[Serkevan]

One often doesn't notice a good camera until he switches with another, and then, "wow, this is so much worse!"

It's also familiarity, but Pentax is objectively* superior... the other day I was showing my friend how to play with the exposure triangle in his Fuji X-A3 and I swear I'm never buying something like that.


*This opinion is entirely subjective.

[Larrymc]

With regards to low light performance yes, I actually expected them to be able to keep K-5 low light performance on the K-3. The K-3 was also worse for dynamic range. I eventually covered those two scenarios with the K-1. There is absolutely no advantage to 24 mp if when you crop to 16 MP it's worse than a 16 MP camera, and the K-3 cropped to 16 MP is not as much DR and is more noisy than a K-5.

But I love the 8 FPS and 23 shot buffer on the K-3.

So with the K-3 it was a win some lose some. With the K-1 and the K-3 everything is covered except faster buffer clearing and he ability to change settings and open menus while the buffer is clearing.
With the K-new, I'd like a camera like the D850, that does it all and gets me back to one camera for every occasion.

If memory serves me well, the D850 is great resolution, 10 FPS, awesome autofocus, etc.
I've proved to myself over and over I don't need K-1 resolution. But I'd like the rest.

Of course with no tilting back screen, I already know I'm going to have to give up something I want to get the new feature and I don't care at all about it being 3mm thinner. I mean really, what the heck? So waiting for the specs, we are already down 1 zip on the score sheet. Pentax has to move that to a positive. I don't plan to continue with two bodies past my K-1.

On my current Flickr page 45 of the 100 image used the tilting back screen. No tilting back screen by itself almost kill the camera for me. Now if it has decent tracking, and even 8 FPS while tracking or other things that are not available on a K-P, I could bite the bullet, but it's already not everything I want. I don't think I can take another hit. Everything else has to be excellent.

Trying to justify not buying the K-New.......HUH?

[house]

There's a possibility the knew will be a honed K-3 with a great viewfinder, joystick, better af coverage plus a variety of improvements that come for "free" with the general improvement of technology. If the price is kept competitive perhaps this is not such a terrible idea? I mean considering what people actually shoot with their Pentax gear and the high level of all available cameras including Pentax.

[normhead]

One often doesn't notice a good camera until he switches with another, and then, "wow, this is so much worse!"

Happened to me with my K-3 and K20D. One day I thought, you know my K20D wasn't so bad. I put the DA*60-250 on it and went out to the blind. I took 5 images, having so much trouble locking focus I just gave up, It took 3-5 minutes to give up and go get the K-3 back.

Unfortunately I do the same with the K-1 now. I shoot for 10 minutes max, then go get the K-3. But for subjects that don't move, K-1 all the way. The big thing is, the K-3 isn' all that bad. And as pointed out, in good light, the images are practically identical to K-1 images. (I confess, I never got around to shooting the kind of low light images where the K-1 should have an advantage.)

My take is, it sounds like the K-new is designed to be an APS-c that emulates a K-1 full frame. Big view finder, low noise, hopefully more DR, but what I'm looking for is an improvement on the K-3 action features as well. On that they are so far completely silent. Well the photographer guy in the one video looked through the viewfinder and said "The AF is faster right?" But he wasn't answered.

[ThorSanchez]

Exactly!! Based on what we have been shown it will be K-mount, have a great viewfinder and excellent grip.


And as I have said before the only really important thing is that it will be a K-mount camera. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Yes and no. If it's a K-3ii with a little better viewfinder, it really might be the last K-mount APS-C camera ever. Who's going to buy a slightly upgraded $1500+ camera based on a seven year old model? You can buy a lightly used K-3ii for $500 or less.


I think that's unlikely, it will be much improved. But we'll see soon enough.

[normhead]

Trying to justify not buying the K-New.......HUH?

I'm just saying, so far I'm not excited. For those of us with K-1s for stills and a K-3 for action, what will it offer?

[ThorSanchez]

My take is, it sounds like the K-new is designed to be an APS-c that emulates a K-1 full frame. Big view finder, low noise, hopefully more DR, but what I'm looking for is an improvement on the K-3 action features as well. On that they are so far completely silent. Well the photographer guy in the one video looked through the viewfinder and said "The AF is faster right?" But he wasn't answered.

I think we've gotten a bit more than that, although I may be reading into it things what I want to hear. Ooku has said D500-like multiple times (actually I think his words were something like "better than D500"). The videos used the term "dynamic" or similar over and over. The joystick is there for the first time. They've emphasized that they've replaced all the processing guts, which more-or-less has to mean better, faster throughput for everything, unless this is the dumbest processing upgrade of all time. They've released the 55-300 PLM and are working on the 16-50 PLM, which are very fast to focus, neither of which will be fully exercised by having multiple generation old autofocus in the bodies.


I think at the very least this has to be the best action specs of any Pentax camera, and it would be pretty disappointing if it wasn't at least in the ballpark of the D500-ish competition.

[reh321]

I'm just saying, so far I'm not excited. For those of us with K-1s for stills and a K-3 for action, what will it offer?

In the thread about setting ISO for the K-1, you said

On my K-3 they can be quite noisy. Especially if shooting at -.7 EV. -.7 EV increases contrast and saturation, but it can negatively affect noise.

Based on what I am seeing from my KP, if the new camera doesn't give you much more graceful noise performance, then you are much more picky than I am. I often have to zoom in to the pixel level to see any noise, even over ISO 10,000; even then, I see virtually no chromatic noise. The photo below is a 100% crop of what I took last Saturday at ISO 51000 of our older daughter's cats watching us at her house.

[surfar]

the other day I was showing my friend how to play with the exposure triangle in his Fuji X-A3 and I swear I'm never buying something like that.

That camera is 3 generations old and was entry level,bayer sensored with an outdated processor when it was released.Get your friend to sell it and buy an Xtrans 3 or 4 gen,ie a real Fuji.

[Erictator]

In the thread about setting ISO for the K-1, you saidBased on what I am seeing from my KP, if the new camera doesn't give you much more graceful noise performance, then you are much more picky than I am. I often have to zoom in to the pixel level to see any noise, even over ISO 10,000; even then, I see virtually no chromatic noise. The photo below is a 100% crop of what I took last Saturday at ISO 51000 of our older daughter's cats watching us at her house.

Yes, I have had no noise complaints from any modern Pentax since the K-7 anyway...( I just never warmed up to that sensor, though I did get some nice shots from it occasionally)

My rule of thumb is this: If it was never available as a Film ISO, then I have no right to complain about noise at that level in Digital ISO

The highest ISO film I was ever able to purchase was ISO3200... just say'in.

This is only my personal rule, I'm not saying anyone else must go by it. But... it does speak a little to how spoiled we have become with modern sensors.

Now, alternately, it almost goes hand in hand, improved high ISO almost always means better base ISO performance also, and I would always take that! I would love a new FF sensor, or APSC for that matter, that goes down to ISO50 or ISO25 too!!! Now THAT would get me more excited than ISO1,000,000 whatever!

[Serkevan]

That camera is 3 generations old and was entry level,bayer sensored with an outdated processor when it was released.Get your friend to sell it and buy an Xtrans 3 or 4 gen,ie a real Fuji.

I meant in terms of control layout, which isn't different from the entry level Sony or Canikon thingies
He's not going to spend the money for an X-Trans Fuji.

[reh321]

Yes, I have had no noise complaints from any modern Pentax since the K-7 anyway...( I just never warmed up to that sensor, though I did get some nice shots from it occasionally)

My rule of thumb is this: If it was never available as a Film ISO, then I have no right to complain about noise at that level in Digital ISO

The highest ISO film I was ever able to purchase was ISO3200... just say'in.

This is only my personal rule, I'm not saying anyone else must go by it. But... it does speak a little to how spoiled we have become with modern sensors.

Now, alternately, it almost goes hand in hand, improved high ISO almost always means better base ISO performance also, and I would always take that! I would love a new FF sensor, or APSC for that matter, that goes down to ISO50 or ISO25 too!!! Now THAT would get me more excited than ISO1,000,000 whatever!

I had the KP in my lap and was using the flippy screen to take candid photos, so I was only vaguely looking at the LCD. The camera was in 'TAv' mode, and I accidentally allowed the f-stop up to f/13, which is the only reason the ISO was so high. That f-stop probably affected the detail I got, but I picked it because of the insanely high ISO. Other than cropping, this was SOOC JPEG.

[surfar]

I meant in terms of control layout, which isn't different from the entry level Sony or Canikon thingies
He's not going to spend the money for an X-Trans Fuji.

Well,the Xtrans Fujis have all the dials for control as well as apeture ring on the lenses.Although probably the lens you had on XA3 was the 16/50 XC series,they dont have a ring.XA series is just best left in program mode,they are pointNshoots with big sensor and changeable lenses.

You would be better off instructing the triangle on your Pentax,then let him try and adapt what you teach him on his Fuji.

[Serkevan]

Well,the Xtrans Fujis have all the dials for control as well as apeture ring on the lenses.Although probably the lens you had on XA3 was the 16/50 XC series,they dont have a ring.XA series is just best left in program mode,they are pointNshoots with big sensor and changeable lenses.

That was exactly what I told him before he got it (I suggested the X-T20), but that's what he wants most of the time. Which is fine, really. IQ is much better than a phone.

[jatrax]

I think at the very least this has to be the best action specs of any Pentax camera,

That won't be hard to do, and I cannot imagine it not being done.

it would be pretty disappointing if it wasn't at least in the ballpark of the D500-ish competition.

I'm not so sure about that though. I hope you are right and if so I would likely be an early buyer. But I've learned from experience that what Pentax thinks is a huge gain isn't all that much compared to what the user base thinks is a huge gain.

it really might be the last K-mount APS-C camera ever.

Now who is being negative? I seriously doubt that even if true. Which it won't be. If you take the KP sensor & processor and drop it in a K-3II body you have significant improvement. But if it's nothing more than a new K-3II it will still sell because there is no other option in that niche. Sell well? Who knows and we don't know how 'well' Ricoh needs it to sell. They don't think like Canon/Nikon and don't need to sell huge numbers. Just enough to keep the fan base happy.

Honestly if they just restarted the K-3II line they would be able to sell them, just because there is a pent up need for a camera in that niche.