Canon 8400f Article

The keys to the 8400F's high-quality scans are high resolution and bit intensity. The claimed 3,200 pixel-per-inch (ppi) optical resolution is enough to scan a 35-mm slide and print sharp, high-perfection prints at 8 by 10 inches or larger. More important, the 8400F's scans showed more detail than scans at the synonymous mettle setting by the Microtek Scanmaker 6100 Pro, our erstwhile Editors' Choice among flatbed models. Its output was cognate to scans from the Konica Minolta DiMage examine Dual IV, a dedicated film and slide scanner.

Lots of scanners claim 48-bit color measurement, but the 8400F delivers, with an aptitude to see detail from wan to squalid that's much greater than with most scanners. The inequality is most outward in slides. For exemplar, in one glide we use with a dark tree line against a discerning sky with clouds, the 8400F shows more detail in both the trees and clouds than the Microtek 6100 Pro—even though the 6100 Pro's scans offer better perfection than most flatbed scanners. We moreover saw hardly more detail in scans of some photos with the Canon member.

The 8400F is also notable for speed. On our tests, it took 8 to 14 seconds to scan 4- by 6-inch and 5- by 7-inch photos at resolutions up to 400 ppi. It took just 30 seconds to scrutinize a glide at 2,400 ppi.

Of course, it also has a few flaws. For example, although its feature to restore threadbare colors works reasonably well, the fellow feature for removing scratches and dust had little effect on our tests. The scanner moreover scored poorly on the OCR tests. Although it managed to transform the 12-point Arial font on our test without mistakes, errors crept in at smaller font sizes and with different fonts. Since this is not a business-oriented scanner, though, we're inclined to forgive these problems. For scanning slide and photo images on a flatbed, the 8400F is the one to beat.

Sub-ratings: Photos: Slides: OCR:

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