UKC

I'm thinking of getting a half share in a really good camera. My half would be used for outdoor photography in all weathers. The other half [not mine]is for weddings etc.

The thought at present is for a Canon EOS D Mk3. I've looked at just about every review I can find & it seems to be pretty much the biz. Most of the pros seem happy with it.
HOWEVER
The new Pentax K3 is being touted as very much an all weather jobbie.

The K3 is also about half the price of the Canon but wedding photographers don't apparently do Pentax....so I'm told before I get jumped on.

Suggestions, comments gratefully received.

In reply to Alan Breck: Is your outdoor photography going to involve carrying it a fair bit? Consider an Olympus OMD in that case.

In reply to Alan Breck:
Does it really say and mean weatherproof or just weather resistant? Check out the warranty terms for an indication on what they really mean.
Can't comment on those cameras, but my Panasonic water resistant camera has been out in really wet conditions and still works! Been in extremes where it only works as soft focus though (due to the amount of water on lens).
Not that the camera is at fault you'll understand !!!

In reply to Alan Breck:

I've got a K5 which I've used in heavy rain without any problems. This video puts the same camera through a fairly severe test which it passes happily. I assume the weather sealing on the K3 is at least as good.

youtube.com/watch?v=Eo61t5fH6Qw&

You should bear in mind that the sealing only works if you're using a weatherproof lens. The 18-55 kit lens with the K3 is WR and performs well for a kit lens. Have a think about what lenses you might want and see what Pentax offer, a WR in the name, or a * after the name means they are sealed.

I've used my Pentax non-professionally for wedding photos and got great results. The auto focus on the K3 is meant to be very accurate in low light, which will be useful. I'm sure somebody will pop up on this thread saying that Pentax autofocus is slow, this is probably true (I've never actually compared it to other makes), but other than that I think Pentax cameras are great.

In reply to Sam W:

Spot the lens cap?

In reply to Alan Breck: Is that a 5D MkIII? In that case it is weather resistant to a light drizzle with the right lens. If it is a 1D MkIII it would be fine in a small storm, again with an appropriate lens.

And no, the pentax isn't suitable as a wedding photographers camera.

It's the 5D Mk3 that's being thought of. Scottish winter conditions might result in slightly more than a light drizzle! Olympus isn't apparently "in the frame"

Nikon D800 is also being considered I'm told.....Still like the look of the Pentax myself.

Thanks for the replies.

In reply to Alan Breck: You could always byuy a scuba case for the camera u choose then its full weatherproofed!

In reply to Alan Breck:

No experience of Canon or Pentax but I regularly take a Nikon D700 out in full-on Scottish winter conditions (to the point where the buttons are often covered in ice) and have never had a problem. Your experience may vary!

In reply to Colin Henderson: Thanks had a look at that. Certainly seems somewhat "weatherproof" but doesn't have a complete metal body. I'd still be interested though in further info as your profile indicates that your a bit more professional than me! How would it be for weddings remains to be seen !!

In reply to Alan Breck:

Wedding photographers use whatever they can do the job with. Having said that, many brides expect a direct proportional relationship between camera size and photographer capability: a relationship which is of course, utter guff. One of my favourite shots from a wedding this year was with my Fuji X-E1 but I'm not quite brave enough to shoot a whole wedding with X-bodies.

Weather sealing on the 1D Series is pretty good - full on hooley should be fine if used with weather sealed L-series lenses. In monsoon conditions I use a cover for hired 1Ds and for my 5D. I've drowned a 40D after a day shooting in the rain, a day which the 7D survived.

No matter what camera I was using, I'd probably use a cover if I was going to be out in the rain all day. I'm taking a 5d3 and a 7d to Mull next week and when it's wet in the hills, I'll have a pair of goretext overtrouser over the big lens (cheeper than the specialist big lens covers!).

Hope that helps.

In reply to Alan Breck:

You've missed an important number there if its a 1D, it'll have excellent weatherproofing, if its a 5D isn't have good weatherproofing.

I use a 40D for surfing photography and that's been out in some foul conditions. I use a waterproof sleeve that stretches over the whole thing, but its a bit inconvenient. The camera has got quite damp (rain, salt spray and sand), but continues to work after a couple of years of abuse. The most important bit to my mind is the lens... I use a 100-400L which is definitely not weather sealed, and now makes a slightly crunchy sound when I tighten up the friction setting. Even that still works just fine.

So, uh. Anything you pick will do the job. Get a waterproof covering anyway, especially if you're not using sealed lenses.

In reply to london_huddy:

I nearly got stopped from seeing one of the olympic events cos of the 100-400... apparently it meant I was a 'pro', and as I only had a punter ticket the gate guys were unkeen to let me in

In reply to Shearwater:

No unusual at all - it's a real battle taking an SLR body into a lot of events these days, let alone a long lens; you did well to get it!

In reply to london_huddy:

Andrew makes a good point about whether a camera looks up to the job or not. Most pros will be using Nikon or Canon and Pentax wouldn't really entre the equation. Although the image thing is daft, it's worth bearing in mind as many wedding bookings will come in directly as you've been observed at a previous wedding - the general public know it's all about Canon and Nikon. I have no direct experience of this Pentax, but I doubt it's a patch on a 5Dmkiii. All the Pentax users I know (not many admittedly) swore they were the bollocks until they moved over to Canon or Nikon.
I've stood in the rain with my 1Dmkii for the full 90 min on several occasions at the football and never worried about it, I've also completely flooded my old 5Dmki in 5min of similar conditions. Of course, neither of these are 5Dmkiii.

Anyway, I'd get the 5Dmkiii and a waterproof cover - simple solution.

In reply to Alan Breck: I think your stuffed really, you'll undoubtably finish up lugging kilos of camera gear round with you because the happy couple understandably don't want to pay hundreds of pounds for someone with what looks like a crummy compact. If you were able to get a smaller system you could get weatherproof, lightweight (small lenses), and good enough quality for this stuff http://www.alpineexposures.com/blogs/chamonix-conditions/6796926-charakusa-...

I wonder if there's any mileage in Oly building a large black shiny bodyshell for the E-M1 that works like like an underwater case? It could be even bigger than a FF Canon and therefore better.

In reply to Alan Breck:

A big part of the price of a pro body camera like the Mk3 is its ruggedness. Should be comfortable using it in most conditions. I have a Nikon D7000, which will be much less weatherproof and it took some getting used to, but it is perfectly fine to use in the rain and it regularly gets dropped in the snow in winter. Don't forget the point earlier about waterproof lenses though.

I think DRTV did a youtube video where they froze a Mk3 in a block of ice...

In reply to Alan Breck:

I've broken many cameras, but I've never broken a camera due to rain, or any kind of weather. I wouldn't really worry about it - certainly not a Mk3.

I used an old D70 in a thunderstorm (had forgotten my rain cover and didn't want to risk an expensive camera at the time) to see how many pictures I could get before it died. The rain was stinging it was so hard, but the camera never faltered and I was out in it for about 20 minutes. The only camera I've had break from liquid damage (excluding one I dropped in the sea) was a weatherproof D3 that someone poured champagne over and it got into the card slot :-P

In reply to Doug88:

"I think DRTV did a youtube video where they froze a Mk3 in a block of ice..."

I was super sleepy while taking pictures of the aurora (in Norway) so I went in the tent to rest my eyes for a bit. Woke up the next day and went for a walk for the day. Was looking for my camera that night and realised I'd left it out. Was completely frozen! LCD screens weren't working but you could still take a picture :-D

In reply to Alan Breck:

The weather sealing is good when used with a matching sealed lens. The extra weight of the higher end models is because they are built more durable (magnesium-alloy bodies) therefore far more likely to survive a drop/fall climbing.

I use a 7D in pretty much everything, if its really raining I'll try and cover it with something but otherwise limit the time its out, to the time it takes to get photos. There's only so long you can spend trying to get shots in the rain before some finds its way onto the lens.

The only risk of splitting the camera ownership, is if anything does happen then its your mate that has to take the flak when he has to explain that the camera isnt working. (Although you could always hire for an event if it really came to it.)

The aforementioned destruction testing: youtube.com/watch?v=RCT-YMgjm9k&
Gives you an idea how solid these things are!

In reply to JDal:

But it doesn't hide the fact it is a far inferior camera for a wedding photographer

In reply to scorpia97:

" The extra weight of the higher end models is because they are built more durable (magnesium-alloy bodies) therefore far more likely to survive a drop/fall climbing."

I've found plastic cameras to survive better when dropped, although that was comparing big cameras (eg D4) to little cameras (eg D40), probably just a function of the weight I guess.

I lost a D700 to a bit of water. The camera apparently has double-seals everywhere, apart on the battery-compartment door. A bit of water can go via the battery compartment straight to the electronics... Repair bill was over 880 euros so I bought another camera.

It had survived rain before, and is marketed as 'weatherproof' - it apparently all depends on the direction of the water...