Scanner Reviews

This scanner was a wonderful surprise in a market swimming with inferior machines that leave you with ugly scans and a lot of headaches.

I use this to take close-up photos of jewelry for eBay auctions, so the photos need to be clear and the color true or people will bite your head off :o). I will admit that the reason I went for this one was because of the price (and the fact that it wasn't made by HP). I was spending double on Hewlitt Packard scanners and, one year later on the nose everytime, each one of them broke. Their customer service was as lousy as their products.

You do need to be just a little scanner savvy in the beginning to get the configurations right for whatever you're scanning, but once you get the hang of it your images come out beautiful (the color is brilliant). I have Millenium, and had no problem setting everything up.

I bought this scanner in time for Christmas in order to create gifts that could utilize pictures that were taken when I was a kid. Setup was easy (I have Windows XP) though I did have to restart my computer twice before it even recognized the CD installation disk. Otherwise, installation was a breeze and I was scanning family photos in a snap. Quality of the scanning was more than adequate for my needs. It's not the quietest scanner but it's also relatively compact and is extremely snazzy in it's black shell. I have not tried the other buttons/features on the scanner such as email, ocr or fax.

I used to have a UMAX scanner and that was a nightmare that liked to crash my computers down to a blue screen. My new Visioneer scanner makes up for these headaches and I'm completely happy with what you get for the price.

I think this scanner works great! I am using WinXP pro and I had the scanner working in minutes.

I use twain to scan and have not used the one button features yet, I may never use them as the twain interface is more to my liking.

I think if you are looking for a good basic scanner this is a good choice.

Update: I've been using this scanner for a couple of weeks now and I like it even more...its not fast at higher resolutions but it produces excellent scans and I would recommend it to anyone, with the free shipping and rebate its unbeatable.

I got a great deal on this scanner so I couldn't pass it up. I did initially have some installation issues in windows XP that took some time to get straightened out. The scanner produces nice scans and is very fast via the USB 2.0 connection. But over the last few months I've devoloped a weird haze on the underside of the glass and Canon seems less than enthusiastic about fixing or replacing it. I don't notice any difference in the scans, but my guess is that the haze will only get worse and will eventually effect the scans.

I bought this scanner due to its low price and the many reviews that gave it it high marks for its scanned images. Canon also offers the D1250U2F model which allows you to scan film and slides. Since I mainly wanted a scanner to scan documents (not photos) and since I have a computer with a USB 2.0 port, I chose the D1250U2 model instead. I've had it a couple weeks and am very happy with the quality of the scans. The buttons on the front of the scanner can be set to start your custom applications when pressed and I can scan documents at 600DPI in a few seconds. I haven't had any problems using the scanner with Windows XP. I did contact Canon since there was no mention of the D1250U2 drivers on their site. I was told to download the latest drivers and software for the D1250U2F (which I did) since both scanners are basically the same model. Overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase.

I purchased three of these ....My scanners worked perfectly, no problems at all, with Windows XP Home, XP Professional, and Windows 2000. Plug-and-play. Also, canon does offer drivers for this scanner online on their website, someone just needs to do a little hunting to find them. Color reproduction is great, resolution is good, I found that I didn't need to do any color correction or editing with this scanner. It's not very fast if you don't have usb 2.0 but still decent. (with a newer usb 2.0 card or motherboard, it will scan full color pages in seconds, literally).

Purchased for home use after weeks of research. I have had mine 3 weeks with no issues, output quality for text and pictures is great! Photos paper prints do have a matte look to them as another review of the CX6400 pointed out. Epson told me the 6400 and 5400 have the same print engine. My photos are matte finish even on Epson Durabright Glossy paper. They still look awesome but don't expect high gloss prints. Remember this is not a photo printer and it still much cheaper to got to Costco for true lab quality prints for half the cost. No install issues on my Win98SE PC and it came with a USB cable!! I tested this printer against the HP 2410 and Canon MP 730, Epson was as good or better in all areas but the glossy photo issue. If that's important, look at the HP 2410, however you will spend $200 more for it and then there is the HP Ink cartridge cost issue and you have to buy a USB cable. I could not deal with tossing a color cartridge because one color ran dry. This printer is a SCREAMING DEAL for what it does at it's cost point. Buy one you will not regret it unless you want a true photo printer but the HP 2410 is not one either.

The CX5400 currently sells for $..., maybe less with rebates and other incentives. is it worth it? YUP!!

This badboy copies,prints and scans just like the older CX5200 model that was discontinued by Epson but it also does borderless printing and its quiet!!!
See http://www.epson.com/ for full specs.

SETUP - a breeze, open up the box, remove all that funky tape, plug it in, insert the 4 cartridges, flip that scanner lock switch, install the software, plug in the usb port. Took me 5 minutes, no problems at all.

NOISE - Only noise this unit makes is when its first turned on, it initalizes and does all kinds of stuff, takes 2 mins, when its idle, its whisper quiet. When it prints, there is only the humm of paper being printed, not loud at all, the CX5200 made a horrible sound when it printed, they fixed it in this unit.

SPEED - print speed is very fast, b&w or color - no waiting for it to catch up. i printed 20 pages that came out before my coffee was even cold. Best photo printing is the slowest mode as expected, so be patient.

OUTPUT - paper comes out dry, text is rich and clean, looks like a laser printer. color is very sharp and crisp, no problems here. this unit does 8 1/2x11 borderless printing too, amazing. 5700x1440 dpi is very nice and durabrite ink comes out dry.

SCANNING - it scans 1200x2400 dpi @ 48bit which in english means your color or b&w scans will come out exactly as the original, i scanned a magazine page and my keys, no blurs or distortion at all, job well done epson.

COPYING - you dont need the pc to do copying, it does color and b&w copying just like a real copier would, enlargments/reductions/lighten or darken the image and zoom and # of copies, its all there. the scanning are is too small to handle legal size paper, but i dont think any of the multifunction printers can.

CONCLUSION - i give it a 5 stars, the CX5200 had paper loading problems-fixed here, it also had slow photo printing-fixed here. This unit also displays the ink levels in printer config or control panel and ink is a **lot** cheaper and lasts longer than any of the HP mfc's.

DISLIKES - only things for epson to work on, makes the power cord removeable to the unit so its easier to feed under a desk, put the usb port in back of the unit so the cable doesn't get bent, make the control panel on the printer a little bigger, and maybe add a sleep mode so it will use less electricity when idle for 10 mins or more.

There are tons of options to set in printer config, too many to explain here. Epson came out with this CX5400 model and the CX6400 model, personally, the CX6400 looked huge to me, 23" wide and wouldn't fit on my desk.

Still waiting for a review from zdnet or pcworld, wonder whats taking them so long ?

CX5200 and CX5400 uses the same ink carts...epson says black will last 1000 pages, and color around 300 pages give or take a few. I can tell you from experience, the HP2210 lasted 35 color pages and about 70 black.

Good job Epson... HP should be ashamed for charging twice the price for the same features and way overcharging for ink cartridges.

I dont work for Epson, Amazon or HP, so you know this review is honest!!

Those of us with Macs don't have a lot of options when it comes to printers. HPs don't work well, and the good Canon ones aren't necessarily compatible. So I was glad to see that the CX5400 was compatible with my iBook OS 9.2. And I'm happy to report that it's been perfect so far. Installation was easy, with only two small glitches. After putting in the ink cartridges, there was an error message, so I had to turn the machine off and turn it back on and the error message went away. And the poster/manual said if you have a Mac, to plug in the USB first, but there's a huge sticker on the printer's USB port that said don't plug in the USB first, so I didn't.

Print quality is excellent. When I print color documents, the colors are even truer than the ones I print on the expensive fiery machine at the office. (Haven't tried photo printing yet, as I'd rather do that online or at Costco.) Photocopying is easy. And I just tried the scanner today and it was so easy it was scary. I have Photoshop, so I import the document from there and save it to my hard drive.

I'm sorry that a few other people have had negative experiences, but I'm extremely happy with this all-in-one.

Bad qualities:
As the buyer from CA (Jan 11, 2004) stated, the power must be cycled on this scanner from time to time. Save your scans frequently, because after ten scans or so - the software may give error codes & hang. After reading the documentation & checking Canon's web site, I've found nothing that remedies this problem.

Good qualities:
The scanner is great for the price range it retails in. I highly recommend it for slide scanning & platen images. I don't recommend it for scanning negatives - it takes a few tries to scan each negative which is unacceptable for me.

Speed & reliability:
Speedy USB 2.0 interface & decent looking device. Above average scanner. After six months, it still functions as new - which is very important in today's low price provides low quality type of marketplace.

Being an amatuer photographer, I wanted a scanner that could scan slides and negatives. The 5000F is a flatbed scanner so it can also scan documents which makes a very versitile and useful scanner. Usually flatbed scanners do NOT make good film and slide scanners; the 5000F is an exception. It's actually based on a rather decent CCD technology rather than the cheaper CIS chip (most flatbeds), which is the reason for the very good film/slide scanning performance. It has a special back-lit slot in the cover for slides and negatives. You can scan up to 3 negs or 2 slides at once. It also has an IR dust and scratch removal sensor that works fairly well (but not on scratches). The quality is very very good but the scans are quite slow, even with a USB-2 connection. You must remove a white backing board, insert the negs or slides in provided carriers, and position the carriers in the scanner. The graphics software, Archsoft PhotoStudio, is quite adequate but not nearly on the same level as Adobe Photoshop. There's MUCH additional software for creating photo albums, photo databases, OCR, etc.. Installation is very easy. It took me 20 minutes to install and start scanning after a bad day at work! The quality of the scans is excellent, the scanning software is very easy to use, the software package is quite comprehensive, scanning negs and slides requires some fumbling, and the scans are slow (but I've seen slower). The quality of the slide/negative scans is the MOST important feature to me and the 5000F delivers. **For the money**, I am VERY happy with the package overall.

You can still get this scanner new at eBay or at some camera places. I got it solely because I wanted a film scanner, but could not afford a "real" one. Flatbed scanners are considered inferior for such things. Well, if this scanner is making inferior scans of negatives or slides, I can't tell! I think they are wonderful. It even has the FARE system, which is usually found on more expensive models. The software bundle has loads of photo software, as well as an OCR program. I have used the OCR program once...there were too many words it couldn't read...and I could have typed up the article faster than proofreading the mistakes.But I have not read up on everything yet, mainly because there is no printed manual, only a Quick Start Guide. But at least the QSG tells you more than most. It's still confusing at times, though. Even things I've done before can be confusing to repeat. It's just not the easiest software on the face of the Earth.But as I said, it scans negatives and slides beautifully, as well as photos. It does far better with photos than my HP All-In-One. It should, however, since it is a photo/film scanner.And it's a nice priced one at that!

The LiDE 50 will not scan at 1200dpi. I'm running a 1Ghz Athlon with 256MB of RAM and plenty of system resources in Windows 2000 Professional. The scans just "hang" at 20% or 90% and never finish. Also, parts in the internal mechanism of the scanner I recieved appear to have minor corrosion on them. Whether it is this or a compatibility problem that is the cause of the scanning problems I will never know because there is no way I'm wasting my time with another unit.

Executive summary: the scanner has good and bad points.

The immediate problem is that the drivers available as of 9/2003 do not support Apple's new USB2.0-based Macs (G5, new iMac). Canon acknowledges the problem and says they're working on new drivers, but no promise on when they'll be delivered. Another, less obvious downside is that the current generation driver leaves a background process running whether or not the scanner is plugged in, which process prevents the computer from going into "sleep mode" on its own (OSX 10.2). Also, I noticed that when I linked the scan button to PS Elements, it started Elements in classic mode (solution: link to files Preview, or scan from within Elements). Again, as others have noticed, it can be slow and noisy. I do believe that when it works with USB2.0 Macs, it will be faster; currently, some scans finish (in the scanner) while data remains to be transferred to the host. Lastly, the OCR software still runs only in classic mode.

So, what are the good points? For one, price. For another, its form factor, including the fact that it's USB-bus powered (even with a PowerBook) -- no wall wart or line lump required. With the driver installed, you don't have to start the "Canon toolbox" program to use the keys on the front of the scanner, and once you've configured the software, there's no delay to click buttons on-screen to make the scanner scan (for example, to copy). Four buttons are nice, too. Less obviously, its origin for scanning is at the front left of the scanner, rather than the back; if you need to scan a bunch of cards or 4x6 photos, it's more ergonomic. I haven't tried the "Z-fold" lid trick yet with books. I haven't used it enough to judge its quality with color photos, but scanning index cards in black&white or grayscale, or using it as a black&white copier, it seems fine.

I think the scanner is a keeper, but then, my requirements are for a simple flat-bed scanner, and not for a graphics powerhouse model. If it were working with my USB2.0 iMac today, I'd rate it a star higher.

This scanner is all that Canon advertises:
* BEAUTIFUL SCANS: I scanned over 1,200 photographs with the LiDE 50: Black and white, color, newsprint, etc. The color, shading, and texture of the originals was retained. No added marks or lines from the scanner.
* GREAT VALUE: The software that comes with the scanner is actually stuff you want to keep and use (for a change). Unless you're looking to go pro, Photoshop Elements will be everything you're likely to need (I'm comparing it to features in PaintshopPro 7.0, but Elements is far easier to use). Add to it a bundle of other software that may be just as useful to you, depending on your project.
* FAST: Suffice it to say that I needed to scan a lot of snapshots at 300 dpi and waiting for the scanner was not a problem. See some of the other posts for time measurements.

* I used this on a machine that supported USB 2.0, running WinXP Pro. Installation and set up basically took care of itself.

I'd buy it again.

We bought this all-in-one to replace three large items in my small office. I got it at a really good price.... we brought it home, installed it, only to find it making the loudest noises I have heard since dot matrix days! We compared it to our HP DeskJet (which we haven't yet removed) and there was no competition as to speed and sound. The deskjet smoothly slides the paper out, and is almost as quiet as a laser printer. This thing has the print cartridge roam back and forth across the page, and you can see (and hear) it. Watch out when copying... the feeder works well, but it makes this really loud whirring noise. We're trying to figure out if we should spend the extra ching for the next model up. I'm serious when I say it reminds me of the level of printers we saw 10 years ago. However, printing quality is fantastic and sound aside, this is definitely the best 'bang for your buck.' (but wow, what a bang!)

I have been using a Brother MFC6800 laser AIO and cannot be happier. Recently I need another AIO in a different location and this time I want to try something different - a inkjet one.

Generally I like Canon inkjet printers. HP has the head on the cart (expensive) and Epson has it on the printer (once clogged, must go back to Epson for service). Even worse with Epson: it uses expensive ink to clean head all the time, even if you don't print anything. I have thrown out 3 or 4 Epson inkjet printers in last couple years and that's why I bought the Brother laser and never wanted to try inkjet again.

Canon changed my mind. It uses a replaceable head and ink is dead cheap. So I bought a i350 for $49 and I love it - very good photo and text, and it is tiny enough to sit on the top of my tower computer saving my clowded room. But Canon AIO such as MP360 looks so ugly to me (my 12-yr old and some reveiwers said it is the coolest though), and its prints are too wet (i.e. drinks ink).

I considered the Brother MFC3840CN for its built-in network and separated color carts for only $199. But after playing it in a store, I found it was like Epson: once there is a paper jam, ink fluds to everywhere; head is fixed to printer; text prints are no compare to HP.

So, I turned to HP and tried the PSC 1210 for $99. The main problem is speed: way too slow for my old 266MHz laptop. Draft mode is fast enough but quality is not good enough. The $150 1350 has more modes to choose from and the fast normal mode (300x300) is fast and good enough. But, this 5510 is only $30 more than 1350, just slightly wider (1 to 2 inches) but has everything - ADF, Fax, etc.

Seems HP has realised its crappy software, so now there is an option for driver-only installation. I downloaded and installed the 40GB driver-only file from HP website and I can use all the functions without problem (printing, scanning, etc.) and I do can share the printer between my XP/2000 PCs.

Although Canon inks are much cheaper, but I think the HP ink will last much longer, especially I use mostly black ink only and fast normal mode. I also compared 5510 to PSC 2175 and it seems to me 5510 uses much less ink.

As long as the ink will last long enough, I'd say this 5510 is currently the best choice for its compactness (very light too), good price ($175 @ Staples), very quiet printing (very loud at loading though), superb graphics and text prints (better than all others I've tried in stores), speed (especially @ 300x300) and full features (fax, ADF).

I was skeptical when considering an all in one. I'd purchased a nnew Dell Dimention computer, and it came with a Dell a940 all-in-one. I'll be writing about that fiasco in a minute... yikes. Anyhow, after reading reviews here on Amazon and at other sources, I screwed up my courage and purchased an HP 5510. I'll never regret my decision... it's an absolute dream. Setup was NOT difficult as others say, albeit it did take a little while, but good things come to those who wait. I suspect that the reason that people had trouble installing this machine is that they did NOT take the time and effort to read and follow the directions. They are plain, easy, and informative. Also, this machine is for USB 2.0 and not below, as stated on the HP website. It is FULLY compatible with Windows XP, and is NOT loud as others say it is. It's a brilliant machine, and it comes with my highest recommendation.

I purchased a Bel 936 for a trip from Colorado to California recently. Driving one of the "usual suspects," a Corvette, I figured a little extra protection couldn't hurt.

I was not disappointed in the unit's performance other than it "faults" often when passing other radar detectors or microwave towers. It gave me ample warning over a hill on I-80 in Nevada when a state trooper appeared going in the opposite direction. He had used his "instant on" radar on another vehicle which gave me plenty of time to slow down.

I like a digital voice warning rather than trying to figure out various tones to differentiate between X, K, and Ka and this unit has voice plus plenty of volume to hear it with.

The windshield mount was a little tricky to get just right but not bad and adjusting the volume level by holding down the button took some time. The levels change rapidly and I found it took a few passes to hit the volume level I wanted.

If you don't want to pony up the money for a Passport 8500 or a Bel 980, try the 936 Express. But don't expect miracles and it always helps to use a little common since when pushing the envelope on speed limits.

I've used my 936 express for just under 2 yrs in my Subaru WRX and I can say it has saved my bacon on a few occasions. Now while I would say that I don't drive like a maniac, I'm no saint either when it comes to obeying speed limits on the highway, but I have, so-far, NEVER had a speeding ticket -touch wood.

The unit did fail (stopped detecting radar altogether) after a couple of months. Bel repaired the unit quickly (I was without it for about 10 days) and it has been problem free since.

This detector is fairly basic, it has no 'bogey counters' or 'direction indicators'. I personally believe that a direction indicator is of dubious value anyway -owing to the radar energy's potential for being reflected off other vehicles / roadsigns / buildings etc. A 'bogey counter' feature on the other hand might be useful, but as I mentioned, the 936 doesn't have one. What the unit does offer though is excellent detection ability of X, K and Ka band radar. I've taken it on trips to California and in the flat expanses of Death Valley, the detector would pick up approaching police vehicles sometimes 2-3 minutes before we passed each other, that means they were over 4 or 5 MILES away when 1st detected. Naturally this range decreases in urban environments.

Because of the highly directional nature of Laser (it's a pencil thin beam) I'm personally of the opinion that if a genuine Laser alert is received, it's probably too late, if you were speeding, the ticket is as good as in the mail. The unit does sometimes give false Laser alerts (a particular overhead dot-matrix sign in my area sets it off about 75% of the time I pass under it). From what I understand, many laser detectors are susceptible to this type of thing.

False alerts on X band are common too (automatic door openers, fast food microwave ovens etc. are touted as the reason for this). It sometimes also chirps when passing other vehicles, I guess they are equipped with radar detectors - some of them leak a bit. By running it in CityX mode it is possible to reduce false alarms significantly by turning down the sensitivity to X band radar. I always run mine this way.

I give the 936 Express 4 stars since it offers solid performance at a budget price. I'd give it 5 if the volume was easier to adjust and the signal strength meter didn't go away in the nighttime use DARK mode (I see no reason why it can't be made dimmer)

What this thing isn't though is a licence to speed recklessly. It may alert you to the presence of police radar in a timely manner, but it does nothing to reduce the odds of an accident. In busy urban environments, the reduced range plus the false alarms from shop door openers etc., limit the effectiveness of any radar detector, not to mention the danger of inappropriate speed in these environments. If you drive like a maniac you will eventually get caught -or worse. It is perhaps best viewed as a useful indicator when to ease off if you're prone to doing a few miles over on the highway. Speed Safely.

I bought one for my husband's birthday and now I take his car as often as possible. I don't have a lot of experience with radar detectors but this one has performed as expected. As far as I can tell, it has been extremely accurate from all directions.

I purchased a Bel 936 for a trip from Colorado to California recently. Driving one of the "usual suspects," a Corvette, I figured a little extra protection couldn't hurt.

I was not disappointed in the unit's performance other than it "faults" often when passing other radar detectors or microwave towers. It gave me ample warning over a hill on I-80 in Nevada when a state trooper appeared going in the opposite direction. He had used his "instant on" radar on another vehicle which gave me plenty of time to slow down.

I like a digital voice warning rather than trying to figure out various tones to differentiate between X, K, and Ka and this unit has voice plus plenty of volume to hear it with.

The windshield mount was a little tricky to get just right but not bad and adjusting the volume level by holding down the button took some time. The levels change rapidly and I found it took a few passes to hit the volume level I wanted.

If you don't want to pony up the money for a Passport 8500 or a Bel 980, try the 936 Express. But don't expect miracles and it always helps to use a little common since when pushing the envelope on speed limits.

I've used my 936 express for just under 2 yrs in my Subaru WRX and I can say it has saved my bacon on a few occasions. Now while I would say that I don't drive like a maniac, I'm no saint either when it comes to obeying speed limits on the highway, but I have, so-far, NEVER had a speeding ticket -touch wood.

The unit did fail (stopped detecting radar altogether) after a couple of months. Bel repaired the unit quickly (I was without it for about 10 days) and it has been problem free since.

This detector is fairly basic, it has no 'bogey counters' or 'direction indicators'. I personally believe that a direction indicator is of dubious value anyway -owing to the radar energy's potential for being reflected off other vehicles / roadsigns / buildings etc. A 'bogey counter' feature on the other hand might be useful, but as I mentioned, the 936 doesn't have one. What the unit does offer though is excellent detection ability of X, K and Ka band radar. I've taken it on trips to California and in the flat expanses of Death Valley, the detector would pick up approaching police vehicles sometimes 2-3 minutes before we passed each other, that means they were over 4 or 5 MILES away when 1st detected. Naturally this range decreases in urban environments.

Because of the highly directional nature of Laser (it's a pencil thin beam) I'm personally of the opinion that if a genuine Laser alert is received, it's probably too late, if you were speeding, the ticket is as good as in the mail. The unit does sometimes give false Laser alerts (a particular overhead dot-matrix sign in my area sets it off about 75% of the time I pass under it). From what I understand, many laser detectors are susceptible to this type of thing.

False alerts on X band are common too (automatic door openers, fast food microwave ovens etc. are touted as the reason for this). It sometimes also chirps when passing other vehicles, I guess they are equipped with radar detectors - some of them leak a bit. By running it in CityX mode it is possible to reduce false alarms significantly by turning down the sensitivity to X band radar. I always run mine this way.

I give the 936 Express 4 stars since it offers solid performance at a budget price. I'd give it 5 if the volume was easier to adjust and the signal strength meter didn't go away in the nighttime use DARK mode (I see no reason why it can't be made dimmer)

What this thing isn't though is a licence to speed recklessly. It may alert you to the presence of police radar in a timely manner, but it does nothing to reduce the odds of an accident. In busy urban environments, the reduced range plus the false alarms from shop door openers etc., limit the effectiveness of any radar detector, not to mention the danger of inappropriate speed in these environments. If you drive like a maniac you will eventually get caught -or worse. It is perhaps best viewed as a useful indicator when to ease off if you're prone to doing a few miles over on the highway. Speed Safely.

I bought one for my husband's birthday and now I take his car as often as possible. I don't have a lot of experience with radar detectors but this one has performed as expected. As far as I can tell, it has been extremely accurate from all directions.

I purchased a Bel 936 for a trip from Colorado to California recently. Driving one of the "usual suspects," a Corvette, I figured a little extra protection couldn't hurt.

I was not disappointed in the unit's performance other than it "faults" often when passing other radar detectors or microwave towers. It gave me ample warning over a hill on I-80 in Nevada when a state trooper appeared going in the opposite direction. He had used his "instant on" radar on another vehicle which gave me plenty of time to slow down.

I like a digital voice warning rather than trying to figure out various tones to differentiate between X, K, and Ka and this unit has voice plus plenty of volume to hear it with.

The windshield mount was a little tricky to get just right but not bad and adjusting the volume level by holding down the button took some time. The levels change rapidly and I found it took a few passes to hit the volume level I wanted.

If you don't want to pony up the money for a Passport 8500 or a Bel 980, try the 936 Express. But don't expect miracles and it always helps to use a little common since when pushing the envelope on speed limits.

I've used my 936 express for just under 2 yrs in my Subaru WRX and I can say it has saved my bacon on a few occasions. Now while I would say that I don't drive like a maniac, I'm no saint either when it comes to obeying speed limits on the highway, but I have, so-far, NEVER had a speeding ticket -touch wood.

The unit did fail (stopped detecting radar altogether) after a couple of months. Bel repaired the unit quickly (I was without it for about 10 days) and it has been problem free since.

This detector is fairly basic, it has no 'bogey counters' or 'direction indicators'. I personally believe that a direction indicator is of dubious value anyway -owing to the radar energy's potential for being reflected off other vehicles / roadsigns / buildings etc. A 'bogey counter' feature on the other hand might be useful, but as I mentioned, the 936 doesn't have one. What the unit does offer though is excellent detection ability of X, K and Ka band radar. I've taken it on trips to California and in the flat expanses of Death Valley, the detector would pick up approaching police vehicles sometimes 2-3 minutes before we passed each other, that means they were over 4 or 5 MILES away when 1st detected. Naturally this range decreases in urban environments.

Because of the highly directional nature of Laser (it's a pencil thin beam) I'm personally of the opinion that if a genuine Laser alert is received, it's probably too late, if you were speeding, the ticket is as good as in the mail. The unit does sometimes give false Laser alerts (a particular overhead dot-matrix sign in my area sets it off about 75% of the time I pass under it). From what I understand, many laser detectors are susceptible to this type of thing.

False alerts on X band are common too (automatic door openers, fast food microwave ovens etc. are touted as the reason for this). It sometimes also chirps when passing other vehicles, I guess they are equipped with radar detectors - some of them leak a bit. By running it in CityX mode it is possible to reduce false alarms significantly by turning down the sensitivity to X band radar. I always run mine this way.

I give the 936 Express 4 stars since it offers solid performance at a budget price. I'd give it 5 if the volume was easier to adjust and the signal strength meter didn't go away in the nighttime use DARK mode (I see no reason why it can't be made dimmer)

What this thing isn't though is a licence to speed recklessly. It may alert you to the presence of police radar in a timely manner, but it does nothing to reduce the odds of an accident. In busy urban environments, the reduced range plus the false alarms from shop door openers etc., limit the effectiveness of any radar detector, not to mention the danger of inappropriate speed in these environments. If you drive like a maniac you will eventually get caught -or worse. It is perhaps best viewed as a useful indicator when to ease off if you're prone to doing a few miles over on the highway. Speed Safely.

I bought one for my husband's birthday and now I take his car as often as possible. I don't have a lot of experience with radar detectors but this one has performed as expected. As far as I can tell, it has been extremely accurate from all directions.

I purchased a Bel 936 for a trip from Colorado to California recently. Driving one of the "usual suspects," a Corvette, I figured a little extra protection couldn't hurt.

I was not disappointed in the unit's performance other than it "faults" often when passing other radar detectors or microwave towers. It gave me ample warning over a hill on I-80 in Nevada when a state trooper appeared going in the opposite direction. He had used his "instant on" radar on another vehicle which gave me plenty of time to slow down.

I like a digital voice warning rather than trying to figure out various tones to differentiate between X, K, and Ka and this unit has voice plus plenty of volume to hear it with.

The windshield mount was a little tricky to get just right but not bad and adjusting the volume level by holding down the button took some time. The levels change rapidly and I found it took a few passes to hit the volume level I wanted.

If you don't want to pony up the money for a Passport 8500 or a Bel 980, try the 936 Express. But don't expect miracles and it always helps to use a little common since when pushing the envelope on speed limits.

I've used my 936 express for just under 2 yrs in my Subaru WRX and I can say it has saved my bacon on a few occasions. Now while I would say that I don't drive like a maniac, I'm no saint either when it comes to obeying speed limits on the highway, but I have, so-far, NEVER had a speeding ticket -touch wood.

The unit did fail (stopped detecting radar altogether) after a couple of months. Bel repaired the unit quickly (I was without it for about 10 days) and it has been problem free since.

This detector is fairly basic, it has no 'bogey counters' or 'direction indicators'. I personally believe that a direction indicator is of dubious value anyway -owing to the radar energy's potential for being reflected off other vehicles / roadsigns / buildings etc. A 'bogey counter' feature on the other hand might be useful, but as I mentioned, the 936 doesn't have one. What the unit does offer though is excellent detection ability of X, K and Ka band radar. I've taken it on trips to California and in the flat expanses of Death Valley, the detector would pick up approaching police vehicles sometimes 2-3 minutes before we passed each other, that means they were over 4 or 5 MILES away when 1st detected. Naturally this range decreases in urban environments.

Because of the highly directional nature of Laser (it's a pencil thin beam) I'm personally of the opinion that if a genuine Laser alert is received, it's probably too late, if you were speeding, the ticket is as good as in the mail. The unit does sometimes give false Laser alerts (a particular overhead dot-matrix sign in my area sets it off about 75% of the time I pass under it). From what I understand, many laser detectors are susceptible to this type of thing.

False alerts on X band are common too (automatic door openers, fast food microwave ovens etc. are touted as the reason for this). It sometimes also chirps when passing other vehicles, I guess they are equipped with radar detectors - some of them leak a bit. By running it in CityX mode it is possible to reduce false alarms significantly by turning down the sensitivity to X band radar. I always run mine this way.

I give the 936 Express 4 stars since it offers solid performance at a budget price. I'd give it 5 if the volume was easier to adjust and the signal strength meter didn't go away in the nighttime use DARK mode (I see no reason why it can't be made dimmer)

What this thing isn't though is a licence to speed recklessly. It may alert you to the presence of police radar in a timely manner, but it does nothing to reduce the odds of an accident. In busy urban environments, the reduced range plus the false alarms from shop door openers etc., limit the effectiveness of any radar detector, not to mention the danger of inappropriate speed in these environments. If you drive like a maniac you will eventually get caught -or worse. It is perhaps best viewed as a useful indicator when to ease off if you're prone to doing a few miles over on the highway. Speed Safely.

I bought one for my husband's birthday and now I take his car as often as possible. I don't have a lot of experience with radar detectors but this one has performed as expected. As far as I can tell, it has been extremely accurate from all directions.