Magnesium alloy body? Weather sealing? Water and dust resistant? ...

In relation to sealing and strength I'd be surprised if there was much practical difference between the two in these terms.

I read somewhere that because of the heavy weight of lenses, usually the lens mount is more at risk than other parts.

When using a tripod with heavy lenses you'd normally mount the lens on the tripod ( using a collar ). The camera is supported by the lens in this situation. This allows the system to be better balanced. Mounting the camera on the tripod with a heavy lens attached would result in a system likely to tip forward and basically unstable in this sense, quite the opposite of what you want from a tripod.

Actually one of the main reasons that I preferred the 7D over D7000 is its all magnesium alloy body, I thought perhaps it would last longer for me, but now I'm considering the D7000 again... I'm not sure when and where the magnesium alloy body really comes in use...

What are you using the camera for?

• If you're a wedding photographer, you can expect to have drinks spilled on it, shoot in the rain, etc.

• If you're a photojournalist, you can expect to shoot in warzones, or at least, in big crowds of people shoving, rain or shine.

• If you're a National Geographic photographer, you can expect the camera to get beat up a bit as you hike across Antarctica and shoot in the snow.

If you're like me, you'd prefer pro-level features with amateur-level weight. Minolta 7000 was more-or-less ideal in this regards. Even with fairly heavy amateur use, none of the dSLRs are all that likely to fail mechanically.

There are all very important. Plastic bodies aren't as durable, because they're not made like Pelican cases. DW-R can save the camera and your job. The lens mount is always at risk, regardless of the weight of the lens, if the camera is dropped or somebody steps on it. If you really want weather-resistance, you should be looking at the Canon 1D and a DW-R lens.

I always caution people about generalizing based on a handful of incidents.

It looks from the image as if the 5D3's mount was the worst damaged part of the camera. That could just as easily have happened the D300. It's pure luck.

Personally I've had all sorts of objects ( not just cameras ) drop onto hard and rough surfaces and which one's survive and which one's are broken just doesn't correlate well with the notional toughness of the objects. It seems to depend on the particular details of the falls, impacts, etc. and not as much on the objects.

If you are looking for top-notch build quality and a much better IQ than the 7D, I recommend the Pentax K-5. It's significantly smaller, and features an entire mag-alloy body (vs D7000's partial).

See the video in my signature for a weather and dust sealing demonstration.

-Heie
--
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Hello,

I always find that 'importance' is very subjective, so quite difficult to answer your questions. However, I will add my thoughts from my perspective

A magnesium body in general is going to offer more protection against bumps and knocks than a plastic. It isn't necessarily going to be better weather sealed, although in general I suspect that as mag bodies are going to be in the more expensive range, they are going to have a good build quality.

Weather sealing is definitely a good thing, but remember that it is not difficult to create it with a tiny budget - a clear plastic bag will pretty much guarantee you 100% weatherproofing !! Although I have said it light-heartedly, there are certainly some conditions that I would never really trust a camera's weather-proofing alone. The weak spot for water ingress is often the lens, and around the camera/lens mount, so some sort of full plastic cover isn't a bad idea if you like to shoot in wet conditions. Remember too that a 'weatherproofed' camera doesn't mean that it is waterproof

Your question about heavy lenses and damaging the mount. It really all depends on how the camera is carried/mounted/etc. For example, if you hold the camera by it's body and it has a 3Kg+ lens on the front, then there is going to be a significant stress going through the lens mount. Hold it by the lens and things are drastically changed. I wouldn't say there should be any problems using heavy lenses as long as you just think through where you need to support them. So, whether the mount is at more risk than any other camera part will really depend on the user

Regards,

Gary

omne wrote:

So, how important is all these? magnesium alloy body? weather sealing? water and dust resistant? ...

The 7D is all magnesium alloy but in D7000 only top and the rear of the camera is magnesium alloy, do you think that it's an important factor in choosing between these two?

Also I read somewhere that because of the heavy weight of lenses, usually the lens mount is more at risk than other parts... is that true?

I was comparing Canon 7D and Nikon D7000 and I noticed DPreview has mentioned "Water and Dust resistant" for D7 but for D7000 it says "Weather and dust resistant"... do they also have different weather sealing?

I don't think anyone mentioned that having a sealed body is pointless if the lens is not also sealed to the standard you require.

I'm also not sure if anyone mentioned that a dirt cheap rain sleeve can be as effective as any water sealing.

sjgcit wrote:

I don't think anyone mentioned that having a sealed body is pointless if the lens is not also sealed to the standard you require.

I'm also not sure if anyone mentioned that a dirt cheap rain sleeve can be as effective as any water sealing.

I personally don't trust rain sleeves. They are cumbersome, can tear easily, unsightly (for the vain ones among us), and aren't necessarily reliable unless you never plan to move your camera (i.e. fixed on a tripod the entire time). Water can get under the plastic and now the sleeve is moot, either by tilting the camera up/down, or drops curling around the edge of the plastic sleeve due to its adhesive properties. Also, it could cause high humidity build up between the lens and the plastic (under the plastic) that could cause your lens to be coated in drops as well.

I personally only trust lens/camera bodies that are sealed, and Pentax just happened to have the largest variety (from 16mm-300mm), cheapest, and most compact selection of sealed lenses for APS-C

People may claim Nikon does because a lot of their Nikkor lenses contain gaskets on the lens mount - the presence of a gasket/o-ring does NOT necessarily mean it is an entirely sealed lens - refer to the manufacturer's manual for exact specifications.

For some examples, check this thread out, specifically posts 4 and 5 http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&message=42338261

-Heie

I bought a D200 some years ago now. I must admit, I consider the build quality not so important now as the camera is most likely going to last way beyond its use-by date. Cameras don't need to last 20-odd years because the technology dates.

You can't throw it around or not worry about rain because it's always got a lens attached when you're using it and the weakest link is that lens. The camera would survive a significant fall, I'm sure. The lens most likely wouldn't.

I wouldn't make the build quality my main criteria for a camera. I like the heft and solidity of my old D200 but, practically, it doesn't really make that much of a difference. I think the all-magnesium body and weather proofing is more a selling point: it appeals to certain people even though it doesn't make any practical difference. In the field, amateurs, well, we're simply not going to take any big risks with our gear.

photosen wrote:

omne wrote:

So, how important is all these? magnesium alloy body? weather sealing? water and dust resistant? ...

Magnesium body alloy vs plastic: Until I see a statistical study that shows the durability of different cameras, it's all about bragging rights. I'm not considering the D7000 but I am consdering the 60D which I suppose has even less metal but feels plenty solid for my needs. Canon 300D users could give us some idea.

Weather sealing: If I lived in a place like the UK this would at the top of my list, with WR lenses of course. More weight to Pentax and Olympus in my decision (unless you've got the money for a Canon 1D series).

Water and dust resistant is sure to be important.

It's not so much about where you live (pero hay mucha lluvia en Mexico tambien ) but

• Do you travel?

• Do you want to take advantage of the few rain days you get?

• Little rain usually means a lot of dust - protect from that as well

• Overall piece of mind

Honestly, I'd recommend against the 60D and upgrade to the Pentax K-30. The IQ will be SIGNIFICANTLY better, AND, you will gain another control wheel (the K-30 has a front and rear, the 60D only has the rear). And the K-30 is even cheaper

Also MUCH smaller and more compact - take a look at this: http://camerasize.com/compare/#100,327

Canon EOS 60D is 12% (16 mm) wider and 10% (9.3 mm) taller than Pentax K-30.
Canon EOS 60D is 10% (7.1 mm) thicker than Pentax K-30.

Canon EOS 60D [755 g] weights 16% (105 grams) more than Pentax K-30 [650 g] ( inc. batteries and memory card).

Honestly the only thing I can see the 60D has over the K-30 is the articulating screen, which I don't know how important that is to you.

Yes I know you have some Canon lenses because you currently have invested in that system, but I honestly would sell it to switch systems - Canon used lenses command high prices and you would get so much more bang for your buck with Pentax.

-Heie
--
Need affordable weather sealing in a DSLR you can trust?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo61t5fH6Qw&feature=player_embedded

Take a look at my deployment to Afghanistan:

pentaxforums.com/forums/general-talk/196667-update-number-eleven-my-afghan-deployment-new-post.html
(you will have to copy and paste that into your browser's address bar)