Originally posted by infoomatic any info on the sensor? If no improvements concerning noise/DR it's not of interest for me (I think there has been virtually no improvement since K5 except higher resolution without AA-filter)
I think good news are very likely. The latest 24 MP Sony sensor (the one used in the D7200) has been updated towards having an 1 EV higher dynamic range, topping even the legendary 16 MP sensor, and of course the previous 24 MP sensor (the one which the K-3 contains). Source: dxomark.
Pentax will most likely want to have the latest sensor from Sony as well, so that the new K-3 is on par with the D7200 and the D5500 with respect to that.
Actually, I believe that the K-3 coming so sudden, must be an emergency reaction caused (or accellerated) by the recent D7200 arrival. At the moment, the D7200 is the package with the best sensor (=best image quality) paired with the best autofocus (taken from the big pro bodies like D4). Ricoh just needed to react to that, URGENTLY.
And I can tell ya, I would have been off to Nikon already in spring, if Ricoh hadn't reacted so quickly.
I always was afraid, that Ricoh could want to delay the K-3 update to happen after the FF arrival in autumn/winter, aiming to maximize the number of upgraders from the K-3 to the more profitable FF system.