Originally posted by surfar They are built cheeeeep, they "work" though.
Hmmm.... What makes you think they're built "cheeeeep"? Have you used one for any period of time? My A7 MkII - quite an old model by now - is nicely built, IMHO (and that tallies with many reviews). I'm quite fussy about gear, and if the K-3 is a 10/10 on build quality - and I'd say it fully deserves that score - the A7 MkII is a strong 8+. There are a few minor things I think could be very slightly better. And weather resistance is a weak point by comparison, but that's not down to it being built "cheeeeep"... It's just not so well designed as the K-3 in that respect. There's more plastic / synthetics on top of the magnesium alloy on the Sony cameras, but those materials are pretty strong and very resilient to small knocks, in my experience. Despite being a Pentax fan, I'm more than happy with the build quality of the A7 MkII. Or are you referring to more recent models that I don't have direct experience with? Still, I'd be surprised if they're any
worse (more than likely, they're
better)...
Originally posted by surfar Battery life,lens cost,menu,lack of Ricoh level ruggedness were 4 reasons for me to shy away.As well as the increased resolution of the K-1.
Battery life on my A7 MkII is terrible (it is on most MILCs of that generation). I have the battery grip fitted almost permanently on mine
The menus aren't great either, but you get used to them. Ruggedness is absolutely fine, based on my personal experience, but just below that of my Pentax gear, perceptually... though I've had no problems with either in day-to-day use. The resolution is what it is... 24MP on full frame has been more than enough for me, but I don't print large reproductions of images. But I can see why higher resolution is beneficial for other folks (though nothing like so many as they would have you think
)... In any case, if you're frequently printing large and/or cropping in a big way, higher resolution is nice and worth paying extra for.
I'm no Sony fan-boy... Pentax is my preferred system, and that's likely to continue. But these days, most cameras from all of the brands are built well, perform well, and have generally great specs. Open competition has led to a pretty high bar for comparison, and a considerable degree of normalisation in most areas. It's largely down to personal preference as to which we're best off choosing...