Canon's CanoScan 9950F may appear to be a standard flatbed scanner, but its high-end film scanning capabilities make it a great option for photographers who need to archive images at the highest quality available from a consumer model.

The 9950F has an amazing 4,800X9,600 dpi resolution and 48-bit color depth, as well as a new optical lens and a 4,800 dpi CCD sensor to match the scanner's resolution. It produced some of the sharpest image recreations we've ever seen from a consumer model. To be sure, the $400 suggested price tag on the 9950F pushes it closer to corporate-level scanners than the average consumer flatbeds, but the quality makes it worth the cost for users seeking the best reproductions possible.

The 9950F is capable of handling negatives as large as 4X5 inches, and it comes equipped with a variety of film accessories. There is an integrated transparency adapter, as well as three frames that let you batch-scan up to thirty 35mm film negatives at once.

There are four quick-scan buttons on the front of the scanner. Three are traditional options: Copy to send an image to a printer, Scan for fast image or document scans, and E-mail to deliver a scanned item to an e-mail program for sending. The fourth button automatically converts a scanned item to PDF format, making it a great way to store and send high-quality documents.

Canon includes a great software bundle with the 9950F. Its OCR software is ScanSoft's OmniPage SE 2, which accurately interprets text as small as eight-point. Adobe's Photoshop Elements 2 and ArcSoft PhotoStudio 2000 are both strong image editors, while NewSoft's Presto! PageManager helps organize your documents.

The 9950F can connect to a computer via either USB 2.0 or FireWire (Macs only), although no FireWire cable is included in the package. Transfers from scanner to computer were fast, with the scan of a small photo at high resolution completed in less than a minute.

With its high price point, the Canon CanoScan 9950F isn't for the average consumer. However, for photographers or small-office managers, it's a powerful and versatile image and document scanner that works quite well.

Pros: Excellent scans, lots of transparency tools.
Cons: Pricey

Warranty
1 year limited