Confused by new 'pro' scanners on Amazon UK

[Gary Sayers]

Whilst looking (again) at 8mm film scanners on Amazon UK, I've come across two that I've not noticed before, which appear to have been listed since August 2020.

What's puzzling me is that both claim to be 1080p scanners but one only takes 5 inch max reels and outputs at 30 fps (£339.99) and the other takes 9 inch max reels and outputs at 20 fps (£399.99). Also, both state on the box that they are 5 mega pixels sensor (Wolverine state that theirs are 3.53 mega pixels).

They are branded 'Mersoco', which I've not heard of and I can't find a website for.

The information is all a bit mixed up and it doesn't help that Amazon's reviews seem to be a scramble of different items.

I thought that all of these machines were made by the same company and that apart from a few cosmetic differences, they were identical specs but these listing have got me baffled.

Is it possible that these have slightly better specs than the Wolverine?

Here's links to them both:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...1FLKQ1ZV&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...NW9ZVQFG&psc=1

[David Brown]

I wondered this too. Certainly Winait has licensed their products to outside companies with custom labels.

I had a Wolverine movie maker pro and a Winait 3rd generation (says on the box) The circuit board shows DV180N_MAIN_V0.6, 2015.12.09. The serial number suggests it was made in 2018.

Winait shows three models in their catalog, 2 have the same model number. That could be a typo.

They are in Shenzhen, China.
http://www.winait.com/sdp/316052/4/p.../Scanners.html


Wolverine shows 2 models, the MM Pro states it was designed in Taiwan. Interesting there is also a 16mm version.

Chen Sheng Tech. Corp. is in Taoyuan City, Taiwan
http://wolverine.com.tw/film-scanners.php


I think the different versions of all of these made in the last 5-6 years are physical.The box and film winding pegs. Inside, mostly, only the firmware has ever changed. That being the digital image dimensions and the framerate. I doubt the capture resolution has ever changed, just the output video.

The most puzzling spec. for me is 20fps. 20 fps??????? This makes NO SENCE as a feature. Either too fast or too slow for film (16/18/24) and even if the playback rate was correct, why output anything that's outside video speeds? Older television standards of Pal,Secam, or NTSC are either 30 or 25fps? Newer versions added 24 and 60fps.

So looks like there are two independent manufacturers, at least.

[Gary Sayers]

The cheaper Mersoco now has £20 off on Amazon. At £319.99, it's a better deal than some of the one's that bidders get exited about on ebay. Used scanners (in all their versions) regularly sell for well over £300 (not pro version) and usually have no real indication of how much film has passed through them.

A 3rd generation Winait (used) that you mention David, sold in January on ebay UK for £362.20!

I just checked and you can get a brand new Wolverine from Amazon.com to the UK for £289.28 (as exchange rates stand today) and that includes all import duties, taxes and VAT pre-paid.

I'm going to see how my efforts at 'down the lens' transfers go and then decide if a Mersoco would be an idea worth trying. The firmware should be pretty well up to date and the quality on par with the wolverine pro at 1080p. Probably be able to get a reasonable return from the £319.99 on ebay if I decide to sell it also.