[River Rat]

Mine's on order in black (body only) and now the wait!

[jwquinn68]

For those that are interested, you can download the user manual here http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/support/man-pdf/k-3-3.pdf

[lmd91343]

Ordered mine from Adorama at 7pm Pacific time. They included overnight shipping.

I just wish it had built-in GPS. Otherwise the specs are about perfect!

[gaweidert]

I use the grip on my KP bodies once in a blue moon, In fact, I have used all of the various other grips that I own even less than that. Absolutely no doubt one day, I'll order a silver K3iii grip on a whim and be forever pissed at myself... again

I leave the grip on my K1 all the time. Rarely on my K3 when I used it as my main camera. Yes if out for a full day of shooting. On my K1-II whether I use the grip or not depends upon circumstances. Out in Yellowstone or some other park for the day then yes. Out for a few shots, no.


Because of the way I use the camera, I have never gotten anywhere close to the claimed number of shots I an supposed to get with a fully charged battery so a grip is an essential part of my kit.


Up in the air on this camera as I prefer to have 36MP looking at a scene. Once I went full frame I rarely use my K3. The images from the K1's are a dream to work with. I will wait to see what the members here have to say about it. If the improvements are as good as they seem to be it will be a hard camera to resist for certain shooting situations.


There is, at least in the US, no advantage to doing a pre order. When I ordered my K1-II it came with a free grip and battery. That's how I justified the purchase. Who doesn't need an extra battery. Especially if it's for free!

[dwalt]

ordered the K3 III kit in black from B&H

[mtkeller]

Because of the way I use the camera, I have never gotten anywhere close to the claimed number of shots I an supposed to get with a fully charged battery so a grip is an essential part of my kit.

When I found myself freshly arrived in Japan with a three-year-old and newly aperture-blocked K-50 at the start of a trip that would also take me to South Africa, I debated between the K-70 and KP because the KP had a grip option. I had a tendency to burn through batteries as well, and the K-50 was the last body to support the AA adapter, so the idea of having more juice appealed to me. I went with the K-70 anyway, and I don’t regret it. I just carry extra batteries with me and swap when I need to. For my shooting style, that’s plenty good and the extra size/weight of a grip would be a hindrance. (Not arguing that the grip isn’t essential for you, @gaweidert. Just providing an alternative perspective that me of four years ago would have found made his decision making easier and might help someone today make their decision.)

[reh321]

When I found myself freshly arrived in Japan with a three-year-old and newly aperture-blocked K-50 at the start of a trip that would also take me to South Africa, I debated between the K-70 and KP because the KP had a grip option. I had a tendency to burn through batteries as well, and the K-50 was the last body to support the AA adapter, so the idea of having more juice appealed to me. I went with the K-70 anyway, and I don’t regret it. I just carry extra batteries with me and swap when I need to.

Honestly, I went with the KP mainly because Pentax representatives said it has the same type of aperture control the K-3 has, instead of the solenoid-controlled system the K-30, K-50, and K-70 have.
On a day like today - when I have a slight chance of needing a second battery - I’ll just carry one around in a pocket.
I learned several years ago that the extra mass of a battery grip is just not worth it to me.
I often shoot with my DA 55-300mm PLM lens; a ‘standard’ KAF4 would be perfect for me, but I did get a FA 28-105mm for my K-30,
so that will be adequate for me if I ever do get another system with solenoid-controlled body control of aperture.

[TimR]

I took the plunge and Ordered the K-3 III premium kit (Silver) from B&H.
So hopefully my KP will get a brother.

[Pål Jensen]

Surprisingly many who buy the silver one...

[mtkeller]

Surprisingly many who buy the silver one...

It's so sexy!

[TimR]

My KP is silver too.

[aslyfox]

Surprisingly many who buy the silver one...

if I get one, I am in line to get the Silver Special from Adorama,

it would be my only silver camera

[gatorguy]

if I get one, I am in line to get the Silver Special from Adorama,

it would be my only silver camera

Black K1, black K-70's, had a black KP, I just like black cameras.

So of course I decided to preorder the silver K3 III.

[ThorSanchez]

Preorders are now available on Amazon.com, but body-only is $2199. Adorama and B&H have a $200 advantage.

[reh321]

Surprisingly many who buy the silver one...

Not at all, from my perspective.

In the late 1980's, my family was touring a former mining area and company town, by then a museum.
At some point, the docent pulled by wife aside and whispered "Who is he with?" - from her perspective, my camera marked me as a "professional".
These days, the public views all black DSLR's as being "professional" - as seen in adverting use - so someone who doesn't want to be tagged that way will go with the silver variant.

As you can see from my signature photo, I have never {yet} purchased an all-black Pentax camera.