[y0chang]

1080p60 is a major improvement for pentax video...

[SpecialK]

For the application closest to my heart, taking pictures while trying to be inconspicuous, such as traditional "street photography", a phone or tablet would just be one more thing to juggle

Hang the camera around your neck. Use live view while "fiddling" with the phone... Don't even need to look at the camera. Might take a little practice with the neck/stomach for composition :-)

I've gotten as far as connecting my cameras to the phone (took a couple tries) and making sure the app works.

[geomez]

I'm awaiting an official unveiling, will reserve my judgment till then....

Agreed.

[calsan]

Don't know why people would want built in wifi. That is doomed to instant obsolescence.

[drivingback]

@Ogunturkay, thank you for the info that there is a new version of the 24mp sensor, so that is why the Nikon D7200 was able to take big improvements in dxomark. That is good news for the Pentax K3 II!

I like what I am seeing in these leak specs. Built-in astrotracer is huge as it is as a standalone equipment costs a lot already. Hoping they at least include built-in wifi or nfc. The removal of on-board flash, I'm a bit divided. I don't use it as much, but when my wireless flash trigger failed me I was able to use the onboard flash as optical slave trigger for my external flash while I was on a shoot. Overall, this new Pentax is a winner!

[johnmflores]

Because of money? Exclusive contract even for a short period time cost big money, avoid your competition to get something maybe give you an edge on new camera buyers... just my opinion.

Who precisely is Nikon trying to keep away from the latest Sony sensors because they see a serious competitive threat to their market share? Pentax? Ha ha!

[bossa]

As much as I hardly ever use my built-in flash units I find it odd they removed it here with this camera.

And I can't accept that there's no Wi-Fi - how does the GPS unit to communicate with satellites? ESP!

It would also have been nice to make the camera a dedicated astronomical instrument by making the sensor sensitive to IR and/or hydrogen alpha emissions like the D810A. Everyone interested in Astrophotography would have jumped at this camera if that were the case.

Still, there are some features worth considering, even if they could be added to the current K3 via a FW update.

[rawr]

how does the GPS unit to communicate with satellites?

Standalone GPS.

No regular GPS devices actively communicate with the satellites - they are just passive, one-way receivers of satellite signals. And not all GPS systems need to rely on a data network link. Think of your car GPS, for example.

Some mobile phone GPS (A-GPS or 'Assisted GPS') may need a network link to work, but not all GPS devices have that requirement.

[Mistlefoot]

People need to remember that this is a K-3. Sure, second version. But major changes would imply a different model.....not an improved K-3.
Look at how minor the differences were between the K-5 and the K-5 ii.....

[bossa]

Standalone GPS.

No regular GPS devices actively communicate with the satellites - they are just passive, one-way receivers of satellite signals. And not all GPS systems need to rely on a data network link. Think of your car GPS, for example.

Some mobile phone GPS (A-GPS or 'Assisted GPS') may need a network link to work, but not all GPS devices have that requirement.

Cheers. I guess I was looking for a reason to hope.

BTW, I still have two D800E's for sale

[wil3m]

In case of improved AF for street and event photography, I'm definitely in! Having k-5 ii now.

[JimC1101]

Why do they always just skip things that seem so logical if they want to grab market share? I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the engineering conference room.

"Yes, we think wifi, articulating screens and video is just a passing fad". "Ok, let's skip them again and give them something everyone needs, an astro tracker!"

Funny.


Well there was probably a K-S2 engineering team and a K-3II engineering team......looks like the K-S2 team was better.

---------- Post added 04-21-15 at 09:47 PM ----------

The pixel shift resolution I think is a game changer if it works well.

But the problem is that is only got static pics so less useful than other options could have been. I wonder if I can keep my kid still long enough to use the pixel shifting, doubt it.

---------- Post added 04-21-15 at 09:53 PM ----------

Too many glass half-empty people out there. The Pentax K3 II sounds like a very good camera in its own right. That's how it should be judged, particularly since it's arrival follows so closely after the original K3. Yes, I expect Pentax's next flagship APS-C DSLR to have all of the latest features (namely a better sensor, a tilting screen, and built-in WiFi), but I imagine that Ricoh has planned this so that the FF camera can have the biggest "Wow" factor, i.e. be the first to have all of those features in one package. They clearly want the FF to make a big splash, and I expect it will.

Yeah but many thought, myself included, that the K-3II was going to make a big splash, but it was only a pebble. The K-S2 was a splash in Pentax firsts. Now it will thought of as the K-3II.....an insignificant upgrade.

[jatrax]

I wonder what the power drain will be with the internal gps unit.

The Pentax external unit goes a full day, maybe day and a half on a single AAA battery. Based on that I don't think the internal drain will be significant.

Don't know why people would want built in wifi.

I don't understand why anyone would want WiFi at all. And quite willing to listen to what use it would be. I really cannot figure what to use it for. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

And I can't accept that there's no Wi-Fi - how does the GPS unit to communicate with satellites? ESP!

GPS signals are one way, satellite to receiver. No need for WiFI or any communication really. The GPS signal is just a time stamp from each satellite. The difference in the time stamp from the various satellites is used to calculate the distance from them and thus triangulate the location of the receiver.

[Mixmaster]

good news,

Ricoh keeps on pushing. Busy Times for Pentax/Ricoh R&D. It is a long way to catch up to Canikon so little patience might be appropriate :-)

[Rorschach]

Boo for not hooking us all up with pixel shift

You seem to assume that it would have been just a firmware upgrade to enable this. I absolutely do not think so. It probably involves other changes, new parts and functionality in the SR mechanism.