dust/scratch filter, each scan is a perfect one! USB 2.0 speeds everything up so much and the so
Cons: None at all!
out of 10 user reviews
Beautiful Scans, Fast, Quiet, Cheap
Pros: Scans all look great - photos, text docs - good crisp scans. Very fast and quiet with USB2. Easy to install s/w and set up - you will be scanning in 10 minutes. Twain compliant so it works with lots of other software. Small footprint on your desk - reall
Cons: Haven't found any.
out of 10 user reviews
Best I have owned
Pros: Fast high quality scans, all with only one wire. Great software package that lets you scan multiple pages into one small pdf file, great for emailing and archiving information.
Cons: None, If you read the manuel you realize usb2 is only for 2000& xp, that has nothing to do with cannon only ms, and I dont know of a better scanner fo the money.
out of 10 user reviews
looks great, software package great, works well
Pros: looks stunning. only 1 lead as its usb (connect to and powered from pc) huge range of top software
Cons: new lide 80 coming that can do transparancies and has higher resolution. software fussy to install (for me) usb2 only on w2000 up my w98se crashes on shut down if its still connected.
out of 10 user reviews
great scanner. GET IT!
Pros: super compact! its really thin, looks great with my PowerBook. scans look great, software is fine. and i LOVE the one cable connection! no power cable, just one USB cable! its great.
Cons: when using the scanner in Mac OS X, you can't have Classic running in the background. and when not using the scanner, if you have classic running and the scanner plugged into the computer, the computer won't go to sleep. there may be a software fix for th
out of 10 user reviews
Dosen't Work
Pros: I bought it because it was nice and small and it look good. With fast USB2 and good resolution.
Cons: There is no on or off button, so when you turn your computer on it turn on and off. With no on/ff switch the lamp must of fried. No preview mode in when scanning is annoying. No manual setting for dpi. Seem the software is handicap to me.
