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**Janice Glesser** · December 11, 2019, 06:45 PM

I would not recommend the Argus...very cheaply made. The Sears and the Vernon are very good...the Vernon is the best of the three. The Vernon is very well made....good screen size...and nice adjustments. The Sears is also well made but I find this style although the screen is bigger...it just takes up a lot of room on the table top

As far as a splicer... I recommend getting a Kodak Universal Presstape splicer and make your splicing life a lot easier than trying to use one of those mini splicers.

**Ken Brown** · December 11, 2019, 06:54 PM

Thank you, Janice! A lot to consider. I'll probably go with your rec on the Vernon. The most attractive thing about the Sears was that it looks brand new, but that shouldn't come into play. Vernon sounds nice. I hope I won't be making many edits at all, but I'll definitely look into that Kodak you recommend. I so appreciate your help!!

**Janice Glesser** · December 11, 2019, 07:58 PM

Ken ... if you like the Sears then by all means get that one. It's a very good viewer made in Japan by Sansei Koki. They made viewers that were re-branded for several companies. It's just a bigger footprint than the Vernon.

**Ken Brown** · December 11, 2019, 09:09 PM

I actually did get the Sears, because I hadn't noticed the Vernon was an auction (doesn't end until Monday). I hope the Sears will be here by Monday (though this time of year, all shipping is a bit iffy).
Thanks!

**Janice Glesser** · December 12, 2019, 07:18 PM

If you only have a few splices then the small splicer might suffice. However...if you find needing to do more splicing than anticipated...you will definitely want something better.

**Ken Brown** · December 18, 2019, 06:02 PM

As an update in case anyone reads this who is also considering an 8mm / Super 8mm editor: I wish I had been more patient and gone for the Vernon. There are 2 things I don't like about the Sears:

It's almost all plastic, which makes it very lightweight. It often lifts up while trying to wind the film in one direction or the other. It also binds quite often -- don't know if that's this specific unit, or common to all of them.
Unlike the Vernon, it's very inconvenient to use just to wind film (without putting it through the viewer). The Vernon is designed so you can easily wind the film, whether it's in the viewer or not. The Sears is designed with the screen protruding beyond the plane of the film path, so the only way to wind the film if it isn't in the viewer is holding it above the screen. It's awkward, and possibly more stressful on the film.

Bottom line: Always listen to Janice.

EDIT: I need to revise the above a bit. After clamping down the arms to my desk with some c-clamps, it becomes more stable & usable. One side still binds, but I suspect that's a problem specific to my unit. Also, if not using the viewer, it is possible to wind the film in front of the screen -- that is, it isn't necessary to hold it up and above as I wrote. The film may slightly touch the screen, but it's no big deal. So not as bad as my initial impressions had been.

**Janice Glesser** · December 19, 2019, 12:58 PM

Ken, I think you have discovered that quality and usage can vary from machine to machine. I have had at one time or the other just about every variety of viewer and they all have pros and cons. I have a similar editor/viewer as the Sears you bought. Mine is branded San-star but it's basically the same as the Sears. It should run smoothly and you should be able to run the film through the viewer gate/shutter and also above in front of the screen for rewinding and cleaning.

Are you able to return it? It should not be jumping. I've seen this happen before...not much you can do to fix it...I've tried. I've had to send a few viewers to their grave over the years. The gears wear out in the main shutter area and also in the turning arms. The mirrors can be cleaned and even the lens if you are careful. Ebay will let you return it for free if item not as described or has a problem.

The light is nice and bright on these...with good focus.

The lamp, gate, and shutter design is basically identical to other Sansei Koki viewers branded as Goko and Elmo.

The film can be rewound in front of the screen. This is convenient for cleaning the film.

**Ken Brown** · December 19, 2019, 02:05 PM

Janice, the good news is, that I removed the spindle on the side that was binding (out popped a ball bearing and a spring, wasn't sure what order!). Which then let me unscrew a screw that let me take off the back half of the ... not sure what to call it, but anyway. It revealed a plastic gear, and another little spring. I put a little Vaseline on everything, and put it all back together. And no more binding (yet?)!

As you can see, the design of this one is considerably different than your San-star. The screen doesn't look as big (mine seems to be about 4" diag -- 3.5" x 2.5"), nor does it seem to be as bright. And as you can see, the film position when trying to clean (which is one of the main reasons I got an editor), isn't ideal (but it does suffice):

Ok, so I don't know how you made the photos inline! Photo #1 goes here.

Photo #2 shows the screen lit up. Usable, if not ideal.

So I think it should serve my purpose. I have already cleaned about 20 reels -- I had NO idea how dirty they were. But I need a fresh Pec Pad for each larger reel, there's so much junk on the film. (And I'm just doing a dry clean, nothing but the Pec Pad.)

Thanks!

**Janice Glesser** · December 19, 2019, 03:51 PM

Whoe!!! I must have clicked on the wrong link initially. That's a totally different viewer than I thought you posted. Sorry for the confusion. Anyway...the image seems bright enough and if you have controlled the jumping...then I agree it should do the trick

As far as the inline pics...I use the "Upload Attachments" button and it will place the picture or thumbnail at the point where the cursor is located.

**Ken Brown** · December 19, 2019, 03:59 PM

I see the first link (for the Argus) appears very similar to your San-star physically. So maybe that's where the confusion was.

I hadn't even noticed the "Upload Attachments" button. I'd tried "Image" and "Share Photo". Too many buttons!

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8mm editor / splicer

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