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Rangefinder
Magazine First Exposure: by
Peter Kotsinadelis
Features
When using a USB connection, Canon recommends using the cable provided with the scanner to avoid any possible errors. USB 1.1 is also supported but it is considerably slower. For those who prefer Firewire (IEEE 1394), that interface is also built into the scanner and although it will work with Macs running OS 9, OS-X is not supported. Software provided with the CanoScan 9900F includes ScanGear CS scanner driver, CanoScan Toolbox, ArcSoft PhotoStudio for image editing, ArcSoft PhotoBase Photo Album software, ScanSoft OmniPage OCR software, NewSoft’s Presto PageManager document management programs, NewSoft’s BizCard, and Adobe Acrobat reader with an electronic manual for the scanner that you can install or read directly from the CD. There is also a separate CD with the full version of Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 for both Mac and Windows.
The CanoScan 9900F has a flatbed area to accommodate a maximum document size of 8.5 x 11.7. Before you begin using the scanner you must unlock the scanner using a switch located toward the rear of the scanner glass (see photo). The scanner’s lid has a protective cover, or platen, underneath that presses against and holds printed material against the scanner glass. When scanning negatives or transparencies, this protective cover must be removed to provide a projection light.
The CanoScan 9900F is not the first flatbed scanner to offer an optical resolution of 3200 x 6400 dpi, but it is Canon’s first flatbed to include FARE™ 2.0 and the first flatbed that offers operation of this software in any operation with a choice of three defect removal levels. Anyone that has scanned prints with a flatbed scanner has realized that no matter how well you clean the glass and the print, there will always be dust and other marks that will appear in the scan. While some of this can be corrected in Photoshop, using the dust removal filter, it will soften the image. FARE™ 2.0 is the latest version of the Canon-developed software designed to remove dust and other defects without degrading the image sharpness. In this implementation you can select three levels (see Table 1).
For those using Photoshop, or a similar application, the minimum software that needs to be installed with the CanoScan 9900F is ScanGear CS scanner driver. This software provides two modes of operation, a simple mode with only a few settings for fast and easy scans, and an advanced mode for detailed adjustments. When using the simple mode there are only four selections: Select source—Platen or Film
There is also a yellow multi-scan button that allows you to scan several items at the same time. All you do is place the items on the scanner glass leaving a small gap between each and the scanner will do the rest.
The advanced mode is for users who want full control over the images they are scanning. This mode provides access to all the features of the CanoScan 9900F and provides a preview window on the left, with buttons for preview, zoom, scan and clear preview buttons just above it. Once you click on the preview button the scanner will initiate and acquire the image. You can also select an area of the image and zoom in on that area, as you like. Before clicking the scan button, you will notice on the right side of the screen three tabs: Main, Settings and Color. The Main tab provides the following options: The Settings
tab has the following options: The Color tab has tools for correcting brightness, contrast, gamma, histogram and curves. Settings made here can be saved and reloaded/reused later. So,
Just How Good Is It?
The CanoScan 9900F was among the simplest installations
to date. As a Photoshop user I did not spend a lot of time with the additional
software Canon included
on their CD. My objective was to see how good the scanner was so I simply
plugged in the scanner, loaded the CD and installed the Settings for high quality and “calibrate” functioned flawlessly. There is a setting to calibrate the scanner for every image, but I did not find it necessary after running calibration when the colors in the scanned images were slightly different from those of the original. On the other hand, whenever I was doing film scanning I found it advisable to leave the “high quality” selection on at all time to optimize results. Flatbed scanners have always done well scanning prints and other printed material, so the real question was how good is it at scanning film. In this particular case, the CanoScan 9900F did an excellent job scanning negatives and transparencies. Film holders were easy to install, with the tabs extending from them neatly fitting into place so that they sat ideally in the central area of the scanner, or as many refer to it, “the sweet spot,” for optimal quality.
All
images had good tone with a tendency toward lower contrast, something
that provided very good detail. You can adjust the contrast level in
Canon’s
ScanGear FARE™ will be disabled when the output resolution is set to 800 dpi or less and will not operate above 3200 dpi, the maximum optical resolution of the scanner. To paraphrase an old saying, the proof is in the results and the results of this scanner were excellent. At a list price of $399, this scanner has raised the bar to new heights and is sure to be the standard by which other scanners with similar capabilities will be judged. Peter Kotsinadelis is a freelance writer and photographer
based in Waldwick, N.J. A frequent contributor to photographic publications,
he may be reached on
CompuServe at 76154,1044. |
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It seems as though manufacturers are announcing new
scanners on a monthly basis. These new models usually have higher resolution
and, of course, more features than their predecessors. When Canon announced
their latest flatbed CanoScan 9900F scanner with an optical resolution
of 3200 x 6400 dpi and the ability to scan negatives and transparencies
up to 4 x 5 inches, they had my immediate attention, since a resolution
such as this was previously reserved for far more expensive film scanners.
When Canon also noted this new scanner would incorporate Canon’s
FARE™ 2.0 (Film Automatic Retouching and Enhancement) defect removal
software and that it would work on both with both print and film scanning
I could not wait to get my hands on it. But how good could a scanner
with a street price of under $400 be? We would soon find out.
software. Once
complete, the
scanner functioned flawlessly and I was very pleased with the excellent
job it did with prints as well as transparencies and negatives. In lieu
of a
users’ manual,
Canon elected to have the CanoScan 9900F Scanning Guide as an html software
program that installs on your hard drive and uses your web browser for
access. This is
far more useful since it is far easier to access random information this
way than if it were in paper form. 
software or in Photoshop. The colors were extremely accurate
and Canon’s
FARE™ worked perfectly each and every time. Rarely did I have to
change it from the “normal” setting.