In these days of all-in-one printers that are capable of scanning, photocopying and printing high quality photo images, finding a decent stand-alone scanner that can successfully compete and appeal to camera enthusiasts is a tall order, especially in the lower end price sector.

Hewlett-Packard's current answer to the challenge is the Scanjet 4890, which comes in a sleek silver colour, feels satisfyingly solid and is ready to use within minutes once the software's been loaded and the USB cable connected to the PC. The scanner's adjustable, robust, metal-hinged lid can accommodate larger items such as books, thick bound files or other solid items.

So far, so unremarkable. But the focus with this machine is on high turnover at exceptional speed and on this front HP has come up with a winner. Making use of a built-in transparent materials adapter, the Scanjet 4890 can scan up to sixteen 35mm slides or 30 negative frames at once, as well as two to four medium-format film frames or one 4 x 5-inch film frame.

Each scan takes around 10 seconds, with a resolution of up to 4,800 x 9,600dpi (dots per inch), plus 48-bit colour. There are four quick-start operational buttons on the front of the unit that will scan prints, scan film, e-mail, and copy, which makes life effortless for anyone who is computer shy and unsure of peripheral technology.

What is not so impressive, surprisingly, is the quality of the finished prints - which is, after all, the scanner's reason for existence. Ordinary snapshots emerge at a comparable standard to the original but the contrast and sharpness in slide reproductions are decidedly inferior. Dark areas appear darker and rough edges become even more blurry; it's as if all the power has been diverted into pace rather than precision.

It's the same with the software. The supplied HP Real Life package restores old or damaged photos by removing dust and scratches and can even restore faded colour. All well and good, but the correction tools are pretty basic.

In the same way, HP Image Zone and Image Share enable the scanned images to be enhanced, saved and organised, but there are plenty of image manipulation and sorting packages out there that will do it a lot better. The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) feature, though, seems to work quite well (even when creating PDF files) and the Instant Share function is useful for e-mailing photos without bulky file attachments.

Although sturdy and stylish, the Scanjet 4890's main selling point is the speed of delivery, but its less-than-impressive image quality and so-so software won't elevate it above the competition.