[rbefly]

Hello RaZZ3R, Welcome to the Forum!
First off, I believe you're over-thinking this; You're trying to come up with a specific camera and a few lenses that will meet an impossible range of requirements. There is NO single brand and accessories that will fufill your needs.
Second, you've listed the mechanical and optical requirements, but there's an equally important factor; Priorities. Is light weight the most necessary? Or lowest price? Is the availability of fast zooms more important to you than W/R?
I suggest you make another list; In order, what you feel you need most.
You are going to have a compromise whatever you do. At least this way, you'll have the most important needs met.
I don't believe Pentax is going out of business any time soon, certainly no more than Canon or Nikon or Sony. They all have their dedicated users and attract new people based on different factors, just as you've made your lists.
I suggest you make an new organization model, ranked by importance and availability, not features. Find the brand that has the most features you want and gives up the least.
JMO,
Ron

[RaZZ3R]

Ha ha, yes I was very lucky, he is still around and aged 101, Shoots with a K100ds.

Richard.

Taking photos till your last breath fades shows you devotion and passion for something you love is truly beautiful. Wish I had someone like that to teach and guide me, and since I don't I learn on my own and my painful trial and error.

[Docrwm]

Taking photos till your last breath fades shows you devotion and passion for something you love is truly beautiful. Wish I had someone like that to teach and guide me, and since I don't I learn on my own and my painful trial and error.

Plus he's seen brands, mounts, formats, and everything else come and go and understands that the things that last are the images themselves.

[Gareth.Ig]

...I need wide-angles for my landscapes work and fast one to for astrophotography so I don't have to sacrifice quality by using higher ISO and (by my observations) Canon has the best option on the market, I would need only one fast lens from Canon like the 16-35mm f2.8 where on Pentax side there is no fast lens like that so I would have to buy 2 or more lenses to achieve the equivalent and that really annoying since it adds weight, space and cost...

I'm sure all the systems will generate images you will be pleased with. You do have a fatal flaw in your thinking for Pentax K-5, all of the lens you list are not weather sealed, for which you would have to look at the DA*16-50, which I love, but does have a spotty reputation for durability.

Weather sealing to one side, I would still make an argument for the K-5. If the Canon 16-35 would cover your needs, the K-5, Samyang 14 and DA 35ltd give you the focal lengths, speed and image quality you are looking for roughly $1200 less than the Canon option at just less than the total weight of the Canon option.

[RaZZ3R]

Hello RaZZ3R, Welcome to the Forum!
First off, I believe you're over-thinking this; You're trying to come up with a specific camera and a few lenses that will meet an impossible range of requirements. There is NO single brand and accessories that will fufill your needs.
Second, you've listed the mechanical and optical requirements, but there's an equally important factor; Priorities. Is light weight the most necessary? Or lowest price? Is the availability of fast zooms more important to you than W/R?
I suggest you make another list; In order, what you feel you need most.
You are going to have a compromise whatever you do. At least this way, you'll have the most important needs met.
I don't believe Pentax is going out of business any time soon, certainly no more than Canon or Nikon or Sony. They all have their dedicated users and attract new people based on different factors, just as you've made your lists.
I suggest you make an new organization model, ranked by importance and availability, not features. Find the brand that has the most features you want and gives up the least.
JMO,
Ron

I did that on more then one occasion and ended up with something like this:

Weather-Sealing - Pentax
ISO Performance - Pentax
Dinamic Range - Pentax
Wide-Angle Lenses - Canon
Weight & Size - Olympus
Price - Pentax

So Pentax win hands down but the most annoying thing is the wide-angle lenses problem. Looks like I will have to survive with Sigma's 8-16mm f 4.5-5.6 DC HSM and Samyang 14mm f 2.8 IF ED UMC

[TER-OR]

I dunno, those 10-20s get good marks from both Sigma and Pentax - plus the 12-24...

I'd also consider that 18-135 as a lens to take out if the weather is dodgy. For me it's meant the difference between taking the camera on walkies or not if there's a good chance of rain. The WR aspect was a definite plus for me, actually it was a requirement. Even though it took a few years to get a WR lens.

[reeftool]

I wouldn't worry too much about the future right now. The way things are changing in digital photography, I think I would be safe to say that in 20 years, almost everything we are using today for gear will be obsolete paperweights. It's quite possible that every camera manufacturer we know today could be gone. I sum that up with one word. Kodak. Buy what you need to take the photos you want today. The fact is that every DSLR out there today (and a lot of P&S cameras too) are capable of stunning images. The differences between them is nitpicking and personal ergonomic choices. Do you have the money to buy into that dream system? Pentax has the best compatibility regarding lenses out there. Every lens Pentax ever made will work on our cameras, something no other manufacturer can claim. The K5 can hold its own against any aps-c camera out there. It isn't perfect but neither are the others. Spend some time in some other forums and you will hear a fair amount of pissing and moaning too and mostly about auto focus.

A wise man once said the grass is greener on the other side because it's well fertilized with BS.

[jatrax]

Plus he's seen brands, mounts, formats, and everything else come and go and understands that the things that last are the images themselves.

+1
I think as far as "future proof" you are looking at this wrong. Who can say what photography will look like in 25 years. We don't know if the dslr concept itself will still be around, much less a particular lens mount or a particular camera. 25 years ago SLR cameras were manual focus 35mm film. Do you think anyone buying a camera in 1987 was thinking "future proof"? If they were I think they got surprised. Unless they are still shooting film, which might be the only "future proof" system going.

So, do you want to lock yourself into the best technology available today for the next 25 years or go with something that can change and adapt as things move forward? Picking a company is the wrong way to go I think. Pick a camera that fits your hand, delivers the image you want and is within your budget. If you get 5 years out of it you will have done much better than most.

I would be (and am) more concerned with archiving images and making sure they are around in 25 years than I am what camera I'll be using then.

[RaZZ3R]

I'm sure all the systems will generate images you will be pleased with. You do have a fatal flaw in your thinking for Pentax K-5, all of the lens you list are not weather sealed, for which you would have to look at the DA*16-50, which I love, but does have a spotty reputation for durability.

Weather sealing to one side, I would still make an argument for the K-5. If the Canon 16-35 would cover your needs, the K-5, Samyang 14 and DA 35ltd give you the focal lengths, speed and image quality you are looking for roughly $1200 less than the Canon option at just less than the total weight of the Canon option.

Weather sealing is covered with the all-around 18-135mm since there are no wide-angle weather sealed lens for K-mount. The other thing that makes me nervous about the K-mount is the SMD problems, for that I wouldn't buy any lens with SDM and would use 3rd party lenses, isn't it maddeningly annoying that Pentax can't offer better QC and pushes us to use Tamron/Sigma/Samyang. Maybe if it weren't for the dedication of 3rd party manufacturers there wouldn't be a future to K-mount with so few options and QC issues. I would love the 60-250mm f 4 but at that price to have such QC with the SDM isn't really worth it, at least for me and so is the 16-50mm

[PPPPPP42]

The only camera bodies that I think are future proof are film cameras (as they have already proven), and even they are tied to the future of film. With digital you have something that is getting older and depreciating from the moment it comes off the line, and we still aren't quite where we need to be technology wise, I'm thinking in 5 years you will be able to buy a DSLR that will be just fine for as long as it lasts without compromises or a lack of something critical.

As far as a system Pentax is pretty nifty. I picked them because they were my film brand and I had a few good A lenses which are perfect for a DSLR if you hate auto focus like I do but want normal metering.
If I had no Pentax equipment I would honestly not pick Pentax to start with now, at least not yet, because I REALLY miss the full 35mm frame that I got used to with film, I can't go back and consider my K20D a temporary answer. At the moment I am shooting all film again.
If you do go Pentax, unless you are a solidly APSC user, (which is all many people need) I would suggest investing more in the FA line of lenses (used or new) than the DA's because if its the future you are concerned about that's likely where the value will remain and they work just as well on a crop sensor, if not better considering you are only using the sharper center part of the image. (very likely part of why the 3 FA primes always look so sharp)

[Rondec]

I think from a landscape standpoint, the K5 with DA 16-45, DA 15 would do a great job. Truthfully, the K5 will have a little less resolution at base iso than the 5D Mk II, but better dyanmic range. It just is a great sensor.

As to the future of any of these companies, I think Pentax has Ricoh backing them up now and I expect more products coming out down the road. Canon on the other hand really seems to be lagging behind in the sensor wars. Companies that use Sony sensors (Pentax, Nikon, Sony and now Olympus) all have moved ahead of Canon at this point and I don't know that Canon has any tricks up their sleeves, although I would think at some point they would update the APS-C line of cameras with a new sensor.

[JohnX]

Forget about 25 years time; who knows if any of us will still be here, let alone camera manufacturers.

Buy what you want NOW, then get out there and make pictures.

As to what to buy, this is a Pentax forum, so there might just be a little bias, but even if there's not, why trust any of us to advise you?

Go to a photographic dealer, try the kit, then, as was the case with Harry Potter's wand, it ( the kit) will choose you

[Docrwm]

.........I would be (and am) more concerned with archiving images and making sure they are around in 25 years than I am what camera I'll be using then.

Ah, now that is an important topic. I have mine on 3 separate hard drives but am increasingly uneasy about that arrangement. What archival format has the best stability and longevity?

[Docrwm]

The only camera bodies that I think are future proof are film cameras (as they have already proven), and even they are tied to the future of film......

Excellent point, and the future of film is in increasing jeopardy ever day.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/general-photography-industry/199721-fuji-...ovie-film.html

[RaZZ3R]

Ah, now that is an important topic. I have mine on 3 separate hard drives but am increasingly uneasy about that arrangement. What archival format has the best stability and longevity?

Right now I convert all my Raw files in DNG and keep a copy in JPEG for easy access when need it be, but I'm thinking of making a copy in TIFF format also