Peripheral

http://www.pcmag.com/products/0,,qn=Scanners+Flatbed,00.asp

HP's have been good to me.

EMD

With good results. Well at least those who I sell them to are happy with then and I do not get any complaints.

http://www.canon.com.au/products/home_office/scanners/scanners_low_medium_volume.html

It just depends on what it is you need here though. Things like scanning Slides/Transparencies require a different type of scanner to one that just takes photos. Also if you want a Document Feeder that requires a different scanner again.

Col

I tend to like the Epson's because of the ease of use. Their software 'just works' along side anything else that we use (Adobe, Office, Paint Shop Pro, etc...). The HP's tend to want to take over and run things for you, so we fight with them. We've also used the Fujitsu brand, but they tend to be more expensive than other brands and don't do any better job at scanning.

We currently use the equivalent of the Epson V4490 Photo Scanner (flatbed, does 35mm and slides too), except what we have is an older model, and we just love it. It just plain works, period. I see there's now a V4490 Office Scanner too which has a document auto-feed along with the 35mm/slide capabilities. Of course, it's twice the price of other V4490, but still within your budget.