Originally posted by reh321 The camera on the left of my signature dates from 1983 - it was one of the first to use the KA-mount {it still works - I took some photos with it yesterday}. I dislike the way all the camera makers got in line copying the Canon T90 and not giving us a choice .... I much prefer the svelte form of the 1980's cameras; we learned to handle large lenses with two hands rather than grabbing on to the grip.
The Super Program was my second SLR - I used it for twelve years 1983-95. Then I used a collection of four Canon cameras 1995-2015. After two Rebels in a row died, I purchased my current K-30 in 2015.
So 35 years ago then.. not 25. Time flies.. I missed the past decade too.
I'd rather have a handgrip so I can carry the camera in one hand and have a free hand for fending off muckmen when I'm in the forest near the swamp. some of my lenses are pretty large and heavy... there is no physical way to hold them in one hand without a handgrip. Esp down on one side when moving around.
Kind of ironic you came to Pentax due to hardware failure only to pickup a body that is prone to hardware failure. Please don't order a Nikon Z !!
I started in 2010 with a Pentax K-x, then a K-30 in early 2013, then a K-5 II in late 2013, then a K-1 in early 2017, then a D750 in late 2017.
Rebels are the budget line though.. so that doesn't surprise me that you had issues with them. Something along the lines of an 80D today seems pretty nice.. and the 7D models are sharp. It is sad that Canon and Nikon cut corners on their budget bodies. Pentamirror, ultra-plasticky feel, limited shutter speed, super slower burst and buffer.. at least Pentax doesn't seem to go to similar depths on their lower tier models. The K-30 is limited to 12-bit raw output and it does have a plasticky-ish feel.. but it is a lot better than say T6i Rebel or D3x00 (I've shot with them).
That said, the higher end models are very nice.. so I couldn't say the Canon or Nikon DSLRs are poorer compared to Pentax, outside of lower tiers where Pentax has a distinct feature advantage (baring lens and accessory selection).
Horses for courses I suppose..