Pentax K-3 Hands-on and Sample Photos

Ash · 10-08-2013, 01:18 AM

Well done, Frank. A most comprehensive and enlightening pre-release review of this fine tool.

Chris Mak · 10-08-2013, 01:51 AM

Thanks a lot for posting! Most intriguing question left, is what sensor is in this new pentax K3. On the Ricoh site, it says "brand new" sensor. Is it a new Sony or the Toshiba? Either way, if IQ is as good as you are saying, this new K3 more than I could have hoped for, given all the other features

fs999 · 10-08-2013, 02:34 AM

Thank you for your work !

Frater · 10-08-2013, 03:00 AM

Originally posted by Chris Mak

Most intriguing question left, is what sensor is in this new pentax K3. On the Ricoh site, it says "brand new" sensor. Is it a new Sony or the Toshiba?

Adam posted today that he got it confirmed that it is the same "good old" Toshiba sensor as in the Nikon D5200 or D7100.
Obviously this sensor is not "brand new" in its own right, but its introduction into the pentax DSLR product line is

The Ricoh Marketing guys seem a bit cheeky though, I guess they want it to be misunderstood...

jaad75 · 10-08-2013, 03:07 AM

Too bad, Toshiba sensor has less noise, but visible banding - I think it would be better to put some work on Sony version to minimize the noise.

jaad75 · 10-08-2013, 03:08 AM

BTW, official samples look terrible:
PENTAX K-3 - RICOH IMAGING DEUTSCHLAND GmbH

Frater · 10-08-2013, 03:24 AM

Originally posted by jaad75

BTW, official samples look terrible:
PENTAX K-3 - RICOH IMAGING DEUTSCHLAND GmbH

Yep, the JPEG colors there are simply disgusting. Therefore I believe they can't be just OOC JPEGs, because that would be beyond belief to me. I woudn't take it too serious yet.

Originally posted by jaad75

Too bad, Toshiba sensor has less noise, but visible banding - I think it would be better to put some work on Sony version to minimize the noise.

Ack. Choosing Toshiba wasn't too wise probably, because this gives the competition (a future Nikon D7200?) the opportunity to depart from Tosh DSLRs, when using this very Sony sensor. But hey, only dedicated night-shooters (and among them astro phographers in particular) will be concerned much with "visible banding", won't they?

jaad75 · 10-08-2013, 03:43 AM

Sample Images?K-3 | RICOH IMAGING
These are MUCH better.
And this is interesting...
Japan: http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/products/k-3/ex/img/ex-pic06.jpg
Germany: http://www.ricoh-imaging.de/media/a0b40b282dafee94a0b064c424a9b81d/_IMG0742_cmyk.jpg

Frater · 10-08-2013, 04:15 AM

Originally posted by jaad75

Sample Images?K-3 | RICOH IMAGING
These are MUCH better.

I'm sorry I have to disagree. The first sample in Sample Images?K-3 | RICOH IMAGING shows same JPEG colour flaws, as in the German Ricoh site, i.e. the greens have again the same aesthetics as those from a cheap point&shoot cam. Way too aggressive and overdone, instead of being delicate or natural or "professional". Since this is the second (official) sample in a row, which I would deem unacceptable, it would start to worry me if I were to shoot JPEGs. But hopefully such flaws can be mitigated to some extent when configuring the JPEG processor, i.e. not leaving it at its default settings.

But the real bottomline is probably: The K-3 is a camera for RAW format shooters.

jaad75 · 10-08-2013, 04:19 AM

Who cares about default JPEGs anyway...

The good thing is that pixel level quality is definitely better than on those from German site.

IchabodCrane · 10-08-2013, 06:05 AM

Frank, thanks for posting. Can you tell us what JPEG settings you used? I found the common clipping in the bright areas of the red shirts that is a hallmark of Pentax. Shows up as a bright magenta in those spots.

Danas_Anis · 10-08-2013, 06:36 AM

what about video bitrate?
Since there are some very nice improvements on video department, could it be that video capturing was improved not only with useful features but also technical specifications have changed? So far very promising cam, definitely in my wishlist.

snake · 10-08-2013, 06:40 AM

How easy is it to switch between center and selection focus points?

For example, on the K5, I normally have it set to center, but then when I see the opportunity to shoot someone in portrait, I immediately hit the switch and it's been selected already for the point to the right of the center in a horizontal plane, I line it up with the eyes, and I'm done.

I find this direct access fairly crucial.

RBellavance · 10-08-2013, 06:42 AM

Originally posted by Frater

The first sample in Sample Images?K-3 | RICOH IMAGING shows same JPEG colour flaws, as in the German Ricoh site, i.e. the greens have again the same aesthetics as those from a cheap point&shoot cam. Way too aggressive and overdone, instead of being delicate or natural or "professional".

Did you notice the WB was set to CTE ?

deadwolfbones · 10-08-2013, 06:59 AM

Shots on the Japanese site look great to me.

10-08-2013, 03:24 AM	#37
Frater Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 142	Originally posted by jaad75 BTW, official samples look terrible: PENTAX K-3 - RICOH IMAGING DEUTSCHLAND GmbH Yep, the JPEG colors there are simply disgusting. Therefore I believe they can't be just OOC JPEGs, because that would be beyond belief to me. I woudn't take it too serious yet. Originally posted by jaad75 Too bad, Toshiba sensor has less noise, but visible banding - I think it would be better to put some work on Sony version to minimize the noise. Ack. Choosing Toshiba wasn't too wise probably, because this gives the competition (a future Nikon D7200?) the opportunity to depart from Tosh DSLRs, when using this very Sony sensor. But hey, only dedicated night-shooters (and among them astro phographers in particular) will be concerned much with "visible banding", won't they? Last edited by Frater; 10-08-2013 at 03:46 AM.

10-08-2013, 04:15 AM	#39
Frater Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 142	Originally posted by jaad75 Sample Images?K-3 \| RICOH IMAGING These are MUCH better. I'm sorry I have to disagree. The first sample in Sample Images?K-3 \| RICOH IMAGING shows same JPEG colour flaws, as in the German Ricoh site, i.e. the greens have again the same aesthetics as those from a cheap point&shoot cam. Way too aggressive and overdone, instead of being delicate or natural or "professional". Since this is the second (official) sample in a row, which I would deem unacceptable, it would start to worry me if I were to shoot JPEGs. But hopefully such flaws can be mitigated to some extent when configuring the JPEG processor, i.e. not leaving it at its default settings. But the real bottomline is probably: The K-3 is a camera for RAW format shooters. Last edited by Frater; 10-08-2013 at 04:22 AM.

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10-08-2013, 01:18 AM	#31
Ash Community Manager Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,704	Well done, Frank. A most comprehensive and enlightening pre-release review of this fine tool.

10-08-2013, 01:51 AM	#32
Chris Mak Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2013 Photos: Albums Posts: 621	Thanks a lot for posting! Most intriguing question left, is what sensor is in this new pentax K3. On the Ricoh site, it says "brand new" sensor. Is it a new Sony or the Toshiba? Either way, if IQ is as good as you are saying, this new K3 more than I could have hoped for, given all the other features

10-08-2013, 02:34 AM	#33
fs999 Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Luxembourg Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,945	Thank you for your work !

10-08-2013, 03:00 AM	#34
Frater Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 142	Originally posted by Chris Mak Most intriguing question left, is what sensor is in this new pentax K3. On the Ricoh site, it says "brand new" sensor. Is it a new Sony or the Toshiba? Adam posted today that he got it confirmed that it is the same "good old" Toshiba sensor as in the Nikon D5200 or D7100. Obviously this sensor is not "brand new" in its own right, but its introduction into the pentax DSLR product line is The Ricoh Marketing guys seem a bit cheeky though, I guess they want it to be misunderstood...

10-08-2013, 03:07 AM	#35
jaad75 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cracow Posts: 457	Too bad, Toshiba sensor has less noise, but visible banding - I think it would be better to put some work on Sony version to minimize the noise.

10-08-2013, 03:08 AM	#36
jaad75 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cracow Posts: 457	BTW, official samples look terrible: PENTAX K-3 - RICOH IMAGING DEUTSCHLAND GmbH

10-08-2013, 03:43 AM	#38
jaad75 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cracow Posts: 457	Sample Images?K-3 \| RICOH IMAGING These are MUCH better. And this is interesting... Japan: http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/products/k-3/ex/img/ex-pic06.jpg Germany: http://www.ricoh-imaging.de/media/a0b40b282dafee94a0b064c424a9b81d/_IMG0742_cmyk.jpg

10-08-2013, 04:19 AM	#40
jaad75 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cracow Posts: 457	Who cares about default JPEGs anyway... The good thing is that pixel level quality is definitely better than on those from German site.

10-08-2013, 06:05 AM	#41
IchabodCrane Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,728	Frank, thanks for posting. Can you tell us what JPEG settings you used? I found the common clipping in the bright areas of the red shirts that is a hallmark of Pentax. Shows up as a bright magenta in those spots.

10-08-2013, 06:36 AM	#42
Danas_Anis Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 196	what about video bitrate? Since there are some very nice improvements on video department, could it be that video capturing was improved not only with useful features but also technical specifications have changed? So far very promising cam, definitely in my wishlist.

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10-08-2013, 06:40 AM	#43
snake Banned Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: NY/Germany Posts: 1,183	How easy is it to switch between center and selection focus points? For example, on the K5, I normally have it set to center, but then when I see the opportunity to shoot someone in portrait, I immediately hit the switch and it's been selected already for the point to the right of the center in a horizontal plane, I line it up with the eyes, and I'm done. I find this direct access fairly crucial.

10-08-2013, 06:42 AM	#44
RBellavance Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Near Montréal, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,716	Originally posted by Frater The first sample in Sample Images?K-3 \| RICOH IMAGING shows same JPEG colour flaws, as in the German Ricoh site, i.e. the greens have again the same aesthetics as those from a cheap point&shoot cam. Way too aggressive and overdone, instead of being delicate or natural or "professional". Did you notice the WB was set to CTE ?

10-08-2013, 06:59 AM	#45
deadwolfbones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: La Crescenta, CA Posts: 7,451	Shots on the Japanese site look great to me.