Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
10-08-2013, 12:35 PM   #1
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Nevada, USA
Photos: Albums
Posts: 3,348
For those not pre-ordering... when will you buy?

A lot of people are pre-ordering their K-3 units. For as much as I would love to have a K-3, I'm going to wait.

I just got my K-30 in June and my shutter count is only 5.8k. The K-30 is still a better camera than I am a photographer and I don't feel like I have reached enough of the camera's limits yet. So far I have bumped into high ISO noise for indoor photography and bad rendering of reds. The screw-driven auto-focus feels like an elastic limit getting stiffer.

$1300 is probably a reasonable price for all the technology inside the K-3 but that's a steep hill for me and my wallet to climb right now, especially with a K-30 already in my hands. Maybe when it falls below $900, like the K5-II is today, I would find it easier to upgrade.

I would still like to see a sensor comparison study or a studio shot comparison like on DP Review before I upgrade.

If I had an older generation model with some "character marks" then I would be quicker to upgrade.

How about you? Are you watching from the sidelines too?

10-08-2013, 12:40 PM   #2
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
LaurenOE's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Back in Florida, but worldwide gigs!
Photos: Albums
Posts: 3,690
QuoteOriginally posted by 6BQ5 Quote
How about you? Are you watching from the sidelines too?
I think many people have waited long enough. Including me.
Like "pre-ordering" many of us have been "pre-waiting".

10-08-2013, 12:41 PM   #3
Senior Member




Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Spokane, WA
Posts: 118
When I get enough money
10-08-2013, 12:43 PM   #4
Veteran Member
Raffwal's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The North
Posts: 879
The long-awaited K-3 sounds like a great camera! Even though I'm not quite so sure of the sensor, having compared the Nikon 7100 to the Pentax K-5IIs on Dpreview. But great innovation nevertheless. Kudos to Ricoh. But when will I buy one? Probably never. I already have a K-x, a K20D and a K-5 and I feel today pretty little interest in the APS-C format. If I want to go small, I'll use my E-M5 or other m43 cameras and if I end up wanting to get a better high ISO and wide angle, I'll buy a FF ... by Nikon.



10-08-2013, 12:51 PM   #5
Administrator
Site Webmaster
Adam's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Arizona
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 51,584
QuoteOriginally posted by 6BQ5 Quote
A lot of people are pre-ordering their K-3 units. For as much as I would love to have a K-3, I'm going to wait.

I just got my K-30 in June and my shutter count is only 5.8k. The K-30 is still a better camera than I am a photographer and I don't feel like I have reached enough of the camera's limits yet. So far I have bumped into high ISO noise for indoor photography and bad rendering of reds. The screw-driven auto-focus feels like an elastic limit getting stiffer.

$1300 is probably a reasonable price for all the technology inside the K-3 but that's a steep hill for me and my wallet to climb right now, especially with a K-30 already in my hands. Maybe when it falls below $900, like the K5-II is today, I would find it easier to upgrade.

I would still like to see a sensor comparison study or a studio shot comparison like on DP Review before I upgrade.

If I had an older generation model with some "character marks" then I would be quicker to upgrade.

How about you? Are you watching from the sidelines too?
We'll be sure to do a detailed K-5 IIs vs K-3 comparison in our review. Pentax should be sending us a review unit very shortly, so we may have the review up before the camera hits the shelves.

You can expect the K-3 to do a bit better than the K-5 IQ-wise, but it's not going to be as big of a jump as the K-5 was compared to the K-7. However, as far as features go, the difference is much bigger.

Adam
PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide | Site Help | My Photography)



PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:
10-08-2013, 12:56 PM   #6
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jpzk's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Québec
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 8,251
As usual, I will wait for full reviews ... hands-on from real users, and decide once all of the little annoyances of the new product have been ironed out.

JP
10-08-2013, 01:11 PM   #7
Veteran Member
RonakG's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Bay Area, CA
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 603
I'm going to wait. Most first generation gadgets have some minor issues that can't be fixed by firmware updates. I'm going to wait till they iron out initial kinks and polish it a little. So I'm looking at sometime early next year.

10-08-2013, 01:20 PM   #8
Junior Member




Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 25
I will want till the price is under 1250 CHF. I think I ll have to wait about 2-3 months (or more). Anyway my k7 works like it was her first day and I have time, I waited so long that these 2-3 months are not important.
10-08-2013, 01:22 PM   #9
Senior Member




Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Lévis, Canada (Québec)
Posts: 144
When the reviews and the comments from users clearly indicate the AF system has improved a LOT over the K-7/K-5, especially with moving subjects. Then, yes, I'll commit to a K-3.

But for now, my K-5 is more than okay.

Its DR and high ISO image quality (up to ISO 6400) do meet my requirements (something my K-7 couldn't), and the 16 Mpix resolution is more than I need. So why drop 1400-1500 Canadian dollars on a camera that will most likely have the same DR and high ISO image quality (roughly) and produce bigger files (50% more HDD space required) than my K-5 if the AF is disappointing?

I don't want to buy a brand new K-3 and discover its AF system has 16 more AF points but is still just as subpar vs. competition as with the K-5. So I'll wait for the reviews to come in, and if they say the K-3 can track a moving subject as well as a D7100 or EOS 70D can, then I'll make the move. And with luck, the price of the K-3 will have dropped by 200 dollars in the meanwhile.
10-08-2013, 01:25 PM   #10
Pentaxian
TaoMaas's Avatar

Join Date: May 2007
Location: Oklahoma City
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,574
QuoteOriginally posted by 6BQ5 Quote
How about you? Are you watching from the sidelines too?
For the time being, I'm watching. But I have to admit that the K3 is very tempting...especially with the video upgrades and the switchable AA filter. I bought a K01 as a stop-gap measure last year until I decide upon my next DSLR. I'd like to see what else is coming down the pike.
10-08-2013, 01:27 PM   #11
Veteran Member




Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 2,054
QuoteOriginally posted by RonakG Quote
I'm going to wait. Most first generation gadgets have some minor issues that can't be fixed by firmware updates. I'm going to wait till they iron out initial kinks and polish it a little. So I'm looking at sometime early next year.
That's the only issue that gave me a moment's pause before I ordered, and I usually have the same policy. So I realize that we early adopters are taking a bit of a risk, but,

1.) Ricoh has taken quite a while to bring this body to market. I think that they know how important it is in terms of getting the Pentax brand where they want it, market-wise, and I get the sense that maybe they've been a little more careful to work out the bugs before the introduction. That may be wishful thinking on my part. Time will tell.

2.) This body makes so many technological leaps over previous bodies that I'm more willing to take a chance. Plus, I kinda feel like I'm putting my money where my mouth is as a loyal Pentaxian.

3.) I just really want it asap!
10-08-2013, 01:32 PM   #12
Veteran Member




Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 2,054
I could be wrong, but I don't think we're going to see the kind of precipitous price drops on this body that we've seen in the past. This body was brought out at a very reasonable starting price and if the reviews are as good as we suspect they might be, the demand should be pretty good for a while. Of course it will drop some over time, I just don't think it'll be as quick as we're used to.
10-08-2013, 01:46 PM   #13
Veteran Member
konraDarnok's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2007
Photos: Albums
Posts: 969
QuoteOriginally posted by DogLover Quote
I could be wrong, but I don't think we're going to see the kind of precipitous price drops on this body that we've seen in the past. This body was brought out at a very reasonable starting price and if the reviews are as good as we suspect they might be, the demand should be pretty good for a while. Of course it will drop some over time, I just don't think it'll be as quick as we're used to.
Really all depends on demand.
10-08-2013, 02:12 PM   #14
Veteran Member




Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 419
I might change my mind after some reviews come out and I see some full-res images from the K-3, but for the foreseeable future I'm probably sticking with my K-5 IIs and two K-01 bodies (and the K-7 which is largely collecting dust).

The reason I purchased a K-5IIs rather than waiting for the K-3 to show up is that I saw too many real-world side-by-side image comparisons between the K-5 IIs, the D7100 (another 24mp APS-C camera like the K-3) and images samples from the D600, D800, and 5D mkIII. To my eyes the K-5 IIs holds its own against all those cameras with higher-resolution sensors (meaning you cannot see a "clear" or "oh my God" difference in the images even when you pixel peep) except in two points:

-- Images from full-frame DSLRs have shallower DOF in some shots (a nice advantage if you want the shallowest DOF possible).
-- Images from the full-frame DSLRs have cleaner detail at high ISOs above 800 or 1600 (varied by sensor)

Granted, the K-3 has other significant advantages over the K-5/K-5 II/K-5 IIs beyond just the image sensor, but for me the image sensor (technically the image quality from the image sensor) is the biggest reason to switch camera bodies.

The reason I'm not immediately running out to buy the K-3 is that we're getting closer and closer to the point where the lens has a bigger impact on how much detail is captured than the sensor. Sure, higher resolution sensors give you a bigger file that you can crop more, but if the combination of the sensor and the lens isn't actually resolving more detail then all you get with a higher resolution sensor is a bigger file with the same image details.

Again, a full-frame sensor will give you the benefit of a full-frame perspective instead of a cropped view, better high ISO and shallower DOF ... but if you judge image quality in each new generation of camera by how much more detail is captured we're starting to get less impressive returns with each generation.



Unless the real-world images from the K-3 really surprise me I'll save my money and put better lenses on my K-5 IIs.
10-08-2013, 02:34 PM   #15
Junior Member




Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 35
QuoteOriginally posted by 6BQ5 Quote
A lot of people are pre-ordering their K-3 units. For as much as I would love to have a K-3, I'm going to wait.

I just got my K-30 in June and my shutter count is only 5.8k. The K-30 is still a better camera than I am a photographer and I don't feel like I have reached enough of the camera's limits yet. So far I have bumped into high ISO noise for indoor photography and bad rendering of reds. The screw-driven auto-focus feels like an elastic limit getting stiffer.

$1300 is probably a reasonable price for all the technology inside the K-3 but that's a steep hill for me and my wallet to climb right now, especially with a K-30 already in my hands. Maybe when it falls below $900, like the K5-II is today, I would find it easier to upgrade.

I would still like to see a sensor comparison study or a studio shot comparison like on DP Review before I upgrade.

If I had an older generation model with some "character marks" then I would be quicker to upgrade.

How about you? Are you watching from the sidelines too?
Black. Friday.

'Nuff said!

Jerry
VA/Saudi Arabia
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
comparison, dslr, k-3, k-30, k3, pentax k-3, upgrade
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
You know you haven't used your K-5 for a while when ... mrNewt Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 2 01-03-2013 08:35 AM
Where will you go when P&R closes? audiobomber General Talk 102 12-16-2012 03:39 PM
Those getting a K-5 : What will you be upgrading from? adamfogerty Pentax DSLR Discussion 44 02-01-2011 02:42 PM
When will it be safe to buy a K5? docdave Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 30 12-28-2010 07:16 AM
Those lips are not for you devisor Post Your Photos! 16 03-06-2009 03:25 AM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:48 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top