Originally posted by RonHendriks1966 All the fuss about a second cardslot. Buy big cards. I know it can be handy, but I don't see people using it for the majority of the camera buyers in this range.
The K5 is a prosumer level body and is used by some professionals. I have no doubt that adding a second card slot would increase professional interest in the K3 and anything that raises the profile of Pentax, especially among professionals, is good for all of us, IMO. Another factor is that the K30 has raised the bar for the mid-range, so the K3 really has to have some significantly upgraded features. A second card slot would certainly be one.
If implemented properly, a second slot doesn't just add capacity, it can also add speed and flexibility. With a single card files must be written sequentially. This can cause a significant slowdown when continuous shooting or even fast single shot shooting if you are saving both RAW and JPG. With a second card, files could be written to both cards in parallel or in alternating sequence. For example, RAW files could be written to one card while JPG was being written to the second, at the same time. Or when continuous shooting files could be written to whichever card was not busy, allowing for faster and smoother continuous shooting. Of course, this would require a dual processor implementation, as well, another major feature upgrade from the K30.