Testing VueScan 9 x64 (9.5.76) in Linux Mint 18.1 on a machine with a medium speed processor and a fast SSD. All the software tested here is faster than the scanner.
Testing with a Canon 9000F Mark II with USB ID 04a9:190d labelled "Canon, Inc. CanoScan 9000F Mark II". Testing against Linux Sane version 1.0.25 using applications Simplescan 3.20.0 and Xsane 0.999.
The Canon 9000F Mark II shows up as device "pixma:04A9190D".
Alternatives
There are excellent free open source alternatives to Vuescan. The alternatives may not support odd models of scanners or all the features of your scanner. As an example, simplescan does not support all the resolutions of my scanner.
Simplescan
Simplescan is a common scanning application on Linux but shows only 2400 dpi as the maximum scanning resolution, not the 4800 dpi available from my 9000F Mark II. Simplescan has no film scan option. Two major failures.
I use Simplescan when I do not need the maximum resolution. You can scan several documents then save them one at a time or as a group. when you have several documents scanned, you can select individual documents and save or delete them. If you get the mixture wrong, you can end up with multiple documents mixed up in the wrong file.
Simplescan locks up memory without reusing it. On my notebook with large photographs, I had to restart Simplescan every third scan to free up memory. I switched to using a desktop machine with more memory. My notebook is due for replacement and the next notebook will have at least twice the memory, removing the memory problem for most of my scanning sessions.
I save the scans as PNG files to ensure there is no loss of detail from the scans. The PNG format works in every image viewer and every image editor. The PNG format works beautifully with GIMP and Pix, the two applications I use most. Big PNG files create problems with the default image viewer in Linux Mint, the only problem I found with the PNG format.
Xsane
Xsane is a front end for the Linux Sane scanning software. Xsane lists 4800 dpi as an option in flatbed mode and has a transparency mode I have not tested. Xsane appears to do everything I need for photos. The Xsane user interface was not obvious at first. I decided it is easier to use Xsane through GIMP.
There were problems with the version of Xsane I tested. They may occur with only some scanners and be fixed in later releases.
GIMP + Xsane
GIMP, the GNU Image Manipulation Program, can scan using Xsane. GIMP provides a friendly user interface and places the scanned image in an editing window, ready to trim then save in a format of your choice. This is useful when you place several smaller photographs in one scan.
You can trim the edges of the scan then save the full resolution scan as a PNG file. Without changing applications, you can immediately create images in different sizes and formats for display on smartphones and Web sites.
The Xsane problems occurred when using Xsane through GIMP. Some of the symptoms are the same. For most of my scans, I returned to Simplescan to produce PNG files then opened the files in GIMP. GIMP happily opened multiple files and does not have the memory problem that occurs in Simplescan.
Vuescan
Vuescan sells a "Standard Edition", US$59.95, and a "Professional Edition" for US$119.95. You can download a single installation file and test both for free. The Vuescan Web site says the Pro version has film scanning but the demo has film scanning in both versions. OCR is the other major feature in the Pro version and I do not need OCR. The Standard version appears to do everything I need for photos.
The Vuescan Pro version adds some settings that interesting. I have not investigated all the options. Xsane also has a few options I have not tested. Some of the options appear to be useful for correcting problems during the scan. When you have a 16 bit colour depth instead of an 8 bit colour depth, you can afford to accept small colour errors during the scan then fix the colours during editing. For 8 bit scans, you need to correct colours and contrast in the scan to preserve the 8 bits of colour for the final image. I may experiment if I have photographs with colour problems.
If you correct during the scan, based on the preview, you need your monitor colour calibrated. I do not know if Vuescan or Xsane use colour profiles for the monitor.
The Vuescan standard edition is ok value for a scanning application but includes updates for only a year, which might be a problem if you upgrade your scanner or operating system. The Pro version has updates for life, a better deal when you are young and planning on scanning for many years.
Based on scanning photographs with my current scanner and the basic settings, neither version is worth the money compared to the latest version of Simplescan/Xsane/GIMP. There was a time when my scanner did not have support in open source software, making Vuescan a quick solution. Xsane has some problems and, again, Vuescan would be cheaper than wasting time trying to work around the problems.
Some Vuescan users purchased Vuescan because Vuescan continued to work with their scanner after an operating system upgrade made their existing scanner driver useless. This appears to be a problem mainly on Windows. Linux is almost the opposite. In Linux there can be a huge delay before hardware support is available but the support tends to hang around for twice as long compared to Windows.
Others use Vuescan to get all the features of a new model scanner. I almost purchased Vuescan because the previous version of Linux and Xsane did not work with my scanner. If Vuescan saves you just one hour of installation work, you have saved the cost of the standard version.
Microsoft is working hard to make old software not work in Windows as a sneaky way to force you to buy new versions of Microsoft Office and everything else. This makes Microsoft the new Apple. The Vuescan Professional Edition gives you some protection against Microsoft, plus you can switch to the Linux version at no extra cost. Vuescan also lets you use the software on four machines, giving you the option to have a Linux version running along side a Windows version while you upgrade to Linux.
Film scanning
Film scanning requires different optics to photo scanning. My flatbed scanner has a film scanner option and I decided, for most scans, the extra work does not produce better results. A professional film scanner is what you need.
I looked at buying a film scanner but affordable film scanners are not much better than the film option in my flatbed scanner. I looked at professional film scanning services and found the local services use a cheap film scanner then destroy the scan quality by saving the scan as a JPEG file. You have to find a service where the people performing the scan know what they are doing and own decent equipment.
With all the film scanning problems and only a small amount of film to scan, I decided to not scan film, removing the need for the main feature of Vuescan Pro. That leaves just the lifetime updates.
Conclusion
If I was just starting out with scanning, intended to scan for a long time, and had any problems with the free open source scanning applications, I would buy the Vuescan Professional edition.
I now use digital cameras, removing the need to scan new photographs and film. Simplescan handles the scanning of most of my old photos. A professional service can handle the rate item that does not fit my scanner. After that, my scanning will be purely documents, something Simplescan handles easily.
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