Re: Longetivity of films - was Elitechrome slide processing

[James Brook <ajmbrook@ozemail.com.au>]

Greg Triplett wrote:

> Hi Folks,
>
> I have Ektachromes from 1968 which look like they were taken
> yesterday. I have no hesitation in using the new E6 films (
> other than the current processing ).
>
> A high saturation film such as Velvia has changed the rules
> of train photography but I don't think many people are aware
> of this.

I haven't tried any of these other films, but I think the Elitechrome
slides have the best colour reproduction out of any film I have ever
seen. All properly exposed photos look like the actual conditions they
were taken in. For outdoor photography (ie: railways) I think the
Elitechrome 100 slides produce excellent results. Even in very dull
weather I have had good results with the 100, which is quite suprising.
The colour is vibrant but not too vibrant and the grain on the
Elitechrome 100 is outstanding. Some films produce colour that is too
vibrant and not realistic, while other films like Kodachrome don't
reproduce colour particularly well at all. I have noticed that the
Kodachrome slides appear to have a brown tint and they are always dull.
Also I don't think I'll bother changing because I have been using the
Elitechrome (previously Ektachrome Elite I and II) film for the last
four years and I know how to get the best out of that film. I have found
that it takes a few rolls of film before I can get really good exposures
when I change from one slide film to another because they all have their
unique characteristics.

We have Ektachromes from the mid 60's and they are all blue. They have
been kept under very good conditions (in proper storage containers and
away from any light) and out of the slides we have the older Kodachromes
have much better colour than the old Ektachromes.

I'll be using Elitechrome tomorrow so I guess I'll just have to take my
chances with the processing. :-) If they come back scratched I will
still have the video. Luckily the scratch on the last lot was in the
ground so it wasn't obvious unless you knew where to look.

On another note, I think they should have kept the name Ektachrome
Elite. Personally I think it sounded better than Elitechrome.

--
- James Brook -

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