[Hornet]

A very impressive set of improvements in this new K3 model. I for one am particularly pleased that the button placement (esp. the green button) has been changed. Moving from a K20 to the K5 I have not in 2 years been able to consistently choose the AF or Green buttons correctly on the fly. Now these 2 buttons are well separated with placements more consistent with how they will be used (ie green button right below aperture dial) and AF nicely off to the side where it can'i be confused with another but can be easily accessed nonetheless. And sticking with the same battery as the K5 also a bonus.

IMHO the Green button is the most significant differentiating feature from all the other brands - ever watch someone with a Canon try and shoot in manual mode?

Bravo Pentax/Ricoh for delivering a premium product!

[bgdisc]

I just hope the AF tracking will be significantly better than the K-5. Any indication of this?

I've been on the ropes about picking up a K-5II for ~$740 because according to this blog the AF is definitely better for sports compared to the K-5. http://surfdoc.blogspot.com/2013/03/shooting-sports-low-light-and-mixed-wb.html

I'm not really concerned about the number of AF points because all I use is just the center point when shooting football. My problem is I have lots of missed shots because the K-5's AF can't keep up with the players, especially when they are running right at you.

[Rondec]

Will K mount lens work with it?

Only the DA lenses. You may be able to get the Fa lenses to mount as well, but then you will have to deal with the crop factor...

[lesmore49]

Looks good...real good. I particularly like that 200,000 shutter rating. Got a lot of very good features. Need to take time to digest all of it.

Great job Pentax + Ricoh.....now where's the full frame SLR ???

[c-meier]

So, I was reading the dpreview "first impressions" article on the K-3, and it says:

No, Pentax is using its sensor-shift image stabilizer to deliberately move the sensor during the exposure, slightly blurring the image to mimic the effects of an optical low-pass filter.

So they actually implemented my idea! https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/198693-k-5iis-moir...ould-work.html

Pentax*: add an option, let's call it "meier moiré suppression", to your AAless cameras, which uses sensor shift to introduce artificial, deliberate 1px motion blur in all directions. Voilá! Instant low pass filter.

Now, Pentax-Ricoh, where is my courtesy K-3?

[ultraviolet]

New accessory: "Pentax" labels to cover up "Ricoh" under the lcd display.

I think preproduction K-3 has RICHO but the production K-3 has PENTAX under the LCD.

[scratchpaddy]

Only the DA lenses. You may be able to get the Fa lenses to mount as well, but then you will have to deal with the crop factor...

You forgot your , or , or maybe a ...

...which smiley is the most appropriate for sarcasm, anyway?

[ultraviolet]

Only the DA lenses. You may be able to get the Fa lenses to mount as well, but then you will have to deal with the crop factor...

[KDD]

Looks good. How about ISO 80?

[Tesla]

I think preproduction K-3 has RICHO but the production K-3 has PENTAX under the LCD.

I was under the impression it was the other way around.

[Quicksand]

For the benefit of those who are new here: with notably rare exceptions* ALL K-MOUNT LENSES will work just fine with the K-3.

---

*

(1) Some old Ricoh K-mount lenses will get stuck because of the "Ricoh pin" that was used to transmit aperture info to the body. Ah, the irony.

(2) Some old third-party K-mount lenses have a shroud intended to protect the aperture lever that bumps into the SDM contacts and prevents the lens from mounting. This shroud can be removed.

(3) Old manual focus K-mount lenses will remain manual focus.

(4) Old manual aperture K-mount lenses will remain manual aperture.

Did I forget anything?

[Tesla]

So, I was reading the dpreview "first impressions" article on the K-3, and it says:



So they actually implemented my idea! https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/198693-k-5iis-moir...ould-work.html
Now, Pentax-Ricoh, where is my courtesy K-3?

Nice!

[kenyee]

Slightly disappointed the x-sync speed is still 1/180s...it's one of those things Canikon users bash Pentax about :-P

And the PF preview is incorrect about the D7100's "full-HD mode is limited to 30 FPS"...these specs:
1920 x 1080; 60i (59.94 fields/s)/50i (50 fields/s)*
1920 x 1080; 30p (progressive), 25p, 24p

are from Nikon | Imaging Products | Specifications - Nikon D7100

So that brings the K-3 on par w/ the D7100 for video unless it truly can do video w/ full RAW frames like the Canon Magic Lantern hack (doubt it).
Rumor for next year is that the Panasonic GH3 will have 4K video recording for the first time in a DSLR...

[IchabodCrane]

Slightly disappointed the x-sync speed is still 1/180s...it's one of those things Canikon users bash Pentax about :-P

And the PF preview is incorrect about the D7100's "full-HD mode is limited to 30 FPS"...these specs:
1920 x 1080; 60i (59.94 fields/s)/50i (50 fields/s)*
1920 x 1080; 30p (progressive), 25p, 24p

are from Nikon | Imaging Products | Specifications - Nikon D7100

So that brings the K-3 on par w/ the D7100 for video unless it truly can do video w/ full RAW frames like the Canon Magic Lantern hack (doubt it).
Rumor for next year is that the Panasonic GH3 will have 4K video recording for the first time in a DSLR...

The 1080i on the Nikon 7100 is only available in their 1.3x crop mode. I suppose that might not matter as the reduced sensor area still has more pixels than can be recorded anyway.

[kenyee]

The 1080i on the Nikon 7100 is only available in their 1.3x crop mode. I suppose that might not matter as the reduced sensor area still has more pixels than can be recorded anyway.

It does affect wide angle lenses so it does make some difference, but in practice, it probably doesn't unless you like using superwides.

1080/60p would have been nice because you can then do slow-mo by resyncing it to 24p.