CanoScan 5600F
4.6
5
41
41
Easy to set up
Our IT director bought this brand new and then our office went to tiny scanners so I got this for the very good price of freeeee. It didn't come with a disk so I was easily able to download the driver on Canon's site (needs the driver installed first I found out, hey I'm still learning here). As soon as I did that and then plugged the unit in it was asking what I wanted to do! And away I went scanning like a fiend. Being able to access the manual online is a total plus. Thanks Canon for being uber friendly to a slightly computer savvy user.
August 10, 2012
Mixed Feelings on 35mm scans
I already owned a Canon MX700 multli-function printer which has a fine scanner, but I purchased this scanner, based on the many favorable reviews, for its ability to scan 35mm film and slides. I have many thousands of slides and negatives taken over the past 40-50 years, and I wanted to digitize some of them before the colors faded too much. I had tried an 1800 dpi scanner which scanned one frame at a time, and very slowly. Then my daughter gave me another scanner, which quickly scanned by photographing the slide or film. However, it did not reproduce the depth of color in the slides, and highlight areas were badly washed out.
So I looked forward to using the Canoscan with its better resolution and quality.
Using the Canoscan 5600F, I scanned at 2400 dpi about 60 slides from 45 years ago, which I had previously scanned using the snapshot scanner. The colors in the slides were still good, and the colors came through fine in the Canon scans, unlike the earlier scanner. The highlight detail that was missing with the earlier scanner was now fully present. However, when I compared the two sets of scanned images, there was shadow detail that could be seen with the earlier scanner that was lost in the Canon scans. The scans seemed to have too high contrast. If there is important shadow detail, editing the final image is necessary
I then tried scanning a 35mm negative from about 10 years ago. I scanned it at 2400 dpi. I also had a 4x6 print of the same shot which I scanned at 600 dpi. In comparing the two scans, the scan from the print had more pleasing color balance. I then scanned the negative again at 4800 dpi, and there was only a little more detail apparent at the higher resolution. Taking all 3 scans into Photoshop Editor, I adjusted the color balance on each by adjusting the skin tone on the subject. The result was that all 3 were good, and close to one another. It would be difficult to say which was the best.
The film and slide holder seems well designed and easy to use. Scanning a group of 4 slides at 2400 dpi takes up to 10 minutes or so, but it can proceed while you are doing other things. It takes about 30 seconds to replace them and begin scanning the next set of 4.
In summary, I am fairly happy with the scanner's performance, but in many cases editing in Photoshop is necessary to adjust the contrast and possibly the color balance..
July 1, 2012
Great slide/photo scanner
I purchased this scanner to continue my multi year project of digitizing over 30 years of slides and old family photos. After several years of constant use, my old Canoscan scanner was in need of replacement and due to availability issues due to the weather in AP, the 5600F was the only one readily available. My original choice was the 9000F.
I have been using this scanner nearly daily, splitting my scanning time between slides, negatives and old photos. the 5600F has worked flawlessly for everything I have asked of it.
The only place where I encountered a problem is more due to a piece of Canon software rather than the actual scanner. I wanted to scan an 11X14 print and enlarge it to 13X19. I encountered no problems taking the 2 high resolution scans, but when trying to merge them into a single image using PhotoStitch I encountered a problem. The program created an image for me, but it seamed the images together right in the middle of someone's face and created a lopsided eye in the process. I retried creating the final image several times using different resolutions and rotating the image, still no good.
Finally I decided to try Photoshop CS5's PhotoMerge feature and was rewarded with a perfect image on the first try. PhotoMerge placed the seam between 2 people where it only affected the background.
May 26, 2012
great value
after receiving my 5600 scanner today, I had the software loaded and was scanning within 30 minutes. I love the auto scan feature. there are lots of features, but if you take the time to experiment, you'll find scanning photos is pretty satisfying, and not at all a challenge. this was one of my better purchases for certain.
November 28, 2011
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