[Meganoodle]

I have a similar dilemma, My K-30 has started to fail - the dreaded aperture issue has struck. I was pinning my hopes on a K3ii replacement late this year - Do I now wait for the K3ii replacement in 2019 (or whenever) or bite the bullet and buy a K3ii now. I have other options (KR/K20D) to use if I decide to hold fire until the new camera but its frustrating to have to go back to a previous model.
Michael

[Adam]

I have a similar dilemma, My K-30 has started to fail - the dreaded aperture issue has struck. I was pinning my hopes on a K3ii replacement late this year - Do I now wait for the K3ii replacement in 2019 (or whenever) or bite the bullet and buy a K3ii now. I have other options (KR/K20D) to use if I decide to hold fire until the new camera but its frustrating to have to go back to a previous model.
Michael

I'd say get a K-3 II or KP now. There are great deals out there, and both are built to last.

[The Squirrel Mafia]

I have a similar dilemma, My K-30 has started to fail - the dreaded aperture issue has struck. I was pinning my hopes on a K3ii replacement late this year - Do I now wait for the K3ii replacement in 2019 (or whenever) or bite the bullet and buy a K3ii now. I have other options (KR/K20D) to use if I decide to hold fire until the new camera but its frustrating to have to go back to a previous model.
Michael

If you're good at taking things apart & have a small soldering iron, you can fix the K-30 for now by replacing the "green" aperture motor with a "white" aperture motor. Just go to this thread for more information. There are many other fixes like filing the aperture horseshoe & junk, but the only proven permanent solution so far is to replace the faulty aperture motor.

If that's too much hassle for you, there's nothing wrong with getting a K-3II for now. Chances are that it's going to be a long while before the K-3II replacement appears. Adorama has the K-3II with the battery grip for only $829. That's probably the best deal at the moment. The battery grip alone costs about $219. A slightly cheaper K-70 could also hold you off for a while too. It's basically an updated K-5IIs, but without the "pro" build.

[solitudebound]

Hopping for the same 24mpx sensor. However as i mentioned before i would like the have the more recent RGBW sensor as not to sacrifice wide angle capabilities for smaller pixel pitch and density. I seriously don't need the K-3 Mk3 to be another Nikon D500.

8.3 fps is good enough for me and some cameras at 7fps have a much higher keeper rate due to a better AF and use the same SD cards.

A unique option for Pentax AF might be a stepped AF. You start with a larger AF point then step/shift to a smaller one then a fine one in sequence instead of trying to process all ex.30+ identical AF points at a time. You still get the regular Pentax AF option for more static subjects.

Not much choice but use UHS/UHS2 SD cards and max out the write buffer or perhaps have a dedicated SD read-write hand off processor/buss.

Better battery life if possible.

Both GPS and built in flash for astro tracking and lighting backup.

Pixel shift i guess will be standard from now on from the looks of it.

Same magnesium alloy body as it is now.

The same exposure/metering system as the K-1 or KP which is better than the K-3 when it comes to the outdoors.

No accelerator chip, or at least give us the option to turn it off/on permanently.

5 axis IBIS will also probably be standard from now on.


Heh in simpler terms a larger, better built KP on steroids.

[The Squirrel Mafia]

No accelerator chip, or at least give us the option to turn it off/on permanently.

It seems like all future Pentax bodies are heading that way. As it is, the engineers have already been "cooking" the RAW files since the K10D.

Photographic Dynamic Range versus ISO Setting

^ You can see there.

I'd also prefer ZERO noise reduction in my RAW files, but I'd actually be OK if they "cook" them properly like they do in the KP.

But yeah. If they had an ON/OFF switch for that, it would be great.

[BigMackCam]

No accelerator chip, or at least give us the option to turn it off/on permanently.

I'd also prefer ZERO noise reduction in my RAW files, but I'd actually be OK if they "cook" them properly like they do in the KP.

But yeah. If they had an ON/OFF switch for that, it would be great.

While in theory I prefer the idea of uncooked RAW files (would that make them raw RAW??), I suspect we'd be horrified at how they'd look

[UncleVanya]

I was really surprised reading up on the history of the PZ-1 again recently that the focus distance information is communicated by FA lenses and it was licensed by Nikon for the D series lenses back in the day. My understanding is that Pentax didn't use that info for focusing but for flash in the PZ-1 and Nikon used it for flash and focusing. It's wild to think that Nikon licensed from Pentax this feature at one time.

As for the K-3 - I still use my original one today. The accelerator chip function would be welcomed and details on how it impacts noise and how they avoid problems like vanishing stars would be helpful. It would also be great if it was tunable - and it may already be - by simply turning off NR or turning down NR. Details on how this works would be great.

2 SD Slots is a must I think. Some type of tilt or swivel screen would be a huge boon. Rugged construction is a must. Lighter is not required. More battery life? Not a necessity for me - similar however would be great. 24mp BSI sensor perhaps?

[The Squirrel Mafia]

While in theory I prefer the idea of uncooked RAW files (would that make them raw RAW??), I suspect we'd be horrified at how they'd look

Probably! Hahaha!

[Chris Mak]

While in theory I prefer the idea of uncooked RAW files (would that make them raw RAW??), I suspect we'd be horrified at how they'd look

There has to be a reason to provide a menu option to disable/bypass the accelerator chip, a proud Pentax/Ricoh development. They mean to distinguish their camera's IQ wise with it, so not likely to put any effort in enabling a few that want rough raw to switch it off.
But to actually discover whether you would in practice even use the option to disable/bypass the accelerator chip, why not shoot a K3 next to a KP, and look for benefits of the K3 iso 1600 or 3200 shots.
Raw for the sake of "raw" is not a strong argument.

[BigMackCam]

There has to be a reason to provide a menu option to disable/bypass the accelerator chip, a proud Pentax/Ricoh development. They mean to distinguish their camera's IQ wise with it, so not likely to put any effort in enabling a few that want rough raw to switch it off.

The reason some might give - and potentially with merit - is that any cooking or processing of RAW data means you're tied to the manufacturer's interpretation of the "best" way to handle noise and other image data provided by the sensor. Such processing is designed to appeal to a very wide audience, but that means it may not (probably won't) be ideal for everyone. Of course, what you don't know won't kill you

But to actually discover whether you would in practice even use the option to disable/bypass the accelerator chip, why not shoot a K3 next to a KP, and look for benefits of the K3 iso 1600 or 3200 shots.

Absolutely. Of course, a wide range of test shots needs to be taken in order to stress test all aspects of the processing carried out by the accelerator... A night sky full of tiny stars is going to have different demands to an indoor rock concert, or landscape at dawn...

Raw for the sake of "raw" is not a strong argument.

It potentially is, though - depending on the varied needs of the photographer, and the results of the multiple tests I refer to above

[Larrymc]

What is this "Purist" obsession with "cooked" raw files. I'd be willing to wager that ever digital camera manufacturer cooks their raw files in their own little ovens. It only makes a hill of beans to a very few photographers, I'd wager

Larry

[reh321]

While in theory I prefer the idea of uncooked RAW files (would that make them raw RAW??), I suspect we'd be horrified at how they'd look

My wife has been referring to the Pentax DNG files as 'rare' files.

I'm guessing that all manufacturers tune the resistance, capacitance, and induction of 'wiring' between the sensor and the processor. Having worked with engineers on designs like this {I wrote firmware at one time}, I can tell you that they view a software directed device as just being an extension of that kind of thinking.

[BigMackCam]

What is this "Purist" obsession with "cooked" raw files. I'd be willing to wager that ever digital camera manufacturer cooks their raw files in their own little ovens. It only makes a hill of beans to a very few photographers, I'd wager

I don't think it's an obsession... more like a healthy interest in whether-or-not the cooking results in any loss of detail (such as disappearing stars in a night sky) - or unwanted artefacts (e.g. high contrast edge noise in Sony compressed ARW). I think that's what it boils down to (see what I did there? "cook" and "boil"?). Even if there *is* a small loss of detail, it'll be so minor that most people won't notice it... but for a few, dependent on use case, it will matter.

[Rondec]

What is this "Purist" obsession with "cooked" raw files. I'd be willing to wager that ever digital camera manufacturer cooks their raw files in their own little ovens. It only makes a hill of beans to a very few photographers, I'd wager

Larry

I too find it amusing. Pentax really doesn't do a whole lot to their RAW files. I have said before, but to me if (a) you can't see the smoothing done beneath the surface and (b) it produces better results than 98 percent of photographers could do with a given RAW file and the noise reduction software at their disposal, then its fine and don't worry about it.

There are some amazing people with noise reduction out there, but most of us are just average at best. I remember when the K5 came out and John Bee here was taking iso 51K images and running them through different things and coming out with very nice images, but when I tried to do the same thing, my photos looked terrible -- even in black and white.

[wkraus]

My wife has been referring to the Pentax DNG files as 'rare' files.

So the 645Z would produce medium rare files?