Best Portable Photo Scanners

Portable photo scanners are a great idea, but as with any item, they have their pros and cons over the alternative - a flatbed scanner. To help you be sure that a portable photo scanner will accomplish what you want, let's cover the pros and cons of these devices in comparison to a traditional photo scanner.

Pros of Using A Portable Photo Scanner

1. Ease of Use.
Portable scanners are usually very easy to use. Place the photo into the slot, press a button and you are done. No complicated software to use and no complicated settings to navigate and tweak. Some portable scanners can even be used without a computer.

2. Small Size
Flatbed scanners can be very large and not everyone has the space to fit them. A portable photo scanner is small and can easily fit on the side of your desk or even be stored on a shelf. This also means you can scan from wherever you want within the house.

3. Will Travel
Want to take a trip to Grandma's house and scan some of her old photos? You can do that with a portable unit.

4. Speed
The simplicity of a portable photo scanner makes the scanning process faster. If you simply want to have your photos backed up to digital without any grand plans for enlarging or restoring, then speed will important to you.

Cons of Using A Portable Photo Scanner

1. Lower image quality
A portable scanner just can't provide the same image quality as a flatbed unit. Even if it seems you can scan at the same resolution with both a portable and flatbed scanner, there is more to image quality than just resolution.

2. Can't scan other items
With a flatbed scanner you can also scan documents, magazines, books, etc. With a portable photo scanner you are limited to mainly photographs.

3. Limited or No Image Editing
While I suppose you could buy your own image-editing software, most flatbed photo scanners come with at least some basic editing features. If you have some damage on your photos or some red-eye issues, you don't have a built-in system for correction.

4. Mixed Customer Reviews
Portable photo scanners much like slide converters have very mixed customer reviews. Some people will be happy with their purchase and others will have nothing but complaints. Make sure you check the customer reviews on any item you are thinking of purchasing.

A portable photo scanner is a nice device and may be the only option for people who are short on space or need a traveling unit. But considering that the prices between the portables and the higher-quality flatbeds aren't all that different, make sure that you are willing to lose quality for portability.