Different photo scanners have different features, and narrowing down what you need can help you choose. Do you have tons of photos that need scanning? A scanner with an auto-feed tray is a must. Do you need to get high-definition digital scans? You may want to consider a high-quality flatbed scanner. For other types of photo scanners, you can read on through our curated list to find out more.

When you need to digitize boxes upon boxes of old photos, you may want to consider the Epson FastFoto FF-680W for your home office. This photo scanner’s primary feature is its unmatched capacity to scan up to 36 photos in one go. If you opt to scan each image at 300 dpi, the scanner can digitize each picture in as little as one second. You can even opt to directly upload each scanned photo into your cloud for easier management. 

If you feel that 300 dpi is a bit grainy, you still have the option to scan your photos with 600 and even 1200 dpi. However, increasing scan quality does slow down scanning time, but it’ll still be quicker than scanning each photograph manually. Another great feature of this personal scanner is that you can even enhance your photos as you’re scanning them! And, you don’t even have to have in-depth knowledge of photo editing for the enhancements and corrections.

Epson’s SafeTouch feature also keeps your older photos safe as they’re going through the scanner. And, for those special photos with handwritten notes at their back, the scanner can even digitize both the image and the letter with its Single-step Technology. This feature means even faster scanning as you won’t have to turn each photograph around to get both the image and the letter digitized. 

We will admit that the quality of the scan isn’t the highest on the list, but the FastFoto still gets pretty great results without leaving you hunched over a flatbed for hours at a time — and for that, it’s the photo scanner that will work best for many users.

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Plustek’s photo scanner is an excellent option for anyone looking for a wallet-friendly option that doesn’t compromise any necessary features. You can readily scan any picture size ranging from 3×5 to up to 8×10, which allows you to digitize most pictures as a lot of them come in those dimensions. You can also digitize any document that’s A4-sized or smaller for easier organizing of papers, receipts, and bills.

You can choose to scan photos and documents at either 300 or 600 dpi, which is on par with other personal home scanners. When scanning at 300 dpi, the scanner can digitize 4×6 photos in as little as two seconds! This speed means you can archive hundreds of pictures in a single sitting without too much effort, which is always a plus for a scanner at this price point.

For those of you who’re scanning older photos that time has faded, there’s some good news. You can quickly restore and enhance any scanned image through this photo scanner. And, you don’t even have to have advanced photo-manipulation know-how to do the enhancing, as you can do it with a single click through the scanner’s own program.

When you’re looking for a practical option, it’s hard not to recommend this photo scanner. While other scanners do specific jobs much better, this option does most of what you need reliably at a cost-effective price point. 

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If you’re a film photography enthusiast and want to process your photos quickly, KODAK has the best solution with their Slide N Scan Photo scanner. This photo scanner bypasses the tedious traditional way of developing film by allowing you to digitize the reel into the machine directly. The feed accepts the most common film sizes of 135, 110, and 126 millimeters, and it can even save it into an SD card to make file management convenient on your end. 

Before saving the photos, though, you get the chance to see them clearly with the scanner’s 5-inch LCD. The crystal clear display lets you seamlessly view your snapshots with ease, as well as edit them right then and there. Also, the LCD’s gallery mode viewing allows you to use the photo scanner as a desktop picture frame! A wide viewing angle is just the cherry on top for the display, which lets others see the pictures even when they aren’t directly in front of it.

What we also like about this photo scanner is its ease of use. It comes with everything you’d need for direct digitizing, has an intuitive system for photo enhancing, and even a cleaning brush! You don’t need to be gifted in photo editing or even traditional film development to use this scanner effectively.

While you can’t scan documents and printed photos with this scanner, its purpose is clear, and it does that purpose well. You can’t pass up on this photo scanner if you dabble in film photography. 

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Doxie’s streamlined photo scanner is an excellent choice when you’re always on the go. The compact design of the scanner makes it easy to carry around with you to scan any photo or document at any time. It can digitize full-paged documents and colored pictures at 300 or 600 dpi. You can even get your scanning done quickly as this scanner can do full-page scans in as fast as eight seconds. 

The powerful battery allows you to scan up to 400 photos once fully charged, while the spacious internal memory can store up to 8,000 files. This large capacity will enable you to collect everything you need before unloading every file into your computer or cloud. Also, transferring files is convenient, as the scanner is WiFi-enabled, meaning you don’t even need a computer to upload your files. In fact, if you have the app on your smartphone, you can receive the files directly for faster photo management. 

If you’re someone who can’t afford to wait for a computer to scan your important photos and files at a high, archival grade resolution, we can’t recommend this portable scanner enough. While it’s not as robust as the other scanner on our list, this scanner does what it needs to do whenever you need it. 

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When you need high-quality digital copies of your photos for editing or archiving, you may want to consider Epson’s Perfection V600 scanner. This flatbed scanner produces photo scans with resolutions of up to 6400 x 9600 dpi. The scanner can scan regular photos and documents with ease, but what makes it stand out is that it can scan film negatives as well. It comes with two film holders, one for medium format films and another for strip films and slides. Both holders are easy to use and allow you to digitize your film snapshots in high-resolution effortlessly. 

Mechanically, this photo scanner goes above and beyond to give you great quality-of-life features. The primary light source for the scanner uses a ReadyScan LED, which means no long warmup time before scans and efficient energy consumption. You can even raise the hinges so that the cover can still press down flatly on thicker documents like books and photo albums for cleaner scans. 

On the software side, you get the ArcSoft PhotoStudio. This program allows you to edit and enhance your photo scans with ease. You also get better PDFs as the ABBYY FineReader quickly converts all your scanned documents into writeable text files for easier editing. 

However, unlike some of the options on our list, this scanner focuses more on quality rather than speed. You need to manually replace photos on the flatbed when you want to scan multiples. But, the quality of the scans is well worth it if you’re after high-resolution files. That’s why we recommend this scanner for those who want a more professional archive of their photos and those who do editing more professionally.

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Jasper McCameron is a self-employed photographer who spends all of her free time researching camera gear to help elevate her work to the next level. From newborn to family sessions, weddings, sporting events, and more, she is always pointing her camera at something to capture memories for the wonderful people around her. Through all of this she’s tried out several different lenses, backdrops, timers, tripods, and so much more. Because this is time consuming (and quite expensive), she’s hoping to be able to share her real-world experience with you to help you pick the right product for your needs without having to actually try them all.

The Digital Trends team prides itself in offering expert product recommendations in ways that everyone can understand. Our team of experts is constantly using and reviewing the latest and greatest consumer tech, smart home gadgets, televisions, and so much more to offer insights to help guide your purchasing decision. We have vigorously tested thousands of different products across these categories, and we’ve distilled our lists to bring you the best of the best. If we feel a product does not live up to our expectations, it doesn’t make the list. We are humans though, and realize that not every recommended product will be perfect for everyone, so we do our best to call out important features that may impact your choices. Below our top picks we’ve included additional product information to ensure that you are making the right choice for your unique needs. The products in this guide have been carefully curated by our team of experts and enthusiasts who understand the value and quality needed for the best options.