The Scanner Features Unique 3-Way Design, High-Resolution, USB 2.0 Bus-Powered Interface and Ability To Scan Positive And Negative 35mm Film In A High-Tech Looking Design. From digitizing old family photos and kids school projects to scanning important receipts and documents, Canon’s slim new futuristic-styled CanoScan LiDE 500F Color Image Scanner provides consumers with a space saving, photo, document and film scanning solution.

As the flagship model in Canon’s slim-line family of LiDE scanners, the CanoScan LiDE 500F scanner’s innovative 3-way design allows it to be positioned on the desktop in any of three different ways. In addition to the traditional portrait orientation, the scanner can be positioned in landscape or upright scanning positions. A built-in stand assists in the upright scanning position, for desktops with limited space, while the unique double-hinged lid allows for Drop-in scanning. Drop-in scanning is made possible with a lid that opens to approximately 40 degrees forming a ‘V’ shape and combined with a tapered edge inside the scanner to catch the photos or documents. Consumers can simply drop in their photos and close the cover.

“Canon has been a leader in the scanner market and throughout the years has consistently delivered high quality products that fulfill a multitude of market demands and mesh consumers lifestyles with their environments,” said Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the consumer imaging group at Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ). “The new LiDE 500F Color Image Scanner furthers this commitment and taps into the heart of what consumers need, bridging high quality with futuristic style.”

The new double-hinge expansion top opens four different ways. In standard portrait or landscape orientations, the top opens to 110 degrees, making it easy to access the scanning platen to add or remove photos or documents. For scanning bulky items, the top can expand or be raised by approximately one inch. A new 180-degree feature allows the top to completely open, which exposes the scanning platen for odd or oversized items. In the upright position, the cover rests at a 40-degree angle enabling the drop-in scanning feature.

The CanoScan LiDE 500F scanner offers the additional convenience of 35mm film scanning. The included film guide can accept a 35mm film strip up to six frames in length. Whether scanning positives or negatives, the film adapter unit of the LiDE 500F scanner includes an infrared light source in addition to the white light source for FARE level 3 dust and scratch removal. FARE level 3 technology automatically performs an infrared scan that examines the film’s surface for dust and scratches and removes most, if not all, of the unwanted imperfections from the final scan. Additional features include grain and fading correction for added productivity and also Backlight correction — a new function that lets users easily compensate for incorrectly exposed pictures due to back lighted subjects.

The CanoScan LiDE 500F Scanner requires only one cable for both computer connectivity via USB and for power, which saves space and reduces wire clutter in the work area. The USB 2.0 Hi-Speed* interface delivers preview scans in approximately nine seconds by using fast transfer rates of up to 480 Mbps.

Canon's four-button design – copy, scan, PDF and e-mail – automates the scanning process and helps users expedite common scanning tasks with single-touch simplicity. In addition to the default settings from Canon, each button can be customized to perform the tasks most often used by the consumer. The Multi-Scan mode helps users save time by scanning multiple images at once, saving each image to its own file for archiving or editing. The unit also scans multi-page documents to a single PDF file. In addition, the Contact Image Sensor (CIS) on the LiDE 500F scanner generates a zero warm up time, enabling users to immediately start scanning whenever the computer is turned on.

With an optical 2400x4800 dpi resolution, the LiDE 500F Color Image Scanner offers the highest resolution of Canon’s LiDE series of scanners. Single-pass scanning technology and 48-bit color depth provide both fast and detailed scans with smooth gradation and more than 281 trillion possible colors.

All of Canon’s LiDE scanners use a small, low powered LED light source and the integration of lens elements directly on the scanning sensor to substantially reduce the number and size of individual components needed to produce a scanner. This results in a slim design that is lightweight and feature-rich for the end user.

The CanoScan LiDE 500F scanner is compatible with Windows XP, 2000, ME or 98*** operating systems and Mac OS X (10.2 to 10.3.x) operating systems. The CanoScan LiDE 500F scanner will be available in January for an estimated selling price of $129.99**.