The attractive looks are undermined by average image quality, although it remains good value.

There’s a good range of software and excellent image quality, but you pay a lot for the durability and ADF.

One of the larger form-factor units in this months Labs, Canons 9900F comes with a sexy mag alloy top coating and features a clearly labelled and attractive front control panel for easy single button press access.

Another scanner to share the same software as the LiDE 20, Canon's 3000F boasts a jumbo sized Z-hinge for scanning of books and large bound documents helping to evenly light image scanning – great for students and perfect in conjunction with the quality results gained from the included OCR scanning software.

The Canon LiDE 20 strikes a balance between quality and price. The scanner is well designed, with Z-hinges combined and the space-saving ability to stand upright.

Canon's new 600i series of digital video cameras doesn't offer any major changes to the 500i series, just a continuing improvement in quality and a few nice extras. The cameras still look the same and are just as easy to use, but the new top of the range 650i is about as good as you are going to get in its price range.

Having set itself as a stalwart in slimline, ultra-cheap flatbed scanners, Canon is moving into the world of scanners for the serious photographer.