UKC

Hi Guys, About 6 years ago I bought a Sony a55. I have recently sold this now and have kept the lenes I had with it thinking another sony would be the camera of choice. However I looked into it and the uncertainty of sony producing more a mount cameras in the future is a big turn off so I am at a bit of an impasse.
My question, I loved the ease of the a55 and took some great pics with it but im looking for something "more" to advance my pictures and continue to get better with DSLR photography. Do I just sell all my lenses and go with a different make and model starting from scratch? and if so which one do you guys suggest? I have a budget of about £800 and no more.
Or alternatively is Sony DSLR's still a suitable camera option that would suit for another 5 years or so that my A mount lenes fit?
I know its a lot of question so many thanks in advance hopefully!

In reply to jc545staffy:

Have you considered mirrorless, the Son A7 gets great reviews

In reply to jc545staffy:
Grab a 2nd hand canon 7d and a 17-40 F4L lens. A stunning, fast combo and built to take serious abuse. It is the camera of choice for many surf photos.

In reply to icnoble:

I havent looked into mirror less to be honest, I dont know enough about them, can you use the glass with them?

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

Its almost down to just sticking to sony and getting the Sony A77 MKII once I have enough funds or the 70d with a few lenses. Do you know the difference between the 7 and 70D at all?

In reply to jc545staffy:

a7 series mirrorless are E-mount not A-mount

In reply to jc545staffy:
You can pick up a second hand Sony a99 for about £850 if you can stretch your budget and want to go full frame.
If you'd prefer to buy new then the aps-c based a77 MKII would still feel like a giant upgrade from your old a55.

In reply to jc545staffy:
70d has a more modern sensor with lower noise but it is basically plastic and not weather sealed. The 7d is built like a tank and takes a ton of abuse. I keep mine out of the bag most of the time in the mountains, in all weathers, using a short Tamrac neoprene Strap to keep it tucked under my arm. You've got to get good glass though and the 17-40 is an awesome pro lens for around £400 second hand.

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

An aside really, but from what I've read the 70D *is* weather sealed: 'to the equivalent of Canon's film 1N', apparently...

In reply to Tall Clare: I stand corrected, though it's not up to 7d standard. It doesn't have 100% viewfinder either. It's a good camera the 70d but I feel the controls and simpler design make the 7d (and 7d2) better for extreme outdoor use.

In reply to jc545staffy:

Thanks guys, just looks like I have to fork out a bit more for a better camera and glass than I thought or wanted to

In reply to jc545staffy:

Surprised nobody else has suggested Pentax yet. You'll be able to pick up a second had K5 with the (pretty good) weather sealed 18-55 kit lens for about £300, or the K5ii for a bit more. Leaves you with plenty of cash left for another lens(es), my current favourite is the top notch and also weather sealed DA*50-135, £400ish second hand.

Have had this setup for the past few years. Fully weather sealed metal body means it's great for shooting outdoors throughout the year, it's relatively small and light compared to competitors, image quality is great, in body image stabilisation means slow shutter speeds work well/better no matter what lens you have on.

Only downsides are autofocus is apparently slow (I've never used Canon/Nikon to compare) and everyone thinks you're a bit odd for choosing Pentax over the brands everyone knows well.

In reply to jc545staffy: I disagree! A used canon 7d and a 17-40 F4L lens combo can be bought for £800. Solid, weather sealed and as takes stunning pics. People often buy a canon pro aps c dslr and mate it to a 24-70 or a 24-105 but that's a bad walk around combo as it's not wide enough t the bottom end and I bet they switch lenses a lot or miss shots.