12-09-2012, 12:34 PM
[quote name='ThomasD' timestamp='1354910633' post='21146']
it is that time of the year again (at least on the northern hemisphere), and every year I regret not having a weatherproof camera.[/quote]
Same here, been also looking for a weather-sealed system and I also shoot with MFT. Except the top Canikon FF cameras there doesn't seem to be a good solution there, everything is a damn compromise. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' />
E-M5 is a decent camera with just a few shortcomings that I can probably live with (always relatively noisy images with its base ISO 200, poor ergonomics with no grip to speak of and HLD-6 is a joke since you have to disassemble the whole thing every time you change the battery, plus on top of that the camera costs more than weather-sealed DSLRs with better sensors like K-5 or D7000)... yet the lens selection is no good, native lenses are compromised by software correction, borders/corners aren't good, yet they're very expensive. What's more, Panasonic's weather sealing is questionable, I couldn't find any detailed description of it, and whether it actually works or just a marketing gimmick is to be seen.
Pentax bodies are reasonably priced, especially the original K-5, and they are supposed to be very resistant to elements, yet the lens selection is poor. Unless I'm missing something, there are only 3 decent WR lenses out there: 16-50, 50-135 and 60-250. No wide-angle WR zoom, no WR primes.. out of the 2 telephoto zooms you probably just pick one so in the end basically there are only 2 WR lenses for Pentax system. That could be fine, but the prices jump like crazy. 16-50 might cost ~$750 today, and then suddenly it's $1500, the next month it's back to $750 and all this madness has been going on for months now. Not to mention that the lens isn't anything special in terms of optical quality and is definitely not worth $1500. Saw the same swings for 50-135.
I don't look at Canikon at all cause they don't have WR APS-C zooms, except maybe the Nikon's 17-55, and FF zooms are expensive, heavy and awkward to use with their 36-38 mm equivalent fl on the wide end.
Olympus Four Thirds lenses are really good. 7-14, 14-54, 12-60, 50-200, not to mention F2 zooms. But sensors suck, E-5 is old and expensive.. and after shooting with MFT cameras/lenses it's really hard to buy into a large and heavy DSLR system with sensors that are inferior to the ones used in much smaller mirrorless bodies. Also while the Four Thirds lenses are good and all they're also very close in size/weight to APS-C and even full frame lenses! 7-14's weight and price is so close to the full-frame Nikon's 14-24, and 50-200 is pretty much the same weight/size as Pentax 60-250.
So there doesn't seem to be fully featured weather resistant system out there except FF top cameras/lenses from Canikon. If not all those stupid price swings I'd probably try K-5 with 16-50 and if it works for me then would've added 50-135 or 60-250. Yet it's gonna be a heavy combo. Another option is the E-M5 with MMF-3 + 14-54 II. It works reasonably well and is a bit smaller/lighter. But 50-200 doesn't work well on MFT bodies - AF is very slow and inconsistent. And in any case, E-M5 + MMF-3 + 14-54 is very close in weight to K-5 + 16-50. The last option is to compromise on image quality and get Panasonic 12-35/35-100. But with all the mixed reports on their weather-sealing it might be not such a good idea. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ph34r.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':ph34r:' /> I've also considered Sony A77 with 16-50, but again there are some bad reports on its weathersealing (like a letter from Sony to one of the customers declining the repair service and saying that the camera is not weathersealed and shouldn't be used under rain), and there aren't any WS lenses except 16-50 anyway.
What a mess! <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' /> Would love to go shooting right now with heavy snow outside..
UP: apparently there are WR primes from Pentax, good. No fast "normal" prime yet though.
it is that time of the year again (at least on the northern hemisphere), and every year I regret not having a weatherproof camera.[/quote]
Same here, been also looking for a weather-sealed system and I also shoot with MFT. Except the top Canikon FF cameras there doesn't seem to be a good solution there, everything is a damn compromise. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' />E-M5 is a decent camera with just a few shortcomings that I can probably live with (always relatively noisy images with its base ISO 200, poor ergonomics with no grip to speak of and HLD-6 is a joke since you have to disassemble the whole thing every time you change the battery, plus on top of that the camera costs more than weather-sealed DSLRs with better sensors like K-5 or D7000)... yet the lens selection is no good, native lenses are compromised by software correction, borders/corners aren't good, yet they're very expensive. What's more, Panasonic's weather sealing is questionable, I couldn't find any detailed description of it, and whether it actually works or just a marketing gimmick is to be seen.
Pentax bodies are reasonably priced, especially the original K-5, and they are supposed to be very resistant to elements, yet the lens selection is poor. Unless I'm missing something, there are only 3 decent WR lenses out there: 16-50, 50-135 and 60-250. No wide-angle WR zoom, no WR primes.. out of the 2 telephoto zooms you probably just pick one so in the end basically there are only 2 WR lenses for Pentax system. That could be fine, but the prices jump like crazy. 16-50 might cost ~$750 today, and then suddenly it's $1500, the next month it's back to $750 and all this madness has been going on for months now. Not to mention that the lens isn't anything special in terms of optical quality and is definitely not worth $1500. Saw the same swings for 50-135.
I don't look at Canikon at all cause they don't have WR APS-C zooms, except maybe the Nikon's 17-55, and FF zooms are expensive, heavy and awkward to use with their 36-38 mm equivalent fl on the wide end.
Olympus Four Thirds lenses are really good. 7-14, 14-54, 12-60, 50-200, not to mention F2 zooms. But sensors suck, E-5 is old and expensive.. and after shooting with MFT cameras/lenses it's really hard to buy into a large and heavy DSLR system with sensors that are inferior to the ones used in much smaller mirrorless bodies. Also while the Four Thirds lenses are good and all they're also very close in size/weight to APS-C and even full frame lenses! 7-14's weight and price is so close to the full-frame Nikon's 14-24, and 50-200 is pretty much the same weight/size as Pentax 60-250.
So there doesn't seem to be fully featured weather resistant system out there except FF top cameras/lenses from Canikon. If not all those stupid price swings I'd probably try K-5 with 16-50 and if it works for me then would've added 50-135 or 60-250. Yet it's gonna be a heavy combo. Another option is the E-M5 with MMF-3 + 14-54 II. It works reasonably well and is a bit smaller/lighter. But 50-200 doesn't work well on MFT bodies - AF is very slow and inconsistent. And in any case, E-M5 + MMF-3 + 14-54 is very close in weight to K-5 + 16-50. The last option is to compromise on image quality and get Panasonic 12-35/35-100. But with all the mixed reports on their weather-sealing it might be not such a good idea. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ph34r.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':ph34r:' /> I've also considered Sony A77 with 16-50, but again there are some bad reports on its weathersealing (like a letter from Sony to one of the customers declining the repair service and saying that the camera is not weathersealed and shouldn't be used under rain), and there aren't any WS lenses except 16-50 anyway.
What a mess! <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' /> Would love to go shooting right now with heavy snow outside..
UP: apparently there are WR primes from Pentax, good. No fast "normal" prime yet though.