You are also too far away for that lens, which means you are having to crop very severely.

If you tell us where you are then perhaps we could point you to somewhere with a hide that's close enough to the birds.

Definitely too slow. I would up the ISO further, to 1600, and make sure I had a shutter speed of at least 1/500s. SR can be switched off as that does nothing to reduce subject movement.

I think we need to stay organised. The cards can be formatted in camera when loaded, thus guaranteeing they are formatted in the right camera. It's a matter of routine.

If a card shows any sign of trouble, it goes straight in the bin. I did find one card that would format in one K-5 but not in another, so it was taken out of service.

The recommended way to format cards is in the camera they are to be used in. This should avoid problems.

I would never format one of my cards in a computer.

The Super A won't show brassing as the top and bottom plates are plastic. Brassing occurs when the black paint wears off to show the actual brass finish beneath. You'll only find that on older, traditionally made cameras, and they would show eventual brassing with wear. This was seen in favourite old cameras, used for years and the brassing would become a sort of affectionate bond with the photographer. The camera as Old Faithful if you like.

The MX-1 has brass top and bottom plates, so could be destined to be an old favourite, just like a comfy pair of socks.....

Autochromes are truly beautiful.

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. I wouldn't dismiss any image on the strength of an 800px version.

Sometimes the sheer scale of images can only be enjoyed by seeing them in the flesh, mounted on a wall. This is especially true of paintings, and i wonder how many people realise just how big some of them are.

If you don't want to focus with the lens, there is a red setting for focus and f/8. This will give you a snapshot setting at the hyperfocal distance, and will be better for the nearer subjects.

I can see the image OK, but why not avoid linking problems by uploading the images directly into the forum using the "Image" button?

The controls of both would handle pretty much the same, the same resistance, etc. The cost difference will be in complexity of construction, numbers made affecting the economy of scale and so on. The 12-24mm is also a bigger lens all round.