Pentax have been releasing a
series of articles about the development and production of the new Pentax APS-C Flagship Camera, the K-3 III.
In
Vol. 1 Shigeru Wakashiro, who is in charge of the planning and development of new Pentax DSLRs, focuses on the design process behind the new pentaprism.
In
Vol. 2 Shigeru Wakashiro highlights how the viewfinder protrudes ~3mm more (compared to the K-3 II), helping the user to avoid smudging the back LCD with their nose. The eye sensor (below the viewfinder window) is explained as dimming the back LCD panel when one uses the viewfinder.
Vol. 3 explains how prioritising viewfinder usage, clearance between nose and back LCD, compactness and sturdiness of design, and maximising monitor size, led to the decision to use a fixed back LCD.
Vol. 4 is about the considerations that went into the camera's ergonomics, using a "
form follows function" approach. In particular Shigeru Wakashiro describes the process used for finding the optimal grip shape and explains which design forces needed to be balanced in order to enable reliable but at the same time comfortable joystick operation.
An intermediate story was about a
progress update which disclosed an updated launch date (late February 2021), links to
"Pentax Principles", and listed many of the specs, such as a 26MP sensor and 101 AF points. The first four minutes of the latest video (see below) about the K-3 III are about the "Pentax Philosophy". The rest is an update on the K-3 III development.
Vol. 5 is about improving the interaction paradigm involving the third wheel.
Vol. 6 discusses the styling of the camera which is meant to create a sense of "
energy and liveliness", suggesting "
improved image tracking performance for active field use". A full magnesium body, including the top shell, indicates that built-in GPS may not be a feature of the K-3 III.
Vol. 7 explains why the K-3 III received a shutter release button that uses the same principle as the K-1 (II) with a small tweak, reducing button wobble. Furthermore, there are some comments about optimising the mirror and shutter behaviour.
Vol. 8 discusses the K-3 III's support for legacy lenses. A novel feature is the ability to have a manually set aperture value recorded by the camera. Setting the shooting aperture manually also enables Av and TAv modes, something that current Pentax DSLRs do not support with manual lenses (outside wide-open shooting).
Vol. 9 describes an extension to the Hyper Program mode which now can not only assume the functionalities of the "P", "Av", and "Tv" modes, but additionally supports the very useful "TAv" mode. The latter is simply activated by manually changing an exposure parameter (aperture or shutter speed) after having manually changed the respective other exposure parameter already.
Vol. 10, the last volume in the series, discusses image quality, addressing a range of topics from the BSI sensor, to improved image processing by the "accelerator unit", to sharpening alternatives.
The
"Challengers - Messages from the development team members" page provides further very interesting background information on the K-3 III and its development.
Related discussion threads are
"New K-New? Who Knew?" and
"[New video Oct 27] New information about upcoming APS-C flagship model".
New video on the K-3 III technology:
Last edited by Class A; 04-02-2021 at 09:26 AM.