If you are shopping for an affordable and powerful photo scanner, look no further than HP's ScanJet 4850. This flatbed scanner can handle everything from slides and film negatives to multiple photographs at once, and it carries an affordable MSRP of $150.

HP has built a transparency adapter into the 4850, which lets you scan in four 35mm slides or six negative frames at a time. The 8-1/2X12-3/10-inch faceplate means you can scan in four 4X6-inch photos at once, which is great for archiving an old picture collection.

The ScanJet 4850 is one of the faster photo scanners out there. HP claims the scanner averages about 10 seconds per photo for multiple scans, and we think the 4850 actually clocks in a bit faster than that.

This 48-bit, 4,800-dpi optical resolution scanner isn't just fast, as it delivers crisp and colorful digital representations of your photos as well. HP includes its own Image Zone software that lets you edit, enhance, and organize photos. Built-in technologies allow you to remove red-eye and repair scratches in the images. The included OCR software allows scanned documents to be edited in a word processor.

The 4850's lid has four buttons labeled with icons for quick actions. In addition to the standard scan button, the copy button automatically sends a document image to the printer, the scan film button prepares the transparency adapter, and the scan to share button lets you easily send a scanned image to an e-mail recipient. The lid is adjustable, so you can scan books and other objects that a normal scanner can't accommodate.

With a USB 2.0 connection, the 4850 is easy to connect, and it offers fast transfers of images to a PC or Macintosh. The large faceplate translates into a large footprint, however, so you'll need a good amount of desktop space.

HP only offers a 90-day warranty on the 4850, one of the shorter warranties out there. But if you're looking for a robust photo scanner that can handle multiple photos, slides, or negatives at once, the HP ScanJet 4850 is one of the smartest buys on the market.

Pro: Excellent multiple-image scanner, good price.
Con: Short warranty.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Hewlett-Packard
3000 Hanover Street
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1185
650-857-1501
http://www.hp.com

Warranty
90 days, limited