Pentax K-3 III Monochrome

The K-3 Mark III Monochrome is a compact DSLR with a 26 MP APS-C size CMOS monochrome sensor. It was released in April of 2023. At the time of release the camera was the only monochrome-only DSLR on the market.

The K-3 III Monochrome shares most features with the regular K-3 III except for image capture, which is monochrome only. This implies, that there is no white balance setting and the custom image settings are dedicated to monochrome photography. By doing away with a Bayer color filter in front of the sensor, about one stop extra of light reaches the sensor, which lowest ISO therefore is raised to 200. Features include:

• The button layout includes a third command wheel and it also includes a joystick for moving the active AF point
• The rear monitor is a touch screen making it possible to select focus point and set focus by pointing at the feature to be in focus. This feature is available for shooting stills as well as movies. For still images the shutter can be set to fire by pointing as well
• The viewfinder has a magnification of 1.05x which makes the view through the finder almost as large as offered by full frame cameras like the K-1 series
• The viewfinder has an LCD overlay with a customizable grid, electronic level, AF active points, Smart Function settings, and other features, hereunder a 1.3x crop frame
• Smart function is selected using the viewfinder display and then adjusted with the third command wheel.
• 4K video
• The sensor-shift image stabilization can be used also when panning
• With M and K lenses, the K-3 III stops the lens down and sets the exposure when the shutter button is half-pressed. One can thus forego the green-button stop down metering process of earlier Pentax DSLRs. This new feature also works with A lenses when the aperture ring is off the "A" setting.
• The aperture set with the aperture ring can be recorded in the EXIF data block.
• Four metering modes: Highlight-weighted, Center-weight, multi-segment, and spot.
• Face detection when using the view finder: The Multi-segment metering mode can optionally be set to base exposure on faces.
• Auto ISO: A minimum shutter speed can be set at which speed the camera will begin to increase ISO. This trigger point can be set manually or automatically based on lens focal length
• Back-side Illuminated (BSI) sensor
• Eye-sensor, that turns the rear LCD monitor off when using the view finder
• Viewfinder illumination
• The battery (and also the battery in the optional grip) is charged via the camera's USB socket. An optional separate charger is available.
• Ability to track stars without the use of a GPS unit (Astrotracer mode 3)
• 12 fps frame rate
• 101 AF points. 41 of these can be selected with the joystick
• A 307K pixel light meter
• Sensitivity tops out at ISO 1.6 million aided by the new Accellerator Unit II with increased signal-to-noise ratio
• Low light AF sensitivity -4 EV (when using the special F2.8 AF points and a compatible lens)
• Enhanced Hyper Program mode that also alloes for TAv (optionally M) to be engaged with the front and back e-dials (i.e. without turning the mode dial away from P)
• During playback, playback functions (for example RAW development) can be executed on a folder thus processing all images in that folder
• Catch-in focus is available not only with manual focus lenses, but also with AF lenses with an AF/MF switch
• 10 user modes can be stored in the camera, five of these can then be assigned to the exposure mode dial.

Other key features are:

• Depth of Field and motion bracketing in addition to the traditional exposure bracketing
• Sensor shift shake reduction also in video mode
• No AA filter
• AA filter simulator with bracketing
• 5 axis sensor-shift stabilisation rated at 5.5 shutter steps
• Rear monitor night view mode
• Dust and weather sealed
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
• Sockets for stereo mic and head set
• Numerous dials and buttons so that many settings can be changed without having to go into the menu
• Astrotracer type 3, which doesn't require a GPS unit when locking on to and following the stars across the sky.
• Astrotracer type 1 and 2 with the optional O-GPS2 or O-GPS1 units are alsol supported.
• GPS coordinates can be read from a smart phone and stored in the EXIF data block or they can be acquired from an attached O-GPS2 or O-GPS1 unit
• [Select XS] (extra small) to the AF area options when shooting with the viewfinder. This improves keeping a small object in focus
• [AF Point for H/V Comp] for AF with viewfinder shooting and live-view shooting. The reference position and movement position of the focus point can be maintained for each of the vertical and horizontal compositions
• Focus limiter function which works with the HD PENTAX-D FA MACRO 100mmF2.8ED AW
• USB tethering with Image Transmitter 2 and improved individual AF front/back focus adjustments when using the DA 1.4x rear converter
• Electronic shutter

The Digital Camera Utility 5 raw converter and image processing software is stored in the camera and can be installed on your computer via the provided USB cable. A CD-ROM with the software is not included.

Pixel shift is not available. It would serve no purpose with a monochrome sensor.

For situations where moiré patterns might be an issue, the K-3 III Monochrome includes the anti-alias filter simulator originally introduced with the K-3. The effect of an AA filter is simulated through micro-movements of the sensor using the shake reduction (SR) mechanism. For subjects with very fine detail in repeating patterns where one runs the risk of false patterns (moiré) the filter should be turned on. For landscape photography the filter should be turned off and the images will benefit from increased resolution. As opposed to a fixed (physical) anti-alias filter with the Pentax system the photographer decides whether or not to use it and the strength can be adjusted. There even is an AA filter bracketing function.

Major features subsequently added through firmware updates:

• Additional settings for AF.C (from version 2.00)
• Added focus sensitivity setting for AF.C (from version 2.00)
• Added a function to save and import user mode settings to/from the SD card (from version 2.00).
• Increased the number of consecutive frames when shooting with crop (from version 2.00).
• Added a limited function [Grad ND Shooting]. This feature requires an activation key (from version 2.00).