Product Reviews

The products in Canon's LiDE range are lighter and thinner than most other scanners but aim to offer the same level of performance. The 500F, just 35mm thick, is the new flagship model.

The 500F is unusual in ways other than its size. Its scan engine uses an LED light source that requires very little power. This means the scanner doesn't need an external AC adaptor, and is powered through its USB connection to the host computer instead.

A stand folds out from under the 500F to prop it up vertically. With the scanner in this position, users can simply drop documents in, which makes capturing

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thin, reflective originals quick and easy. Oversized or thicker documents must still be scanned with the device flat on a desk.

The 500F must also be flat for transparency scans. Its thin lid has no room for the necessary backlight, so Canon has supplied a separate light box on a cable. Negative strips are loaded into a removable film holder and placed on the platen, and the user has to move the light box between individual frames to capture them. This process is rather cumbersome, and there's no adaptor for mounted 35mm slides.

Scan times are slower than we would expect but still acceptable. Capturing a 6x4" photo at 600dpi took 18 seconds, and each 35mm negative took one minute 22 seconds at 2,400dpi.

Scans from both reflective and film originals are very good. The driver's Auto Tone option does a great job of matching the colours, and the focus is sharp. Detail is preserved well in very dark and very light areas.

The LiDE 500F is a decent document scanner. Its compact size, light weight and lack of power adaptor could make it very useful on the road, but other scanners offer similar specifications and performance and are significantly cheaper.