[Shanti]

With the K3 price at $700 or so,it seems strange no mention of an update to it? I can only imagine price drops even more this year.Must not be very profitable to go 8 months with no high end APS-C,while many wait for the FF to arrive.
But wouldn't be surprised if in April a sudden announcement of the K3II or whatever.....
Anyone know more??

[jimr-pdx]

I'm thinking they set out a pretty full plate in the last month so no doubt it will come in a few more months, perhaps when a real 36×24 camera is available. The Q folks feel slighted right now too, but times are a-changing rapidly around here!

[Steve.Ledger]

With the K3 price at $700 or so,it seems strange no mention of an update to it? I can only imagine price drops even more this year.Must not be very profitable to go 8 months with no high end APS-C,while many wait for the FF to arrive.
But wouldn't be surprised if in April a sudden announcement of the K3II or whatever.....
Anyone know more??

I don't understand the reasoning behind your remark?

[derekkite]

I don't think we will see one until the full frame body is releases. Partly due to engineering resources, but also I suspect that many won't buy a body until they see the full frame, then they will decide.

Expect a firmware update in the near future that will extend the life of this body. It seems that the $800 K3's were manufactured in very late 2014, so it wasn't old stock.

[stevebrot]

I don't understand the reasoning behind your remark?

Agreed...I would not expect a K-3 successor announcement before summer. It will likely come with the product announcement for the FF camera.


Steve

[MadMathMind]

The K-3 was a departure from the recent norm of biannual flagship releases. The K-5 came out in 2010 and the K-5 II/s in 2012. One could argue that the K-3 was very necessary because the K-5 II was an incremental upgrade over the original K-5, featuring the same sensor with the major feature being the upgraded autofocus module. As wonderful as the K-5 II/s is, it was based on 3+ year old technology and was in much need of a refresh.

If Pentax is to update the K-3, what will they put in it? It's basically a K-3 II situation. There's no higher MP APS-C sensor out there, so it's just a matter of improving performance and autofocus technology. Given that the FF camera is coming this year, there's little reason to release a K-3 II when it would be such a marginal upgrade. I'd expect the AF technology to be overhauled for the FF camera and then put into a new APS-C body along with the inevitable processor upgrade that the higher MP count of the FF camera will require.

[mee]

Not expecting an APS-C successor to the K-3 this YEAR. I think they've saturated their resources with the FF system this year.

As mentioned, I suspect there will be a firmware upgrade and that is about all for this year.

[Paul the Sunman]

The K-S2 is the new mid-range, and is pointing the way forward with its articulating screen and built-in wifi. I'm guessing the K3 replacement will have both of those, so it will be a bigger upgrade than the K5 to K5II/s. I also suspect that we are close to hitting the wall with how many pixels can be crammed onto an APS-C sensor without noticeably degrading high ISO IQ.

Do we really NEED a K3 replacement this year? I'd certainly be happy to wait till after the FF is released and we better understand the lie of the land.

[thibs]

Until a new tech arrives such as BSI applied to aps and then FF (see Samsung efforts).

[beachgardener]

yes the layout of the K-S1/2 will go forward into K-3II or K-S3 maybe it will be called, 3 different lines below FF. I remember reading somewhere recently that there may be a firmware update around April perhaps, but yeah, I wanted some info. on the K-3 successor too, I would hope for it to have all existing features improved and come with articulating screen, but that one may get fixed screen.

[Barry Pearson]

The K-3 was a departure from the recent norm of biannual flagship releases. The K-5 came out in 2010 and the K-5 II/s in 2012. One could argue that the K-3 was very necessary because the K-5 II was an incremental upgrade over the original K-5, featuring the same sensor with the major feature being the upgraded autofocus module. As wonderful as the K-5 II/s is, it was based on 3+ year old technology and was in much need of a refresh.

If Pentax is to update the K-3, what will they put in it? It's basically a K-3 II situation. There's no higher MP APS-C sensor out there, so it's just a matter of improving performance and autofocus technology. Given that the FF camera is coming this year, there's little reason to release a K-3 II when it would be such a marginal upgrade. I'd expect the AF technology to be overhauled for the FF camera and then put into a new APS-C body along with the inevitable processor upgrade that the higher MP count of the FF camera will require.

I don't think there will be an entirely new "APS-C flagship" model in the near future, in the way that the K-3 was entirely new compared with the K-5/K-5II/K-5IIs series. I agree with the reasoning against this identified by you and others.

But I'm sure Ricoh expect to sell far more APS-C cameras and lenses than FF ones for years. I doubt if they want to position the APS-C range just as something you use until you upgrade to FF. It could remain a viable range, even for people wanting very high quality, with size and weight advantages over FF.

I see a possibility that Ricoh might do minor changes to the K-3 like the K-5II(s) did for the K-5. For example, add an articulated LCD and/or WiFi, etc, copied as much as possible from the K-S2. But not doing such massive changes as changing the sensor or processing engines.

[januko]

I hope there is a K-01 successor too! Quirky and all but I love to have an articulated display for it.

[kenspo]

The answer i got, is that it will most likely come, but they wouldnt tell me when. The same with GR

[tennjed]

It would be interesting to know what percentage of new K3 sales went to current Pentax owners, i.e. up-graders, as opposed to new Pentax buyers. If Pentax knows that the success of an new up-graded APSC camera would rely heavily on attracting current Pentax owners, and they (Pentax) have just baited that crowd with the prospect of a new full-frame DSLR.........I mean how many current K5/K3 owners are going to spring for a new APSC camera with the possibility of a new full-frame Pentax on the foreseeable horizon? Having just come back to Pentax with a new K5IIs, I am hoping the company stabilizes and survives for a long time to come. If that requires a slower, more cautious approach to new models, I am ok with that.

What does surprise me is that Ricoh has not introduced a next generation of the wildly successful GR. If Ricoh, or Nikon introduce a new APSC compact with IS, flip screen, or both, they are going to get a sale from me.

[Rondec]

K3 sequel probably won't come to the early part of 2016, if I read the tea leaves correctly. First of all, there isn't really anything wrong with the K3 -- it matches up well against current high end APS-C cameras. Sure, they could add more focus points, or an articulating screen, but I doubt that most current K3 owners would be particularly interested in those sorts of things if the sensor remains the same. The other factor is what has been mentioned above, which is that Pentax is going to really be focusing resources on the full frame release -- both with regard to the body and the lenses that will follow. We saw this with the 645z release, as it definitely took resources from the other mounts in order to get it out the door.

Anyway, that's my guess.