John - see my post above re my experiences of Leica owners!!

I'm given to believe that a company called PRETEC will be exhibiting at this year's CeBIT, and amongst the goodies they will be exhibiting is a class 16 - yes, CLASS 16 sd card!! From the attached link (http://www.pretec.com/products/memory-cards/sd-card) it seems that they have a card capable of read/write speeds of 567x!!

I checked with Pentax, and they advised that, provided you have the latest firmware on the camera, they will work quite happily in a Kr!!.. My guess is that, since K7 and K5 are higher-spec, they'd be just as comfortable with these beasts.

MILAMBER - have a look at this link, from HMRC:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/agents/online/started.htm

That's the fun of owning a Leica - hasn't a Scooby Doo how to use it, but is able to brag to all his mates that'll listen to him that he owns one!!

Nah, RedStar!!... the BESTEST SM album is THE ORIGINAL SONS AND FASCINATION/SISTER FEELINGS CALL!! Or, if you wanna get technical - SAINTS AND SINNERS (named after the boozer the band played when they were known as Johnny & the Self-Abusers - the pub is now King Tut's Wah-Wah Hut, or King Tut's. It's claims to fame include Oasis and Snow Patrol, amongst others).

Don't buy "generic" cards. Stick to trusted brands, such as Sandisk, Kingston Data, or any name you recognise as being manufaturers of consumer electronics, such as Samsung, Sony, etc. For a fast read/write speed, go for an SDHC card although, (unless rapid framing at sports events and such) they are not a neccessity. SNAPPYCHAPPY's advice is good, with Lexar being another trusted brand. Finally, rather than relying on say one 16Gb card, use 2 x 8Gb, or 4 x 4Gb - that way, if you get a card failure, then there's less chance that you might lose all of your hard work and effort.

Oooops!! Almost forgot to welcome you here, Keith!!

Dunno, but if you want a Blue Peter badge, it had better be good!!

Normally, you can make the airframe for an Airbus A380, but I think you need a wee bit more aluminium!!

Algi - any item values below £15 (up until 1st Jan 12, it was £18 ) are classed as low-value, and quite frankly ain't worth the manpower to pursue any revenue from. Although your £16 memory card falls under the heading of "high-value", again, it ain't worth chasing you for it. That said - if HMRC done a "spot-check" and decided it was under-declared, they would issue a penalty (usually to the UK importer, as it's easier to collect the revenues) which then makes it worthwhile from their point of view. It's most likely that if your package was correctly declared as MEMORY CARD, and only contained 1 card plus a receipt for the £16 (which was correctly declared from a valuation p.o.v.), only a total "jobsworth" would sit there calculating that you owe the UK Government £3.20 VAT (if vat hadn't already been charged) plus approx 66p (4.2% duty), and I can guarantee that he/she would be on lavatorial duties for eternity for being such a prat!

TBH: HMRC aren't really interested in folks buying "one-off bargains" every once in a while, providing it's not worth chasing the money. They're more interested in collecting the revenues from the importers of high-value goods. My experience is that the "cut-off point" is anything less that £40-£50, which isn't worth the admin, unless you are a regular importer, then you are "flagged-up" for extra attention. All imports are computerised, you see.

That's one of the risks in importing, John. That said, some people may still consider it to be a worthwhile exercise if they can save money overall.

Generally speaking, most (if not all) fragile equipment such as cameras, lenses, etc tend to be placed in an over-pack with plenty of cushioning materials, to minimise the risk.

This thread was really just to provide a source of information for anybody that had been thinking along the lines of overseas purchases.

I was chatting with our import broker this morning, and it cropped up in conversation about digital cameras in general. We both double-checked the official HMRC Tariff Guide, and can confirm that:

(A) DIGITAL CAMERAS (compacts and DSLR's) are free of import tax.
(B) CAMERA LENSES have an import tax of 4.2% applied upon importation.

In both of the above cases, VAT at the current rate of 20% is payable.

* This information applies solely to imports being brought to the UK.
Please check with an import agent in your own country for further
information.

Anyone who has/had considered importing digital cameras and/or lenses from abroad but were unsure of the levies can now decide on the economics of buying "grey imports".

Note that import tax is not charged on goods that were purchased within the EEA (European Economic Area), but you should expect to pay VAT at the local rate (if bought in Belgium, Belgian VAT is paid, etc).

It is important to point out that goods purchased from a supplier based in the Channel Islands are taxable, as the Channel Isles are NOT EU members.