Ektachrome 100D + Arri SR3 = CRUNCH (?)

[Wade Stuckwisch]

I'm a student cinematographer trying to shoot Extachrome 100D (7285) on my school's Arri SR3 Super 16 camera. Several students last semester tried shooting the stock and had terrible camera problems, such as chips in the gate, mags jamming, and punctures due to missed sprockets. The general faculty explanation around campus has been that the problems are due to the film stock's greater thickness and the size and shape of the sprocket holes. I trust my faculty, and our equipment is generally well-maintained, but I know SOMEONE must have found a way to shoot this stock without destroying the film or the camera. (Else why would Kodak manufacture it that way?)

 

Any advice? Is there a better 16mm package out there for handling this stock, or is there a way to readjust the SR3 for 7285? Or does the blame perhaps lay with the fact that the film was being loaded and handled by... well, you know... film students?