[Tom777]

Managed to find a negative aspect even in that...I am flabbergasted, you are really a 'special' talent.

Why Thanks Rorschach for recognising my talent I never new I had a talent
you are so complimentary


Tom G

[Rondec]

I have survived much longer without using a GPS, not to mention the Astrotracer. I haven't done one shot that could possibly be described as an "astro" or even a "night sky" photo. :P

Well, you live in Brooklyn and probably can't see the stars at night, can you? (not meaning it as a disrespectful comment, but I don't think folks who live in urban areas probably photograph the night sky as much).

[derekkite]

Well I will wait for the K4,
with Pixel shift,
better AF,
tilt screen,
flash,
and maybe an upgrade sensor,


seriously though I am confused now I am all set to buy a new k3, as I don't believe the k3ii has much to offer for me, not interested in GPS, i don't know what the big deal with this is all about,
I can add were my photos were taken in post.


all it will do is run the battery down a lot quicker, same with Wi-Fi .


I just take out my mem card put it in the reader and I got my photos all loaded into Lightroom, none of this faffin about with wi-fi


the whole thing is, with the K3ii is that its all gimmicky,


I love my Pentax k3, but just nothing there on k3ii for me and I suspect many others


The above is just my own opinion


oh there will be some whom disagree that's fine,


one more point this k3ii is cheaper than some of the k3 that are advertised is it second rate to the k3!
Tom G
,

There are some pretty decent deals on the K3, and it is a fine camera. The sensor shift SR is improved as well as the autofocus. What impresses me is the price. This is serious kit for a very good price. Both are.

I wonder if Ricoh will keep both in production, or at least in the pipe. Some want a flash, some want gps, both are happy now.

As for K3 owners, maybe the user reports will show some improvement but I suspect it is a wait and see for most. It is for me. But there are a few new lenses that are very appealing. So maybe my money will go that way instead.

Don't complain about the body. Use that thousand dollars to buy a nice lens.

---------- Post added 04-24-15 at 06:56 AM ----------

Well, you live in Brooklyn and probably can't see the stars at night, can you? (not meaning it as a disrespectful comment, but I don't think folks who live in urban areas probably photograph the night sky as much).

Indeed. I don't very often, but the capability is very nice. Nothing like a warm summer night watching the stars, or in August, the meteor showers. And why not take some shots?

[kadajawi]

But isn't that GPX info essentially in a sidecar and not the image file itself? Not the same thing when it comes time to export that file (I don't think).

You can tell LR to save it in the image itself.

Guys, I know that it isn't convenient, but I have been doing that for the past 4 years or so and it is not that much of a pain. I sync every couple of months, takes me 10 minutes. Scroll through the images, fix the times, select the photos to be tagged and tag. I would be keeping GPS logs even if the camera did it, so that's that. I like to see the route I have taken.

@normhead: Depends on your phone. Mine has no problem getting and keeping a fix in a plane at 1000 km/h, without internet or cell towers, so I can safely say nope, not worried. It uses GPS as well as Glonass, usually I have something like 20 satellites. I wonder how good the built in GPS is.

I wouldn't buy a camera because of the GPS, but I surely wouldn't complain about it either. I would rather have a flash, but it isn't a big problem. I wouldn't mind buying a camera without a flash, it's a tiny minus point, nothing more. And GPS is a tiny plus point.

That's just me of course, I'm glad that you guys have more use for it.

[MMVIII]

Why Thanks Rorschach for recognising my talent I never new I had a talent
you are so complimentary


Tom G

If you have judged yourself in the same manner I might be unsure if this really was sarcastic.... ;-)

[monochrome]

Jeebus. My wager is NO ONE commenting on the OBF would have bought a K-3II anyway.

[JimC1101]

It's for convenience and the ability to use the Astrotracer function.

Turn if off if you aren't using it.

Not for people who are looking to upgrade from a k-7, k-x, k-r, k-5, etc that wanted the Astrotracer function. Not for people who do studio scenes or landscape and wanted to upgrade from those cameras.

I am curious and not to discredit the need the astro guys and geotaggers love, and I am all for all accessories as much as possible to make everyone happy but I am curious How many people will actually be using the GPS functionality ?


I hear from post from this very long thread and hear people say that 1 in 20K plus pictures that they never used an onboard. I just wonder how many will be using or needing the GPS. I would obviously think that they don't use Astro for day use....it is a night time thing. And for those who are taking pics at home with the kids, is geotracking that important in that situation ?


Just curious but I don't want to start another poll. Maybe 10% or 50%, I don't know, it is nice to have but not important to me at this time. I am wondering if Pentax decided this change when actually only X% of the people will actually use it. I would hope that it will be at least 50% for all the grief that has started by adding it and losing the onboard flash.

[derekkite]

I am curious and not to discredit the need the astro guys and geotaggers love, and I am all for all accessories as much as possible to make everyone happy but I am curious How many people will actually be using the GPS functionality ?


I hear from post from this very long thread and hear people say that 1 in 20K plus pictures that they never used an onboard. I just wonder how many will be using or needing the GPS. I would obviously think that they don't use Astro for day use....it is a night time thing. And for those who are taking pics at home with the kids, is geotracking that important in that situation ?


Just curious but I don't want to start another poll.

Geo tagging is a feature you will turn on and the information will be there. From that point on into the future you will wonder why an exif isn't tagged with location, just like you would wonder why one wouldn't be tagged with the time.

[jaad75]

Well, you live in Brooklyn and probably can't see the stars at night, can you?

Well, I don't live in Brooklyn anymore, I have come back to my home country long time ago (I haven't updated my profile info for years). I still live in quite a big city, though... I can see the stars of course, but yes, the light pollution is probably one of the reasons I've never been into an astro/night sky photography.

[reh321]

I use Pocket Wizards, but I don't carry them with me all the time. And what if you need/want a wireless P-TTL?

Do pocket wizards provide wireless P-TTL??

Wireless P-TTL would be the ideal system, but I wasn't aware of any tool that provides it.

[IchabodCrane]

You can tell LR to save it (GPS coordinates) in the image itself.

.....

Thanks for responding. Just to make sure I understand, LR will edit the DNG or PEF file itself? I ask because I was always under the impression RAW files were non-editable once they left the camera.

[JimC1101]

Jeebus. My wager is NO ONE commenting on the OBF would have bought a K-3II anyway.

Well, I have been thinking to upgrade for the last 6 months so the K-3/3II is important to me and that is why I have read the posts and comments.


I love my K-30 but wanted a more advance model, and I hated to have to choose between back button focus or exposure lock among other things that the pro body offers. I have been debating for some time to go up to the K-5IIS or the K-3 but heard the rumblings of the 3II. I love the Sony 16 and have heard other say that the 16 is better than the 24 in DR and less noise so I have been waiting to see how the 3II looks. As I had said in the poll that is in a another thread, I am disappointed but it is not a dealbreaker to me to not have an onboard, just inconvenient.

[jaad75]

Do pocket wizards provide wireless P-TTL??

Of course not. I use dumb ones (Plus II).

Wireless P-TTL would be the ideal system, but I wasn't aware of any tool that provides it.

I meant I use a pop-up as a Wireless P-TTL controller. And really, I would not even think of complaining if Pentax announced a kind of small P-TTL triggering system with the K-3II. That's the only thing I need a pop-up flash sometimes.

[mikeSF]

I am curious and not to discredit the need the astro guys and geotaggers love, and I am all for all accessories as much as possible to make everyone happy but I am curious How many people will actually be using the GPS functionality ?


I hear from post from this very long thread and hear people say that 1 in 20K plus pictures that they never used an onboard. I just wonder how many will be using or needing the GPS. I would obviously think that they don't use Astro for day use....it is a night time thing. And for those who are taking pics at home with the kids, is geotracking that important in that situation ?


Just curious but I don't want to start another poll. Maybe 10% or 50%, I don't know, it is nice to have but not important to me at this time. I am wondering if Pentax decided this change when actually only X% of the people will actually use it. I would hope that it will be at least 50% for all the grief that has started by adding it and losing the onboard flash.

similarly, i thought i would never use heated seats in my car (how absurd) until I got them, lol.

But the K3II is a line addition to the K3, with different options. The K3 is not being recalled and nobody is being asked to stop using onboard flash. That is what I don't understand. There are two flavors, a flash K3 and a GPS K3, pick one...or two.

---------- Post added 04-24-2015 at 07:37 AM ----------

Geo tagging is a feature you will turn on and the information will be there. From that point on into the future you will wonder why an exif isn't tagged with location, just like you would wonder why one wouldn't be tagged with the time.

agree

[jaad75]

That is what I don't understand. There are two flavors, a flash K3 and a GPS K3, pick one...or two.

If they are going to add a better AF and pixel shift in a firmware update for the K-3, I agree.