Originally posted by JimC1101 I can see it now, leave my bag in my car and just have my camera and lens, walk around with a shot ready to go and then, oh wait, I did not bring my flash, I need to go back to get it. I come back and the light is off, or if I have friends in the shadows and tell them be right back. I could see pro users who spend a majority of their time shooting in studio don't really care about and an onboard and I would not care in that situation either. But you have a WR camera and lens combo so you most likely want to be out and about, and there are many times when I don't want to carry my camera bag with me, just my camera.
Sounds like the original K-3 is right up your alley then. But someone who values geotagging/astrotracer has had to carry around the O-GPS1 module up to now instead of just their camera. And they had to pony up an extra $200 for the accessory. Now the situation is flipped and those who want flash functionality will have to buy an external flash.
Originally posted by bxf And if I need to know where I am, I will carry an atlas...
As has been said, the GPS has zero effect on IQ. Whereas the built-in flash is not a substitute for s "real" flash, it still has its purposes, especially when you didn't want to carry one in the first place.
I'm willing to bet that more people would find the built-in flash more useful than the GPS.
It has an effect on the IQ your starscape photos!
And yes, I imagine you are right on the last point. Ricoh has made a change--we the market will tell them if it is a smart one.
I seem to be hearing a lot of "This is barely an upgrade, why bother?" right along side "These changes suck and harm the camera!"....so for these people I say, the K-3 is still being sold new, and no doubt the K-3II will debut at a higher price. So go for the K-3 and be happy.
Me? I would miss the flash on occasions, yes. And I do wish they added WiFi and did away with this FluCard kludge. But the GPS/astrotracer would definitely get used in my hands.