Seller's Remorse; Mirroless user thinking of going back to DSLR: Towards the end of last summer, I sold off my DSLR equipment, consisting of 2 Canon Rebel T3 bodies with their 18-55...

Shutterbugsailer Loc: Staten Island NY (AKA Cincinnati by the Sea)

Towards the end of last summer, I sold off my DSLR equipment, consisting of 2 Canon Rebel T3 bodies with their 18-55 kit lenses, 2 canon 55-250 zooms, a Tamron 18-270 zoom, and Canon's "cheapo" 75-300 zoom, in order to concentrate on perfecting my skills with mirrorless cameras. I have both micro 4/3, as well as a Sony alpha 3000 and alpha 6000. As my main photographic interest is sailing photography, I realized that my mirrorless cameras are both too delicate, as well as lacking any form of weather sealing. I am thinking of buying a Pentax k-50 DSLR body with their 18-135 lens for this purpose. It is weather sealed, as well as more rugged than any Canikon in its price range. Several reviewers, however said its image quality fall behind those from Canikon. Anyone have experience with this model? Would love to hear from you

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

Shutterbugsailer wrote:

Towards the end of last summer, I sold off my DSLR... (show quote)

I just purchased my second a6000 and am planning to sell my Nikons. However, you are correct that without some weather-sealing, the a6000 (I don't know the others) is not a good choice for rugged adventures like sailing.

I also think that your choice of Pentax is a good one. Pentax makes fine cameras. Not sure what anyone else uses as criteria, but I've owned and used Pentax several times over 50 years and found the results to be excellent. I moved to Nikon as my mainstay at the urging of my boss many years ago and don't regret it for a moment, but I have had a Pentax a few years ago and think Pentax is a fine camera. In fact Pentax line is more rugged and weatherized than Nicanon unless you are in the professional level of cameras. Pentax produces excellent photographs; of course that depends on the button-pusher.
:mrgreen:

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

You could have just bought a GH4 and the two weather-sealed pro zooms from Panasonic and been happy.

Shutterbugsailer wrote:

Towards the end of last summer, I sold off my DSLR... (show quote)

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

burkphoto wrote:

You could have just bought a GH4 and the two weather-sealed pro zooms from Panasonic and been happy.

I would consider shooting with a Pentax, to be shooting with an orphan, no matter how good it is!!!
Shooting with a Pano, would be like shooting with an orphan, on a tiny deserted island, again, no matter HOW good it is!!
I'll bet he could get a Samsung even cheaper than both of those and I'll bet it's a better camera than both!
Are you getting my drift?!?! :lol:

It seems that most, when buying cameras, put the oh-so-important camera system last, and of utmost importance is only the cost!!!! Good luck with those cameras!!! :lol:
SS

Shutterbugsailer Loc: Staten Island NY (AKA Cincinnati by the Sea)

SharpShooter wrote:

I would consider shooting with a Pentax, to be sho... (show quote)

Even if Pentax went belly up, at least I would not worry about replacement batteries. The model in question can use either Pentax' proprietary Lithium ion battery or generic AAs (alkaline, NiMh, or disposable lithium. As for Panasonic, I don't think it is going anywhere

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

Shutterbugsailer wrote:

Towards the end of last summer, I sold off my DSLR... (show quote)

The Olympus EM-1 and its' PRO line of lenses are completely weathersealed.

Shutterbugsailer Loc: Staten Island NY (AKA Cincinnati by the Sea)

phlash46 wrote:

The Olympus EM-1 and its' PRO line of lenses are completely weathersealed.

And so is it's new 14-150 all in one zoom, which can be had for around $400.00. Good enough to take great shots in bright light, covers the range I need for 99% of my sailing photography, and cheap enough to replace if it winds up "swimming with the fishes"

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

phlash46 wrote:

The Olympus EM-1 and its' PRO line of lenses are completely weather sealed.

And rugged enough to take sailing to boot.
A few weeks ago I dropped my E-M1 with 40-150mm PRO lens attached on the floor - not carpeted, but laminate - pretty hard - and from about 3 - 3 1/2 feet height.
The lens hood was on crooked when I picked it up, a bit of gentle pushing and twisting put it back in place. That was it!

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

Shutterbugsailer wrote:

And so is it's new 14-150 all in one zoom, which can be had for around $400.00. Good enough to take great shots in bright light, covers the range I need for 99% of my sailing photography, and cheap enough to replace if it winds up "swimming with the fishes"

Right! I forgort about the II version of that lens!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I used Canikon for over four decades. I'm very happy with the GH4 and m43 in general. I no longer need, nor can I justify the expense of, full frame or even high end APS-C.

Some of the best optics from Panny and Oly are weather-sealed. The GH4 is weather-sealed. It shoots amazing video, with pro video features integrated into the body. The stills are near top of the class (GX8 is slightly better). It's 1/4 the size and weight of the system I abandoned, and does everything I need.

I suggest taking a look at it, only because of the rugged, die cast magnesium chassis of the GH4, and the weather sealing, and the fact that the OP says he has some m43 already.

SharpShooter wrote:

I would consider shooting with a Pentax, to be sho... (show quote)

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Shutterbugsailer wrote:

Towards the end of last summer, I sold off my DSLR... (show quote)

Last year at this time I was using a Canon Rebel with a lens selection similar to yours. I replaced it with a Pentax K-30 (similar to the K-50) and a 18-135 lens, because on-line comparisons showed that Pentax bodies are good, better than similarly-priced Canon bodies (and the 18-135 is close to the Canon lenses you are familiar with). So far, I am totally satisfied with my purchase.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Shutterbugsailer wrote:

And so is it's new 14-150 all in one zoom, which can be had for around $400.00. Good enough to take great shots in bright light, covers the range I need for 99% of my sailing photography, and cheap enough to replace if it winds up "swimming with the fishes"

Yeah, all true, and if you don't need video, the Oly pro bodies and lenses are a great buy. Plus, with two companies making lots of different bodies, and several companies making lenses and lens adapters for m43, you won't run out of possibilities.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

SharpShooter wrote:

I would consider shooting with a Pentax, to be sho... (show quote)

I moved from Canon back to Pentax because I had two Rebel bodies die on me in less that eight years. I hope Canon's business model isn't built on replacing bodies that shouldn't need replacing. :lol:

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

rehess wrote:

I moved from Canon back to Pentax because I had two Rebel bodies die on me in less that eight years. I hope Canon's business model isn't built on replacing bodies that shouldn't need replacing. :lol:

Actually, it is! The design life (MTF or mean time to failure) of the Rebel isn't generally published, but is around 50,000 shutter actuations. For the recent midrange Canons (EOS 30D to 70D) it's at least double that. The 5D and 7D and 1D series push it way up. You get what you pay for.

As fast as the electronics in these things change, keeping a BODY for more than five years is a bit unrealistic. Lenses might be good for a decade or more, and survive heavy use with several bodies.

Back in 2004, I was at Herff Jones Photography, then a school portrait division of Herff Jones. We bought over 300 Canon EOS 20Ds over the next year or so, and put them in service as school portrait cameras. We got an average of around 65,000 clicks on those bodies, and the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR DI II zooms were mostly still good when we upgraded to 50D bodies in 2009 2010. The 30D and 40D bodies were good for about 125,000 clicks, on average.

By contrast, the Rebel T3i is likely good for around 75,000 before shutter failure.

http://www.olegkikin.com/shutterlife/

...is a great resource full of data on Canons.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

burkphoto wrote:

Yeah, all true, and if you don't need video, the Oly pro bodies and lenses are a great buy. Plus, with two companies making lots of different bodies, and several companies making lenses and lens adapters for m43, you won't run out of possibilities.

Are you thinking that m43 doesn't "do" video, or that that are of very poor quality?
While I have the E-M1, it can do video, but I've never used it as I have a dedicated camcorder. For those occasions that we want both stills and video, my husband will "man" the camcorder and I'll "woman" the camera.