Sounds like you've really fallen for all this medium format digital marketing BS.
I shoot "seascapes" and around water all the time. (Carmel, Monterey, PG, Big Sur is my backyard). In over ten years of shooting with MFDBs, I've never had an issue arise from "weather" and using my Phase bodies and Phase One MFDBs. It just take a bit of common sense. Most all cameras despite the lack of weather sealing marketing, can perform surprisingly well during inclement weather, with a bit of care and common sense. Here's a short article and image of my Cambo WRS with IQ180, a bit soaked from photographing Lower Proxy Falls in Oregon: http://kendoophotography.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/photographing-oregon-with-the-cambo-wrs1050-and-phase-iq180/ I've had my Phase DF in worse conditions photographing along Shi Shi Beach in Washington. It's simply not a problem if you use a bit of care and common sense. If the weather gets any worse, it's just not fun anymore.
Ken I speak from experience having used more than one weather sealed and even waterproof Pentax camera.
I am a windsurfer, kitesurfer and that means taking pictures in 30 MPH winds with saltwater spray and sand flying all over the place.
I have even put waterproof Pentax cameras on my kites and crashed the kites at high speed into 6 foot surf totally trashing the kite and the cameras have continued filming or shooting through the whole thing.
As for your comment "It just takes a bit of common sense".... One would be using common sense to take advanced weather sealing into account when choosing a camera
for things such as seascapes. While one can get buy with cameras that are not weather sealed one would have far more freedom of movement and placement with
a really well weather sealed camera.
I know I would have been far happier with a weather sealed camera when taking this picture.
Shot with a wide angle and spray falling all around me. I did my best to protect the camera with an umbrella and by grabbing it and running if I had to.
But for me it was not a problem. It was a commercial shoot and the client had the budget to replace my camera if it got trashed.
Ken you may want to sarcastically dismiss my past as falling for MF BS, but that has nothing to do with it. Weather sealing
on Pentax products is not limited to their MF camera.
http://c2b6d376b97bcc466063-5420c200a1f030d1394a9548df6eadbd.r5.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/support/Pentax_Ricoh_WR_White_V2%20_2_.pdfPentax is well know for it's weather sealing and it is very well described on it's website including illustrations of where the seals are on many of their cameras.
Also weather sealing is not only about disaster prevention it is also about maintaining optimal image quality. Very fine dust creeps into non weather sealed lenses
this can lead to a loss in sharpness and contrast as well as slowly degrading the precision of the mechanical parts that include LS, iris and focusing threads.
The lenses pump back and forward moving this fine dust even into the body where it can get on the AF sensor and mirror mechanisms.
Weather sealing is an important factor and should be taken in consideration and I think it is useful to point it out. Just the extra peace of mind
makes a big difference.
A bit of spray... at least if it's fresh water is not problem, but all it takes is one slip or a bit of a splash and other cameras would be in trouble.
http://youtu.be/b_-RAzBjakk