Pros: I searched for quite some time before buying this scanner. I looked at very high end products such as the Nikon film scanners. I don't think the Canon can be beat at it's price point. With my computer (2.4Ghz, 2 Gig RAM), I can scan four 35mm slides at 4,800 dpi in 6 minutes. Not bad at all. The quality of the scan is impressive.

Cons: At super high resolution, all defects in the film show in a very obvious way. Not the scanner's fault but something to be aware of. Most defects can be fixed with software.

Pros: Reasonable cost, easy to use software, Fast scanning

Cons: Images are placed in the corner (upper right) of the scanner furthest from where I would have liked them to be placed- lower left or right. Does not come with calibration targets (like those for Silverfast IT8).

Overall Review: I have been researching scanners for a while and decided on this one because of the many comments about the speed and quality of the scans. It scanned an 8x10 photograph at 600dpi in 18secs and the quality was excellent. I purchased it mainly for scanning photos and don't know yet how it works with slides. I was considering the Microtek I800pro scanner namely because of the software that comes with it, but that can be purchased by itself if needed. Compared to my previous Microtek scanmaker 4800, which still works fine but is slow, this thing is blazing fast. It installed in my XP machine very easily, and the software seems pretty decent for packaged software. While the resolution of the scan I made was outstanding, the color/brightness of the scan was a little off from what my monitor showed (which is calibrated using the Photocal spyder system)- there are some provisions to match the two more closely within the Canon software, by I have yet to play with it. All in all, a good choice

Pros: * Fast (LED light source) * Great quality scans of both photos and negatives. * Scans multiple medium format negatives at once * Less pixel noise (not auditory noise!) than LED-based competitor (V500) * Packaged Adobe software is one generation beyond that provided by competitor scanner (V500)

Cons: * First unit shipped to me had lint/dirt on the inside surface of the glass - leaving "drop-outs" in the scans. This was unacceptable, so I replaced this with another unit which was great. (If I had received a flawless unit originally, I would have rated this a "5". But Newegg dealt with the problem quickly and professionally.) * Software is a bit awkward. I prefer Epson's software. * First generation LED scanner, so will certainly be improved over time. * Epson V500 (closest current competitor) can scan at a higher resolution - but considering the high dpi of both scanners, it's not a large negative.

Overall Review: I was suprised that the Canon 8800F produced scans that looked better than the more expensive Epson V500. Perhaps with tweaking the settings, the V500 output could be improved -- but I was impressed with the 8800F. It may be that the older conventional-light source scanners will still provide better scans -- but the 8800F is new and there aren't many reviews yet.

Pros: Fastest scans I have ever seen. No warming up for 15 seconds anymore. The included software installed perfectly and linked directly to Picassa. One button scanning of almost anything that actually works as promised! Holders for slides and film work great. The ability to scan 4 or more pictures each time is something I never expected.

Cons: None that I have found.

Overall Review: This is the first scanner I have purchased since my last one quit working when they introduced XP, so I have been out of the scanning picture for a while. We have a lot of old pictures that we decided we really want to preserve and Picassa is just so handy that we thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to have all of our pictures in digital format?" I started looking around and saw that they had just announced this new scanner and it looked like it was perfect for the job. This is hands down the most satisfying hardware purchase I have ever made. My wife is not a computer person but she has been scanning 4 pictures at a time like she is possessed for over 3 weeks! The scans of the pictures are simply amazing and after a little help from Picassa, they look BETTER than the originals! If you are looking for a scanner to get the family photos in digital format, this is the scanner for you!

Pros: high quality, good options

Cons: Plexiglass surface, I wish scanners were made with glass they used to. I haven't scratched it, but I'm sure it will scratch as I continue to use it.

Overall Review: Great features for scanning slides and negatives. I've used both and I'm very satisfied. Twain interface software is pretty good too with lots of custom preset saves.

Pros: Excellent scanning quality - I've scanned about 1,000 images from 35mm slide positives, 35mm negatives, documents, and photographs. The quality of all input types is great and the overall interface is easy-to-use. Also, when Adobe Photoshop Elements is included, how can you go wrong?

Cons: Scanning negatives and slides can take some time (1~4 minutes per image). This is probably due to the high resolution required and the small image being scanned. But the final result is worth it.

Pros: Good scans, nice color. No warm-up time is awesome! Software is decent, although I mainly just use the TWAIN driver with IrfanView. Dust and scratch removal is a definite plus.

Cons: Film scanning at higher resolutions is surprisingly slow. Eight color negative frames at 1200 dpi takes about 6 minutes - seems pretty good. But 1600 dpi increases it to 24 minutes, which doesn't make a lot of sense. Strangely, 2400 dpi also takes 24 minutes. Film holder does seem a little flimsy, but OK if you're careful with it. Doesn't have a place inside the lid for storing the film/slide holders like my old Epson did.

Overall Review: First one didn't work - film scanning was broken. Newegg did RMA with no questions asked. Second one works fine. I don't use the one-touch buttons, can't comment on those.

Pros: I had just come off an experience where Epson 4490s died premature deaths. Epson and I are now divorced, so I went with the CanoScan 8800F for 25 more bucks. There was some misinformation that made me reluctant, but I'm glad I took the leap. Some reviewers said it didn't do b&w negatives--it does and beautifully when scanned at 4800 dpi. I have Photoshop CS3, and it yields marvelous results with the CanoScan--noticeably superior to the Epson. It also does color negatives very well, despite what some have said, again much better than the Epson. The scans came into Photoshop a little oversaturated, reddish and fuzzy but Photoshop, with 4800 pixels to push around produced a sharp and perfect image--colorwise; far superior results to what you are going to get from the neighborhood photomat. It handles OCR just fine, despite claims that it didn't. Scanned into Word 97, Word 2007 and Acrobat Professional with good results. The scanner crops at any size--just turn the autocrop off.

Cons: Thus far I have no major complaints with this scanner, although I'll change my mind if it doesn't outlast the two Epson lemons. Some complain about the buttons on the lid, but I never use them, since the manual controls give so much more control and quality in the final scan results.

Overall Review: The auto features are great at reducing grain and dust and scratches in slide and negative scans. It will save much retouch time over the Epson 4490. The CanoScan is quiet and warms up quickly. The film holders are no more flimsy than those of the Epson 4490. If you have or can get Photoshop, and can scan at the high res modes for slides and negs, this scanner will produce the high quality, sharp, richly colored image quality you have been looking for in a mid-range priced scanner.