P3D Elite Chrome vs Elite II

["David W. Kesner" <drdave@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I finally got to try out some Kodak Select Elite Chrome 100 ASA 
film. I have been shooting Kodak Ektachrome Elite II 100 ASA 
since it came out. (I get it at Costco for $18.00 for 5 rolls - my local 
store still hasn't changed over to Elite Chrome).

I was shooting scenes of a hot springs, river, and ice formations in 
a steep-sided canyon in mid to late afternoon with overcast skies 
and snow covering everything. I shot both films, although not 
necessarily of the same exact scenes.

I shot these on Sunday, had them developed on Monday, and 
mounted up on Monday night. I found two things that were quite 
different and was wondering if anyone else has insight on this.

First, the Elite Chrome has a significant bow in the film strip as 
compared to the Elite II. Not a curl from end to end, but a bow from 
top to bottom. My processor uses dip and dunk and never rolls the 
film except for a single time in the center of the strip. They claimed 
it was probably a humidity thing, but both films were handled in 
exactly the same manner from start to finish. Could the base be 
different?

Second, the Elite Chrome has a much colder look than the warm 
Elite II. This translates to a very blue color in the Elite Chrome and 
more red and yellow in the Elite II. The most evident was in a slightly 
under exposed shot down the river where the snow covered banks 
took on a noticable blue cast. Most of the close-up shots of the ice 
covered rocks were a lot less noticable. If I didn't know better I 
would say that someone slipped a roll of Fuji Sensia in the Elite 
Chrome box.

Was the Elite Chome formulated to be a colder film than the Elite II 
or is it more a factor of underexposure on a cloudy winter day? 
Unfortunately I don't have identical shots using both films at the 
same exposure, so I can't compare directly. I was just wondering if 
anyone could shed some light on this.

That's all for now,

David W. Kesner
Boise, Idaho, USA
drdave@xxxxxxxxxx


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