----- Original Message ----- From: Knut Kampe Subject: Re: Digital vs.FILM: will digital cameras lose the war?
> I don't dispute that jpg/tiff might be readable in 100 years. But the media > on which these images are stored today, might not be readable in 20 years. > Magnetically stored data will definitely not last > 20 years. Most of the > floppys I used 10 years ago are no longer readable today. Hard disks are > similar. I'm not sure about discs, but I believe lifetime is in the range > of ~50 years for them. The other side of the coin, of course, is how long is the usefull life of film images. As it stands right now, where I am, there are a lot of film formats which are no longer supported by mainstream photofinishers. I can no longer get prints made from 126, 127, disc, and the myriad of odd sized older film formats that were popular prior to WWII using the photofinishers available to my customers. What this means to the average consumer is that these films are essentially useless acetate. E-4 process and earilier slide films are really prone to dark fading. Kodachrome doesn't take well to being projected. and don't get me started about the longevity of minilab processed colour films and negatives. You don't want to go there with me. Oh yes, does anyone know if the bronzing out problem that the RC black and white papers were suffering from is fixed now? The unfortunate truth is, no medium, whether film based or otherwise can make any claims to archivability. It is the epitome of arrogance to presume that any image is so important that the world will end if it fades away. Archival, schmarcival. In a hundred years, no one will give a rats ass anyway. They will have bigger fish to fry by then. William Robb
