Several smaller scanners are available these days that will work well. I reviewed the Neat Receipts Mobile Scanner a few months ago at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/04/a-neat-scanner.html and it worked well for documents but I was not happy with it as a device to scan photographs. I cautioned, "If you want to scan photographs, I'd suggest that you look elsewhere."
I have now looked elsewhere and think I have found a nice photo scanner that certainly is bigger than the Neat Receipts Mobile Scanner but certainly is a reasonably sized portable scanner.
The Pandigital Photolink One-Touch Scanner is small and, best of all, does not depend on a computer. That's right, this little powerhouse can scan pictures on its own with no computer attached. It has two slots in the back of the unit. One slot is for Compact Flash memory cards and the other is a 4-in-1-card reader including SD, xD, MMC, and NS. The scanner stores images on the memory cards in JPEG file format. The photos are scanned at 300 DPI (dots per inch). You can later take those cards to a desktop or laptop Windows or Macintosh or Linux system and copy them to that system's hard drive. No special software is required to copy the files. Once stored on your computer's hard drive, you can edit the photos as you wish in your favorite photo editing software. You can also upload any of the images to a variety of online photo sharing web site.
The Pandigital Photolink One-Touch Scanner also includes a USB cable that connects to a PC or a Mac. You can use it to copy the stored images from the scanner to your desktop or laptop computer, eliminating the need for a card reader in your computer. Simply leave the memory card in the scanner and read the information through the USB cable.
The scanner also has a cord that plugs into a power outlet. I wish it had an option to run on batteries but that is not available; it does require a wall outlet for power.
The biggest drawback that I can think of is that the Pandigital Photolink One-Touch Scanner only scans photos up to 4-inches by 6-inches in size. If you look at the photo of the scanner, you will see why. The picture moves through the scanner. The internal rollers do not seem to induce any damage to the photographs. This unit cannot scan the many 8" X 10" photographs.
If you have a few boxes full of old snapshots or if you want a portable scanner to take to family reunions or to other places, the Pandigital Photolink One-Touch Scanner may be a good choice for you. However, don't plan on scanning those 5-inch by 7-inch or 8-inch by 10-inch portraits; use it only for snapshots of up to 4-inches by 6-inches.
The Pandigital Photolink One-Touch Scanner has a list price of $119.99 but most of the online discount stores seem to be selling it for $80 to $100. You can find it in many online stores if you start at http://www.google.com/products?q=Pandigital+Photolink+One-Touch+Scanner&aq=f.
You can also purchase the Pandigital Photolink One-Touch Scanner for $84.95 at RootsBooks.com at http://www.rootsbooks.com/index.php?c=skype&n=493964&i=B001UI40SE&x=Pandigital_Photolink_One_Touch_Scanner but I do need to insert a disclaimer. RootsBooks.com is an online bookstore that I own so I do receive a small commission if you purchase it from RootsBooks.com which helps support this neesletter. You should know that before making a purchase decision.
