That's so 'old technology', haven't you heard of hexadecimal?

I completely agree, more so for photographs that may have real historical significance further down the line. There are likely countless occaisions where, had history been shot with digital rather than film (and edited by the photographer on the run, in the rain etc.), many significant shots wouldn't have survived to tell a story.

It's not just image editing software that may re-save a jepg, but also rotating an image to portrait layout may also re-save it and lose some quality.

I have a Super-Tak 28mm f/3.5 with the 58mm filter thread that either seems a bit soft or suffers badly from flare. I don't know if this is just my example [see 'Dockside Crane' (soft) and 'Bouy, oh bouy, oh bouy' (better) from my portfolio]. I like the look, but it's not pixie dust.

The SMC-Tak 35mm f/3.5 is supposed to be the same lens as the K 35mm f/3.5 which I've read is pretty good.

Thanks Oso & Chris,

I knew the K1000 switched off (or is it just had very little drain on the meter) with the lens cap on, didn't know the SP-F worked the same way.

John.

Thanks for the pointer John.

Having seen this article I may try using CompactFlash as well link

From what I've read, CD/DVD work by 'lasering' a dye layer sandwiched inside the disk, thus their life time is limited by the stability of the dye (sound familiar to anyone...). That of course excludes the very real risk that many disks aren't written properly in the first place.

I'm keeping mine on SD cards at the moment as they're less likely to become unreadable than my hard disk. To maintain permanent and 'secure' storage you're going to need a backup/archive routine similar to 'best practice' in the IT world, and that's too much for me to contemplate.

'Cloud' storage has it's own problems, such as the T&Cs they use (and can be changed at any time) and even then they're not going to guarantee they won't lose anything. I'm also not convinced they won't start charging you to get your data back in the future.

I have recently started shooting B&W film again, short of a fire or flood (or other similar disaster - at which point my photos may seem completely insignificant), which I think is the easiest and most effective (but not terribly modern).

I was put off an SP-F because I read the meter was switched on whenever an SMC-Tak lens was fitted.

Don't forget Freesat, Virgin Media & online link

For me, finding the fortnightly competition (or rather working out which was the current one) wasn't easy. I feel putting it in same 'Competitions' place as the weekly one would help. The hosting is another one, not difficult (for me), but I appreciate it may not easy for others.

As to fortnightly (or otherwise), a longer period would help those who shoot film (and three-weekly doesn't really work). Maybe a monthly competition with each member limited to two/three shots)?