[lsimpkins]

I've owned a K-3 for a couple months and have experienced numerous glitches with it. Not necessarily show-stopping, send it back for repair issues, but last night something happened that made me wonder - are there any glitch-free K-3 cameras out there? The squeaky wheel, as they say, not only gets the grease, it makes the most noise.

I was shooting casual photos of my dog, K-3 plus grip, and the DA 35mm f2.4 lens. All was going well, then all of a sudden the AF froze. Half-pressing the shutter button did nothing. Even more curious, I pointed the camera at a far away point, and it took the picture, completely out of focus, as the "I'm in focus" light was lit in the viewfinder. This has happened before, but I always passed it off as something I'd done wrong. It happens so infrequently that I've lived with it, but now I'm pretty sure I will have to send the camera in. When this happens the AF functionality returns as soon as the meter times out, or you shut the camera off and on.

I am curious to know, has this EVER happened to you? I'd also love to know that this has NEVER happened to you. Every time I read about K-3 issues, it has something to do with autofocus, so if you've had any other AF issues I'd like to hear them too.

I am beginning to believe either the K-3 is a defective design or I got a ripe ol' lemon.

Bought mine in July of 2014. Took it to Michigan, Alaska, Jersey shore in all sorts of weather with a variety of Pentax DA and FA lenses and now a Sigma 17-50 f/2.8. It was delivered running the original released software, but I have updated it to the latest within days of each new release. No problems whatsoever to report. Oh, and most of the time I use the grip.

[Docrwm]

At least there have been no reports of oil on the sensor. Seriously, why multiple threads about this non-issue?

[savoche]

Still less than 5000 shots, but no issues.

It was the same with the K-5 - going by the posts here you would think there wasn't ever a working one out there. Yet mine has worked without a hiccup.

Oh, I lied. Just remembered the K-3 froze once early on, not with the latest fw, though. I believe it was 1.03.

Have never had any issues with AF, though. Very precise and decisive, even in low light.

[Dukeatoakland]

My K-3 doesn't like the DA 50 1.8 (soft, hunts, etc...). I know the lens is good, the K-50 loves it. Having said that, I am certain I could program around the dislike. All other issues with the K-3 have been on my side of the view finder.

[atcoombs]

I was an early adopter and have had only one small glitch. Had mirror flop just once and that was easily solved by pulling the battery. Still have not gotten around to updating to the latest firmware, suppose I should. Both the K-3 and my previous K-5 have been rock solid.

[PenTex]

Only issue I've had is that my aperture dial stopped working once. This was in snowy conditions at around 25 degrees F. Issue went away when I took out the battery and put it back in at home. Have had the camera since early December.

[RAART]

I didn't have any issues with K-3 nor the DA35 2.4 or the DA50 1.8 but I did went to local retailer prior purchasing lenses and ask them nicely to test few examples they had (DA35) and I can confirm that I was able to see difference between each lens. I choose the best performing one on my K-3. This is advantage when shopping local even the price was higher but even at that point as I mention the price difference the retailer agreed to lower the price to meet almost the web price and I was more than happy with that. Just my 2c.

[stevebrot]

Seriously, why multiple threads about this non-issue?

The OP had a legitimate fault occur (AF freeze in general use) that prompted this thread and a previous issue with a defective grip that was initially pinned on the camera. That is the extent of what constitutes a fatally flawed camera from what I can tell.* There was no description of the "numerous glitches" in the lead sentence. It was also stated that AF issues were the most prevalent complaint with the camera, though my experience has been that those complaints have almost always been traceable to user error or unreasonable expectations (e.g. multi-point AF-C, exposure-priority, f/2.5, 1/30s, ISO 3200, quickly moving children --> consistent missed focus).

I am a bit puzzled regarding the recent flurry of posts claiming multiple serious generic or quality issues with the K-3. I have been active on this site for almost eight years and can honestly say that the number and severity of reported problems with the K-3 are below average and much, much lower than the reported issues for the K-5 and various middle level models. It is indeed unfortunate that Consumer Reports no longer includes Olympus or Pentax dSLRs in their reliability report (too little data). When they did, both makers were steady at 3% fault rate. On the current table, Canon and Sony are at 4% with Nikon at 6%. Yes, 1 out of every 17 Nikon boxes shipped is going to go back for replacement or repair.

Referring to the initial post...Yes, the squeaky wheel is the one that makes the most noise, but noise is not useful.


Steve

* In an effort to better determine the nature of the OP's disappointment, I reviewed their posting history. One post strongly stated that the K-3 and Pentax cameras in general had inferior build and were completely unreliable and/or unpredictable. That being said the great majority of the OP's posts are useful, helpful, and upbeat. Strangely, less than a month ago, the OP strongly recommended the K-3 over the D7100...go figure

Here are links to the posts/threads where problems were claimed:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/173-general-photography/285339-am-i-crazy.html#post3110597
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/172-pentax-k-3/279495-k-3-weirdness.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/172-pentax-k-3/281738-any-other-k-3-owner...ml#post3063860

[monochrome]

YES (K-3)

Never a problem of any sort other than operator error since 12/20/2013.

[Ahab]

No glitches.

[Jacquot]

I've had mine for about 8 months and no problems...

[IchabodCrane]

Bought mine a few months ago and don't recall any faults at all along the way.

[Rondec]

I have owned a K3 since November of 2014. I had a couple of mirror flap issues in the first month after using an off brand battery that really wouldn't hold a charge. Other than that, the camera has been perfect. Most of my shots are shot without a grip, but 25 percent are probably shot with a grip. My wife has taken photos at several weddings over this time without any issues either.

My feeling based on forum chatter is that issues with the K3 have been mostly dealt with, although certainly there is a chance that a faulty camera comes through QC. If there are problems, Ricoh should deal with them, although stories about Precision Camera Repair don't seem very encouraging.

[Sandy Hancock]

I have one episode of mirror flop in 14 months of heavy use. I immediately pulled the battery, popped it back in and kept shooting. Straight after it happened I updated the firmware, and there hasn't been a blip since.

It is a wonderful camera.

[RDP]

Bought mine in February 2014. I had a single freeze up last summer while shooting in hot, humid weather. Easily solved by popping the battery (genuine Pentax) and restarting. Otherwise it has been completely reliable. These stats make it more reliable than my TV, wifi router, computer, phone, etc...

-Robin