Soooo... After some further thought... things are still muddy.
Canon (m5/m6) is still in the running, but the currently leading option is not one that was even in my initial post: Panasonic G85 + 12-60mm kit lens + Oly 9-18mm + Oly 60mm macro or an adapted macro lens (maybe 4/3s). This all would be a considerable expense, and would mean a complete system switch, I think, rather than having a second system. BTW, after some thought, I don't know if the DA15 would work for me - there's a really big difference between bottoming out at 10-12mm vrs 15mm. Also, on the other side of the fence, there are lighter/cheaper body options than the G85, but it seems like the most appealing m4/3s body to me right now, and the bundle with the well-reviewed 12-60mm kit lens makes for a nice, flexible, weather-sealed combo. But I'm in no hurry - no cycling until the spring. So I can wait for now...
BTW, here are some weight comparisons:
K-mount:
- K-3: 800g
- Sigma 10-20mm F/4-5.6: 470g
- Pentax 16-85mm WR (*): 488g
- Pentax D-FA 100mm WR: 340g
TOTAL: 2098g
BTW, (*) means I don't have this item right now.
M4/3s (all of which I would need to acquire, obviously):
- Pana G85: 505g
- Oly 9-18mm: 155g
- Pana 12-60mm: 210g
- Oly 60mm Macro: 185g
TOTAL: 1055g
Comment: really impressive weight difference on these two fairly equivalent combos. 1kg less on every hill climb is a pretty significant difference (even though I should probably lose at least twice that in body mass while we tour
). The main thing I would lose with the m4/3 kit is that putting a Raynox diopter on a 60mm macro won't give me nearly as much of a magnification gain as when putting it in front of the Pentax 100mm (since diopters have a larger effect on longer lenses).
Some realistic (for me) variations...
K-mount "minimalist":
- K-70 (*): 688g
- DA 15mm (*): 190g
- DA 35mm F/2.4: 125g
- Pentax D-FA 100mm WR: 340g
TOTAL: 1343g
Comment: going with all primes and a K-70 gets me within striking distance of the first m4/3 kit, weight-wise, though still a bit heavier. (I'm not a big fan of 40mm as an APS-C focal length, BTW.) But this kit leaves me without the flexibility of zooms, with two non-WR primes as my main daily lenses, and bottoming out at 15mm. In fact, just the K-70 plus D-FA 100mm weighs about the same as the entire m4/3 kit above (1028g vrs 1055g) - a kit which fully covers 12-80mm APS-C equivalent focal lengths. I guess I could also try just the K-70, 12-24mm & 100mm, for a total of ~1458g with a different set of constraints...
Of course, it's also possible to make a much heavier m4/3 kit.
M4/3s "maximalist":
- Pana G85: 505g
- Pana 8-18mm: 315g
- Pana 12-60mm: 210g
- 4/3->m4/3 adapter: ~45g
- Sigma 105mm 4/3s: 450g
TOTAL: 1525g
This now weighs more than the "minimalist" K-70 kit above, though it's still a good 500g lighter than the K-3 kit. You could go even heavier with F/2.8 zooms, but I don't see the need for those. On the other hand, having a weather sealed ultra-wide (the Panasonic 8-18mm) and a 105mm macro
does have quite a bit of appeal for me... But the main drawback of all these m4/3 options is price. If I sell all my Pentax stuff, maybe it's not so bad, but I feel pretty reluctant to do that - and I just bought a PF t-shirt!
Anyway, I'll update this thread in the spring, I think.