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Looks for a tough new Digital SLR
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Nov 15, 2017 14:07:07   #
editorsteve
 
I'm an old-line Pentax user. If you go that route, make sure your walk-around lens is designated WR for weather resistant.

My K-3 has been through several rainy/snowy NY and Boston wintahs and we live next to salt water in both cities. I often use an older Tamron 18-200 on it. This is a solid lens but it is not fully weather-resistant -- no gasket at the mount, for instance. Just lately, I'm having some auto focus issues with the lens. I see no other downside except for scenes where fast focus is important.

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Nov 15, 2017 14:07:37   #
davyboy Loc: Anoka Mn.
 
hangman45 wrote:
The K-3II is prosumer camera is as robust as any pro camera and has all features most pros would ever need for less than $1000 just because you do not think it is don't mean it isn't so and also Pentax has plenty of rugged cameras and lens just not your brand


Nice reply!! makes sense

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Nov 15, 2017 14:12:53   #
mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma
 
Consider an Olympus Mark 5 II. It's micro 4/3s, weather sealed, 5 axis stabilization. Couple with e 14- 150 mm ll Olympus zoom, equivalent to 28-300, it's also weather sealed. I've seen bodies from $799 to $899. With the lens, you'll be ove budget but not by much. This is what I have and I love it after being a dedicated Nikon user for 20 years.

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Nov 15, 2017 14:13:45   #
hangman45 Loc: Hueytown Alabama
 
burkphoto wrote:
So tell us more... I know nothing about Pentax cameras that came after the K1000. I have heard they make an excellent high end medium format camera, the 645Z dSLR. But it's about $5500.00.
W


Well before you start talking about something you might want to do a little research.

Pentax K-5 and K-5II were direct competitors with Nikon D7000 which other than auto focus tracking was equal or better in all test and Pentax beats almost all in weather sealing
Pentax K-3 and K-3 II direct competitors with Nikon D7200 same results as above
Pentax was first to offer 100% viewfinders in all the Dslr's also only company to weather seal even entry level cameras
Pentax KP has great high ISO performance and is weather sealed plus has a battery grip available
Pentax K-1 is spectacular great ISO abilities and rugged build plus 5 stops IS plus some very innovative features no one else has.

No Pentax is not for serious sports shooters that is not their main objective they are more for landscape and portrait work and they do that as well as anyone.

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Nov 15, 2017 15:21:46   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
hangman45 wrote:
Well before you start talking about something you might want to do a little research...


Why would I talk about something I know nothing about? I use a GH4 kit, and have done months of research on the GH5. I'll probably get one when they drop the price a bit. No hurry.

This forum is open. Pentax users should tout the advantages of what they know, too. Lord knows, the Canikon crowd scream it from the rooftops! (I can say that; I used Canons and Nikons for decades.)

In reality, there are much better places than UHH to learn about all the choices on the market. Google "Camera Review Sites" and dozens of resources pop up. I'm sure they're all biased about something, but collectively? Not. When I'm looking for equipment, I read six or seven reviews from sites I've come to trust. I watch several YouTube reviews from sources I trust. I download the manual and skim it. Then I rent to try, before I buy. I can usually tell, after a day or so, what I will do.

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Nov 15, 2017 15:38:07   #
sandersonjack15
 
It’s nice to hear the Pentax people for a change

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Nov 15, 2017 15:39:25   #
dhowland
 
sandersonjack15 wrote:
It’s nice to hear the Pentax people for a change




thank you

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Nov 15, 2017 18:29:32   #
ELNikkor
 
Stick with Pentax, they're no slouch. Sounds like you should get a family member a handy bridge camera with a zoom out to at least 400mm equivalent.

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Nov 15, 2017 19:19:57   #
Architect1776 Loc: In my mind
 
burkphoto wrote:
You're describing pro quality gear, but it isn't available new on a beer budget. There are not a lot of fully ruggedized, weather sealed bodies and lenses on the market.

I would probably look at the Panasonic Lumix GH5, with Panasonic Leica 100-400 f/4-f/6.3 zoom (same field of view as a 200-800mm zoom on full frame dSLR or 35mm film). Add some shorter lenses for indoor work. My selections would be the 8-18mm f/2.8-f/4 Panasonic Leica zoom, the 12-35mm f/2.8 Panasonic Lumix GX-Vario II zoom, the 30mm f/2.8 Panasonic Lumix Macro lens, and the 35-100mm f/2.8 Lumix GX-Vario II zoom. But over 90 lenses are available from at least four manufacturers. This is a link to 85 of them available as of July, 2017: http://hazeghi.org/mft-lenses.html

Even if you stay within your budget and buy used gear to do it, I would look at Micro 4/3 for several reasons:

First, you said you want a very rugged body. The GH5 is freeze protected to -10°C. It is water-resistant, dust-resistant, and has a titanium, die-cast chassis. The shutter is tested to 200,000+ actuations. Many pro-class, weather-sealed lenses are available for it. It features excellent still image quality and excellent 1080P and 4K video quality. People can and do make independent films with these. Pros use them for portraits, hybrid photography, events, weddings, advertising, travel, documentary work, magazine covers...

The predecessor of the GH5, the GH4, was rated #1 in its category (Mirrorless) by Consumer Reports in their just-released 2018 Buying Guide. The GH5 is a much better camera than the GH4.

Your intent is travel photography. A Micro 4/3 kit will save you 2/3 to 3/4 of the size, bulk, and weight you would have with a full frame dSLR kit, and roughly 1/2 the size, bulk, and weight of an APS-C/DX dSLR kit.

Micro 4/3 pro glass can be a little more than half as expensive as full frame dSLR glass. It is nearly always less expensive.

For instance, the Canon EF 70‑200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens costs $1900. The Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm f/2.8 II POWER O.I.S. Lens costs about $1000. Both have roughly the same field of view zoom range. Both are image stabilized. Both are f/2.8 fixed maximum aperture zooms. But the Panasonic works with the GH5's internal DUAL image stabilization system to provide 5.5 stops of stabilization, compared to the Canon's 4 stops of in-lens only IS. The Canon lens weighs about 1490 grams. The Panasonic lens weighs about 357 grams — That's less than ONE FOURTH the weight!

Want another example? The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens costs about $1850. The Panasonic Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm f/1.2 ASPH. POWER O.I.S. Lens (again, with the same field of view) costs about $1400. The Canon lens weighs 1025 grams. The Panasonic Leica lens weighs 425 grams. Both of these are extremely high quality lenses.

I won't lie, you DO give up a little dynamic range and low light capability with Micro 4/3. The best dSLRs are about two stops less noisy than the best Micro 4/3 bodies. The "speed limit" for most people using full frame dSLRs seems to be around ISO 12,800. The "speed limit" for most people using Micro 4/3 cameras seems to be around ISO 3200. For APS-C and DX cameras, it's around ISO 6400. I've used my Lumix GH4 (predecessor of the GH5) at ISO 5000 with acceptable results (Thats about like ISO 20,000 on a full frame dSLR, or 10,000 on an APS-C/DX camera). But if I were doing spy work, yeah, I'd want the full frame beast (and an assistant to carry my gear). Fortunately, I need an ISO higher than 3200 about 1% of the time. I'm not going to own or carry a full frame camera 100% of the time for 1% of my work.

I also don't make huge prints very often, and I avoid pixel-peeping photo competitions like the plague! Over 98% of what I do is printed smaller than 18x12 inches. 95% is smaller than letter-size pages. 90% of it is viewed on the Internet or corporate Intranets, on smartphones, tablets, and computer screens. Some of it is projected to billboard size, but viewed from over 50 feet away. Much of it is a hybrid combination of stills, video, text, graphics, and sound. But it is all recorded with the GH4.

Here are a few links worth your time:

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dc-gh5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UhcXk4owuU&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfqtqoGpn8I&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh-HctljNj4 (hour-long, detailed review, still photography features are about 2/3 of the way through)
You're describing pro quality gear, but it isn't a... (show quote)



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Nov 15, 2017 23:11:34   #
lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA
 
hangman45 wrote:
The K-3II is prosumer camera is as robust as any pro camera and has all features most pros would ever need for less than $1000 just because you do not think it is don't mean it isn't so and also Pentax has plenty of rugged cameras and lens just not your brand



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Nov 15, 2017 23:12:50   #
lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA
 
sandersonjack15 wrote:
It’s nice to hear the Pentax people for a change


Yes, it is.

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Nov 15, 2017 23:23:37   #
rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA
 
burkphoto wrote:
You're describing pro quality gear, but it isn't available new on a beer budget. There are not a lot of fully ruggedized, weather sealed bodies and lenses on the market.
I'm sure Pentax management will thank you for your implicit endorsement of their KP. The Pentax KP is a fully weather sealed body which meets the OP's price target, but I've never heard it described as "pro quality gear" before. I believe the KP is exactly what the OP needs.

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Nov 15, 2017 23:29:56   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
rehess wrote:
I'm sure Pentax management will thank you for your implicit endorsement of their KP. The Pentax KP is a fully weather sealed body which meets the OP's price target, but I've never heard it described as "pro quality gear" before. I believe the KP is exactly what the OP needs.


????

My post was about the Panasonic LUMIX GH5. It had absolutely nothing to do with the Pentax KP... I don’t even know what that is!

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Nov 15, 2017 23:37:11   #
rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA
 
burkphoto wrote:
????

My post was about the Panasonic LUMIX GH5. It had absolutely nothing to do with the Pentax KP... I don’t even know what that is!

But your first few lines exactly describe the Pentax KP even though you claim no knowledge of it, and I was pointing that out. Why should the OP switch brands whey Pentax already has a camera exactly matching what is wanted??

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Nov 16, 2017 00:08:18   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
rehess wrote:
But your first few lines exactly describe the Pentax KP even though you claim no knowledge of it, and I was pointing that out. Why should the OP switch brands whey Pentax already has a camera exactly matching what is wanted??


Okay, now I get your point.

My only advice is to keep looking at what’s available and don’t get too mesmerized by any one brand. I’ve used Canons, Nikons, Bronicas, Yashicas, Petri, Pentax (Spotmatic), Minolta, Calumet, Camerz, Beattie, Kodak, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Olympus, and more... Each had some distinctive features worth using. Each had some “missing” parts and annoyances.

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