VuPoint PDS-ST470PU-VP Compact Portable Wand Scanner

I really like this thing. It works very well and does what I wanted it for and more. It is also much faster and easier to use than my desk top scanner. I have found out a couple things about it that others might be interested in. The JPG files that it creates could not be saved after being edited with Canon's Zoom Browser photo editing program. That program would hang-up when I tried to save the edited JPG from the Magic Wand scanner. I found that if opened the scaner's JPG with Microsoft's Paint, then only saved it, Zoom Browser would work just fine with it. I also found that the medium resolution of 600 dpi makes the best quality scans. They are very clear and much better than ones made at the HI resolution of 1050 or 1200. Talking to friend who is in to high quality photography, he told me that is common with even very expensive scanners.

I bought this to scan pages from books. I'm college student and thought this scan would make it easier to pull definitions and such from books instead of hand writing them. It works okay with books until you get close to the spin. Then you lose data and the OCR just guesses at what the scanner doesn't pickup. You for overall book scanning, it's iffy. I'm also a college professor. This does allow me to scan other lose type pages, magazines and other materials that you can flatten out. The scan on these once you get use to the scanning process is good. It comes with the necessary software and USB cable. The software allows you to turn you scanned data into pictures, PDF or MS Word documents. The software does the translation from picture to text. This scanner is rechargeable. So, no need to have it constantly connect to system for power. The only necessary item you will need is a MicroSDHC memory card. The capacity depends on how much data you plan to scan and how much time there would be between data downloads. It says up to 32GB memory card. I think the average user could get away with a 4GB - 8GB. They aren't that expensive. I'm using a 16GB card at $14. If you plan of carrying this around with you, you may need a case to protect it. The one they have paired with this on the product page is a nice case that will protect the scanner and provides a space for the USB cable and memory card container. However, it is a very tight fit. If you are looking for a scanner that will scan lines of text in hard bound type books, a pen scanner would be better.

If I could give it 3.5 stars, I would. It's a great scanner for documents. An amazing feature is that it can keep scanning for several feet (if you even had the space to lay something flat for that amount of distance). However, this is not as amazing for scanning images. No matter how high I go, there is distortion and some kind of 'faux' pixelation. I tried scanning really large and shrinking down, but the distortion is still very noticeable. It's never going to come out as clean as a bed or drum scanner because you scan manually with the movement of your hands. Lines won't even be as clean as a picture I take with my Samsung Galaxy II. Another thing is that I can't get the computer to read the scanner at all, so I have to pull out the tiny SD card every time. Not too bad a buy for such a low price though, I think I got it for about $65, and after using it, I wouldn't pay much more than $75 for this product. If your job requires you to scan a lot of documents though, it's well worth your money for the convenience.

What a great little tool that does very big things! Great for capturing recipes, family photos, just let your imagination fly! It scans beautifully and the download to the computer is effortless. I bought one for my sister several years ago for Christmas and when we finally got around to using hers - I just had to have one for myself! Great quality of scans. It even lets you know if you moved the scanner or picture while scanning so that you can redo it. Smart little thing. The one I got has a color view screen which although it doesn't display the photo in the correct dimensions (shows squished in on sides) you get the idea of how it will look when downloaded and give you a chance to make sure you got everything you wanted in the material being scanned. And it goes EVERYWHERE and ANYWHERE. Works independent of the computer and is only dependent upon the computer for recharging and downloading. Very versatile!

Arrived quickly and packaged well. Been using it for a month now on a iMac which needed no programing. It does come with programing for Windows. it does a great job of coping anything you slide it across. Mine came with a 8GB Micro card and SD adapter. It also came with a 110 volt ac charger and USB cable for downloading and also charging the built in rechargeable battery. The quality of scans is unbeatable. I have a very expensive printer/scanner for high quality photos and the VuPoint does a better job. Also very easy to use, and being a male, didn't even have to read the book. It takes between 5 and 7 sec. to scan a 8½ x 11" full color picture and it slides very smoothly and in a straight line.

I got this because my wife and I tend to hoard magazines to save an artificial or recipe we want to have as a reference. We also seem to have a ton of paperwork for her business and our farm so I wanted to be able to clean it up without getting rid of anything we need for taxes. Pros: This works much better than a flat scanner for books and magazines. Not needing to have it connected to a computer. Doesn't take up much space Cons: For papers it leaves a little to be desired since you have to try to pull it straight and snow enough that it can capture the document but not so slow it times out. I know there is an sheet feeder adapter that might solve some of the manual pulling issues and looking around you can get the feeder and scanner as a set.

This wand is a great device, when it works. Problem is, it's battery does not hold a charge. Even when charged for the correct amount of time, it never shows a full charge and then the battery depletes very quickly. The scans are good, it is simple to use, and very portable.

this product does need a SanDisk MicroSD to work. http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M55C0NS/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_31 its not as versatile as I had hoped it would be nor is it thin enough to scan my favorite books or manga into my personal library without issues like not scanning fully the images or words on the pages as well as being too thick it does not easily scan without causing some wear to the spines of the manga and books. However I do have to say it's image quality is beautiful. and you can use USB cable for transfer of images to computer after installing software it comes with and the separately sold SanDisk MicroSD.

It takes some practice to run smoothly but even slightly shaky ones are better than fax copies. Very useful but I have it on the lowest resolution because more than 300 dpi is overkill for my needs.