I attended the Pentax Meeting today. It was a fan event to celebrate the 102nd anniversary of the brand. I just have time to write a post about a part of it right now, so I’ll focus on the part about the evolution of the K-3.
This actually consisted of two elements - firmware and ideas for future variants.
New firmware coming on December 7 (also for K-1 and K-1 II)
They have developed a new custom image profile called “satobi”. This was created partly to cater to the tastes of users overseas. They said the way it was developed was a little different from previous profiles. It’s a nostalgic image quality from the 60s-70s. It looks really nice. Made by looking at old images from overseas photographers and trying to replicates some of the more muted colors characteristic of pictures from the 60s and 70s. Then a couple of pro photographers came on to present some images shot with this profile. I know there are a lot of raw users who aren’t interested in the JPEG profiles, but this one is really nice and natural looking. I think a lot of people will appreciate it.
New firmware coming spring 2022 - Add Astrotracer to K-3 Mark III (not K-1 or K-1 II this time)
(Note: This was difficult to understand, but I’m 80% sure this is what he said) The K-3 III developer described Shigeru Wakashiro explained that the problem with Astrotracer is having to do the calibration each time. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to use Astrotracer without doing that? Well it seems that they have figured out a way to do Astrotracer not only without calibration, but also without the need for GPS at all. This prompted a lot of wows from the participants, but it seems that the firmware update will just add Astrotracer without any need for extra hardware. There was not actual details of how this will work. It seems that test firmware will be released much sooner than that, but I’m afraid I couldn’t understand whether that meant anyone would be able t download it and try it out. Incidentally, they confirmed that this would not be coming t any other existing models, and also that the OGPS-2 accessory is still in the pipeline for next year.
Future K-3 III variants
This was unusual. Wakashiro-san described six ideas for variants on the K-3 III and wanted to get feedback on them.
1. K-3 III Jet black - All black, almost like one of those computers keyboards with no markings at all
2. K-3 Shutter change model - A variant with a different feel to the shutter release
3. K-3 III Monochrome - No bayer filter model
4. K-3 III MF - Manual focus model, no AF sensor, 30% brighter VF, AF still possible in live view
5. K-3 III Gun metal - Basically like the K-3 prestige editions, with customizable markings on the prism, such as the AOCO mark
6. K-3 III Astro - Sensor filter changed to enable better astro photography (like other brands do)
They had a poll of attendees to see idea which sounds most attractive, and the two winners were the monochrome and the jet black model. But most ideas had their supporters. Some of them might be available as upgrades/mods for existing users (1, 2, 5). It’s also possible that they might use Kickstarter to gauge interest (note that Pentax did that successfully with a novel pair of binoculars before).
So this was the content of the event as far as the K-3 III is concerned. I’ll post separately about what they said about other APS-C models, lenses and the future of the K-1, but don’t expect anything too specific, because nothing was announced, shown or added to the roadmap.
Last edited by JPT; 11-27-2021 at 04:00 AM.