[Clavius]

I think they may be taking advantage of the fact that many users never even open the manual...looks like they're saving lots of paper with this one.

I confess, I have yet to open any of my Pentax camera manuals for the first time. The UI of Pentax is just so good that there are little mysteries. That's a big plus to Pentax, I cannot say the same of the other systems that I use. And any question that I do have is googled a gazillion times quicker then trying to find it in some thick manual that sits in a box in the small attic of my studio. Such google searches often bring me here to PF.

[Paul Hunt]

This goes a bit more deeper than the "Pentax Simili Manual" :
Feature 2?K-3 | RICOH IMAGING

Thank you! I've made PDF's of the 4 Features pages for future reference!

To give one more voice to this thread;

Ricoh: Your Pentax K-3 manual SUCKS!

I want to understand the functions and selections, not just be told how to turn them on or off. That I can figure out on my own...

An example is that if you press the AF-button while recording video the auto focus starts working. Should´nt this be described in the manual???

This actually pisses me off.

[bradg]

I received my K3 late last week. Coming from a K7, the K3 seems very comfortable to me. While I haven't spent enough time yet, I'm very pleased with the K3 in almost every way.
At least until I opened the manual.
With my K7, I had also purchased a Magic Lantern series book on the K7. While it was much slicker and had some good examples, it really didn't add information that couldn't be found in the manual.
Not so with the K3. I will be looking for a 3rd party option because its just inadequate. When you spend the better part of $2000 for a new camera, lens and other accessories, why would they save $5 by printing that garbage. I can only assume that Ricoh brought this enhancement to Pentax since this is the 4th DSLR that I've owned and the rest had good manuals.
My first impression is that I can't read the manual w/o turning up the lights and getting reading glasses. My 50+ yo eyes can't handle this bull%$#@. Printing 2-up makes it very hard to read and the little graphic screen shots impossible to distinguish.
After getting over the unreadable format, you realize that they just left out at least 1/2 the information. Before they stepped through all the camera features and then also showed separately info on the configuration screens. They even gave info on using accessories like external flash units.
This manual only shows how to configure the camera and the options, but gives no details. As just an example, on page 57 when discussing the settings for HDR capture, it mentions you select HDR AUTO, HDR1, HDR2, HDR3. What IS HDR1,2 or 3? I assume its related to the intensity of the affect. But also, what is auto align ON/OFF which is a new setting?
Ricoh could make a case that they were saving paper, thus making environmentalists happy. But they didn't provide a PDF version that has more detail (plus I like to take a manual with me). But tree huggers are obviously youngsters who still have good eyesight....

[pete-tarmigan]

For me nothing beats a good, comprehensive paper manual. I devour them (and books).

If Ricoh wants to differentiate itself from the competition then it should provide a full, well laid out user manual (even in PDF format that I can print myself).

I love paper: it is tangible, tactile, robust, renewable and recyclable.

No to mention being backwards compatible with version 1.0 of the Human Eye.

[Boc]

I am only hoping Ricoh/Pentax has kept the manual so concise because they are planning to overhaul the functions with a major firmware upgrade. As many here have pointed out the K-3 has some misses that could be addressed by software alone (Movie mechanical SR, focus peaking, menu quirks and so on)

[rawr]

why would they save $5

For the same reason they failed to include a $1 USB cable in the box, unlike previous Pentaxes. A false economy.

[bradg]

They are an award-winning global "Green" company - but I agree a "full" manual could be posted in pdf form.

Award winning Green Company.... That is why I hate Tree-Huggers.
Thy saved money by printing 2 UP on a small format. You can't see the screen-shots they are so small.. why include them. I no longer have 25 yo eyes. I need more light and reading glasses to see a manual that small. A PDF for the full version might have helped for those who don't read it. But I want a manual with me. When its time to make an obscure change for something I rarely do, I need to be able to reference a manual.
Getting an e-manual actually wastes paper. By the time I print that manual on single sided paper, I've not doubled the usage.

You can get by with an e-manual for a Onkyo home theater system because you rarely look at it after initial set up and your not going to have that theater system anywhere but at home close to a computer. But I want a physical manual for a high-end camera. Hell, my cell phone came with a more comprehensive manual.....

It's just totally unacceptable. If Ricoh wins awards for being a Green Company doing things like this, they need to lose awards for providing a great camera. In my mind an otherwise great camera that is a great upgrade from previous Pentax DSLR's and can beat most of the competition, falls way short in this area.

[monochrome]

Award winning Green Company.... That is why I hate Tree-Huggers.

Just becasue I (possibly) explained their reasons doesn't mean I agree with them - so please, don't shoot the messanger. Don't forget they tried packaging in brown kraft boxes at first, which Pentax correctly told them is not premium packaging. Resource conservation may be total BS but it is part of every global corporation's ethos these days. My company distributes everything in pdf form now and removed the high speed laser printers from all 576 locations. They expect us to read portrait research on landscape 19" monitors. Right. Clients are expected to use a stylus to sign contracts on a tablet. Right.

You and I won't ever change their minds.

I can't even see to use a viewfinder any more, much less this manual. However, if they made a pdf version of a full manual, you and I could manipulate how it is printed and bound to suit our needs (i-uo, 2-up, i-sided, 2-sided) and the vast majority of buyers wouldn't ever even print at all.

[vonBaloney]

Yes, we're now talking about a full or expanded manual that doesn't even exist and complaining that it is a pdf. First it should exist in some form, and then we can complain about that form...

[jpzk]

K-3 e-book in progress.

Way to go, Yvon !

JP

[Bob from Aus]

I will work on producing an e-book for the K-3 and get it out by early December.

nice.
PDF book with what I need will beat a paper version with only half the info.

[jpzk]

Just a thought: can you not print from a PDF file ?

JP

[Bob from Aus]

Just a thought: can you not print from a PDF file ?

But if you don't like the print quality you have to complain to yourself.

[vonBaloney]

PDFs can go on tablets on phones, so while not easier to read, they are easier to carry than a thick book...