[grispie]

The new k3 has useless SR and a permanent crop in video mode

Guys,
I've never experienced a problem because of the crop itself. I hardly notice it, let alone it would influence any shot. I think you are blowing the issue out of proportion here.

the SR is a shame, yes. Certainly since they got it right in the past, but 90% of the shots is indeed best on a tripod anyhow (indeed) with a videohead.
For the occasions where you want to shoot handheld, maybe run & gun docu or if you want to imitate the small movements that a shoulder camera makes (as in certain films yes, which i love as well), use a rig & be done with it. Some are really not expensive. There have been numerous posts about this already & it will be in all reviews, so we can only hope the message ends up where it needs to be.

Personally i have a slider that can be used as a rig as well (but not for too long since it is not balanced out). But this works for those occasions i want it.

[TomGarn]

well ... some good points and interesting questions here - but today 99% of those friends
who want serious video-quality have allready left Pentax - and so very sorry to say ... I doubt
this new K-3 does compete again to make serious sellings ... All the other brands have still much
more to give - and Pentax still spoils what they did good and better than in those other cameras ...

Just a good H.264 codec and some more manual controles don't do the job alone.
It hurts now, I am really sorry about this, but I will learn say good-bye to my dying Pentax-Dreams.

Anyone who comes to some professional conclusions, because he wants to do jobs for
broadcast or web must learn sooner or later that it is useless to just talk about all that in open
Pentax-communities - because we are not accepted and listened to by those managers in power.

Yes, Pentax has been weird since I know about them - I like that niche and kind of backwardly
hight potential for some time ... because it promises some kind of underground cult ... but Pentax
seems to willingly want to spoil all they could do well enough for semiprofessional video-freaks.

Profis don't even have a second look on theses cameras anymore - it hurts to see them f u c k up
the business again and again - and it seems it is by far to late to write about all that ... and beg ...
or even demand ... They are just not competent. Maybe they get payed by Canon and Pansonic to
remain a no-danger in terms of sales, marketing and quality ... I just don't understand this crazy
management - they are spoiling their old company and can't find a way back with poor innovations.

[repaap]

Whoa, strong words Tom..or who ever.

Did not know Pentax has ever been known for video. It has not been strongest point, but you can make good material with it. There are great examples, wonder how these guys can do it? Propably not by hand held work. And, in movies you need to take more than one shot for one part. How can you repeat anything w/o tripod rails ect.? Pros are pros for reason. But with some training and taking care of technique you can produce great stuff. Now with this camera (K-3) you can have manal control, sound monitoring and good coding in one paggage, to have control. What good is that control if you do not control output.

And there is also some other things where K-3 is amongs the best ones ATM. Should not forget that.

[TomGarn]

So what kinds of videos do you shoot where the lack of mechanical SR
and cropped image will adversely affect the final result?

I want my camera-tools to be as good and well done as possible, so I decide which brand
can do that best - but of course I know I want to use them with my Pentax-glasses, or just
sell the whole thing some day ...
The Video-SR of Pentax was superb - now they just crushed it under their feets as it looks
like. (Hopes dies at last - I still want to doubt my sorrows ... for better results coming soon)

Shaking shoulder cameras are state of the art now since those historical days where
even moviecameras where freehanded ... But for broadcasting services shoulder cameras
became the usual thing (mostly) because of better balance and more ease to carry.

Consumer camcorders without shoulder attachemens were to shaky, but for example
that camera I just used some weeks ago, a Sony - HXR-NX70E has got such a good
SR that you can even shoot in tele-position freehandedly in such a great manner, that
even professional habbits are below those new possibilities to gather footage almost
unthinkable before.

DSLR is still less safe when hand-held, if you want to adjust it and not just put on autofocus.
You want to and you also need to pull the focus and focal-length lefthanded, while needing
the right hand to also adjust apperture, ISO and other tunings ... so you change hands on the
body and shake it the same time ... because certain things just have to be worked on during
the shooting ...

Someone in another forum thinks that heating appeared because of this strong SR. I don't know.
In my K-7 the heating stops the recording after some minutes - you cannot shoot continously for
example to record a speech - so maybe this was the reason to finally kill the physical SR ?

If not maybe the sound of the moving gyros had to be killed because you feel this great sensitivity
of your camera as kind of vulnerable to your stomach ? Yes, that could be a reason. I always quickly
drop the liveview again, when I do walk, drop the camera and change position ... just to calm down
this intense job the camera seems to do be doing so succesfully ... I can understand they may have
wanted to drop this nuisance for some ... but this was a raw diamond to be kept or being developped ,
a thing better done than all the others can do (except Sony alpha eventually ?)

The saying goes: "The even-more-superior is enemy to the well-done"
Pentax must whisper: "The average has been killing the superior"

---

Last edited by TomGarn; 11-07-2013 at 06:52 AM.

[TomGarn]

Did not know Pentax has ever been known for video.

Well it did start around here ... as far as I remember:

You Tube

You Tube

The Making of Uncle Jack - YouTube

[pTom]

TomGam , you're right on many points !

I don't use my K-5 for long video shots because the temperature meter bar is going up quickly after some few-minute video shots. With my cheap Lumix FZ200 , i could shoot hand-held the playing blind guitarist (see youtube link from my previous post) for as long as he played completely in the shadow.

I tried with K-x long time ago , but its quality couldn't match the very compact Canon HV20.
Furthermore, K-3 still has a limit recording as K-5 does . K-3 manual says "You can record a movie continuously up to 4 GB or 25 minutes" . Pentax engineers haven't found out solutions to break their barrier . As a result , this limitation will leave away many serious videographers.

People can only convince me that K-3 can do PRO video if I see K-3 in the list of "The Revenge of the Great Camera Shootout 2013/ 2014" !
But for now K-3 can at least give excellent short footages with manual video functions and good (expensive) lenses .

[languishing]

TomGam , you're right on many points !

I don't use my K-5 for long video shots because the temperature meter bar is going up quickly after some few-minute video shots. With my cheap Lumix FZ200 , i could shoot hand-held the playing blind guitarist (see youtube link from my previous post) for as long as he played completely in the shadow.

I tried with K-x long time ago , but its quality couldn't match the very compact Canon HV20.
Furthermore, K-3 still has a limit recording as K-5 does . K-3 manual says "You can record a movie continuously up to 4 GB or 25 minutes" . Pentax engineers haven't found out solutions to break their barrier . As a result , this limitation will leave away many serious videographers.

People can only convince me that K-3 can do PRO video if I see K-3 in the list of "The Revenge of the Great Camera Shootout 2013/ 2014" !
But for now K-3 can at least give excellent short footages with manual video functions and good (expensive) lenses .

Exactly! I'm not a serious videographer but the results from what I'm seeing so far seem really good to me.

[TomGarn]

So the new firmware will have to settle this - or be silent forever Pentax:

> Hand over the power for sensor Shake Reduction back to the consumer <

... Make it a free choice - Let's have a switch for: Sensor SR // Movie-SR ..

[Dave L]

So the new firmware will have to settle this - or be silent forever Pentax:

> Hand over the power for sensor Shake Reduction back to the consumer <

... Make it a free choice - Let's have a switch for: Sensor SR // Movie-SR ...

Exactly what I've been saying. Let us choose between (say) 5 minute videos using sensor Shake reduction, or 15 to 25 minutes using cropped software SR or no SR at all. Bring on the K-3 II.

Choices!

[TomGarn]

What we know now about the K-3 in terms of SR and/or IS ... is still the same as for K-30, right ?
Here on-and-off has been shown here before - in this good and clip-enriched info about the K-30:

Scroll down to the last third of that page:
Pentax K-30 Review - Video

See: Pentax K-30 Video: Image Stabilization

[maleek]

There is a review out, published by Cinema 5D, unfortunatly they were a bit dissapointed. The good thing is that the codec, that they thought were the source of some of the issues - could, if the powers that be so decides, be improved upon by upping the bitrates via Firmware.

Video Review: Pentax K-3 – at the orchid exhibition

[Steve.Ledger]

IOW: Ricoh marketting tried to sell it but reality is, it's not competitive?
I think maybe firmware isn't the real answer here.

[gosman]

OK guys let's get down to the basics. What do you set your K-3 videos at to get the best quality with the smallest file size? Simple question -hopefully simple answers.

[pTom]

OK guys let's get down to the basics. What do you set your K-3 videos at to get the best quality with the smallest file size? Simple question -hopefully simple answers.

Forget to use K-3 for video ! It's my simple answer .
Grab an old cheap Panasonic Lumix FZ200 or new release Lumix FZ1000. I'm sure that you will be happy over the moon with my recommendation

Hope anyone not to wake up this very old topic !

[gosman]

I've asked a simple question. I don't expect this camera to be a Stephen Spielberg special. I just would like to know what is the best setting for home movies.