[Jon]

Not sure I can vote for a 20mm-40mm lens (still trying to wrap my head around that focal length spectrum). Sigma's 18-35/1.8 was a real game changer offering a 1.8 fixed aperture in a zoom lens.

[ENicolas]

The K-3 is at 30% and leading easily with about 4,500 votes cast!

You will always see posts about issues in a forum - when people have problems they seek information and commiseration. I'm sure the vast majority of K-3 owners have had my experience with the camera: so far, after a couple thousand shutter activations, it has been flawless. And the image quality is superb.

Every time I read about one of these issues I test my K-3, and so far I can't reproduce any of them.

Great camera!

[rbefly]

Hornswoggled, flabbergasted, shocked and color me surprised...here's the latest, and the rankings are the same. But, the K-3 is pulling away.
4280 votes cast, 10:15 PM;
Pentax K-3 - 30.1%
Nikon Df - 17.1%
Canon 70D - 16.3%
Nikon D7100 - 15.7%
Nikon D610 - 9.0%

Less than 16 hours ago, 2830 votes cast, 06:30 AM;
Pentax K-3 - 26.1%
Nikon Df - 18.9%
Canon 70D - 17.0%
Nikon D7100 - 16.7%
Nikon D610 - 9.0%
At the extreme risk of overreacting, the K-3 is now leading by exactly 13% over the Df, this morning the lead was 7.2%
The Df has lost 1.8% overall, in the same period
Canon 70D gained 0.7%
D7100 gained 1.0%.
D610 stayed exactly the same, 9.0%.
Apparently, the rabble have been roused! Not that it's a bad thing, you understand.
Ron

[Jon]

I believe a lot of the hype surrounding the Df is fueling its votes. I wish they had the Df in the section below (own it, want it, had it). The "want it" would far outweigh the "own it." The camera has got a lot of people talking, and is the most popular on DPReview, but I am skeptical of its sales potential. The only info I have been able to find was from their pessimistic sales forecasts from November, but seeing as all the major retailers still have abundant stock... I don't think we have to worry about the Df owners club mounting a come back.

[Teal]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if all of a sudden overnight Nikon and Canon have a surge in votes....because DPR must show that Nikon and Canon are superior whether it's true or not. How else are they going to get paid?

[bxf]

I wonder if there's anything in these figures that would hint at the likelihood that a Pentax FF would be a success. From what I see, FF is just not up there, so how can one expect an FF by Pentax to be a viable marketing decision?

[Jon]

The only segment of the photography industry with growth potential at the moment is Mirrorless cameras. An FF DSLR would surely increase the perception of Pentax in the Pro-DSLR discussion, but Canon and Nikon are struggling for not effectively embracing mirrorless quickly enough and find themselves losing sales to Fujifilm, Sony, and even Olympus's m4/3. While us Pentax DSLR shooters want an FF option, I agree that the market as a whole may not need one. Since Pentax would have to build a new lens line regardless of choice, A Q-style camera with a reasonable sensor size (APS-C) might be more viable. Mind you, they shouldn't associate it with the Q system.

[jogiba]

[jkobleur]

Pentax now double the votes of its closest competitor:

Have Your Say: Best DSLR / SLT of 2013: Digital Photography Review

[normhead]

Pentax now double the votes of its closest competitor:

Have Your Say: Best DSLR / SLT of 2013: Digital Photography Review

Did you notice in the " have it- want it - had it{ section, 11 people said the "had it". Now that's just weird. They've already disposed of their K-3?

[waterfall]

Did you notice in the " have it- want it - had it{ section, 11 people said the "had it". Now that's just weird. They've already disposed of their K-3?

K3's were being bought in Japan at lower prices and sold on eBay at profit of significant amount two months before US availability. Some of the "Had it" responses may have been this type of commodity speculation. Same thing went on with the HD DA Limited lenses.

[rbefly]

Here's the latest, from 08:30 MDT, 5254 votes cast;

Pentax K-3 - 32.9%
Canon 70D - 15.8%
Nikon Df - 15.6%
Nikon D7100 - 15.2%
Nikon D610 - 8.9%
The Df has slowly, but steadily dropped from a high of 18.9% (when the K-3 was at 26.1%) at 06:30am 12/19, while the Canon 70D has just nudged past it into 2nd place. The D7100 has stayed right around 15-16% the entire time, as has the D610 at 9%.
Also interesting that the K-3 has, since yesterday, more % than the second and third place cameras combined.
I don't know how long this poll runs and what the outcome may be, but for now it's pretty encouraging!
One-third of the 5254 votes cast so far is roughly 1,700, so apparently there is interest in the K-3 beyond the dedicated Pentaxians. On THIS forum, such a result wouldn't be too shocking, but on DPR?
It may be that Nikon is splitting votes with 3 offerings (both the D610 and Df are FF), but that still doesn't explain the 2:1 lead over the 70D.
JMO, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Ron

[Jon]

I just realized the K-3 is the only Flagship model on the list. Do you think that may be slightly responsible for the vote distribution?
Granted Pentax doesn't make cameras that compete with the top of line FF offerings, but if only the K-50 and K-500 were on the list, would K-3 owners vote for them?
We may be a little lucky that a Pro-FF camera wasn't dropped this year.

[Rondec]

I just realized the K-3 is the only Flagship model on the list. Do you think that may be slightly responsible for the vote distribution?
Granted Pentax doesn't make cameras that compete with the top of line FF offerings, but if only the K-50 and K-500 were on the list, would K-3 owners vote for them?
We may be a little lucky that a Pro-FF camera wasn't dropped this year.

I suppose. Thing is that full frame cameras are generally given a refresh every three-ish years, the D600 was the exception due to the oil on the sensor issues. These sorts of polls don't generally sell a bunch of cameras either way, but can give an indication of how rabid a fan base is.

[rbefly]

I just realized the K-3 is the only Flagship model on the list. Do you think that may be slightly responsible for the vote distribution

Hi Jon,
Yes, that could be a factor, the K-3 is a flagship model and brand-new.
But, here's the other side of that coin. Comparing (regardless of release date) apples to apples;

Canon EOS 70D- APS-crop, 20.2mp, $ 1,200
Nikon D7100- APS-crop, 24.1mp, $1,100
Pentax K-3- APS-crop, 23.35mp, $1,300.

Potential buyers may consider whether a camera is the 'top' model, how long it's been out, perceived value and quality, etc. But, correctly or not, three of the biggest factors are format, MP's and price. Since all three are cropped format, close in MP's and within $200 of each other....why is the smallest brand, least advertised, poorly marketed (at least until recently) and almost unseen on store shelves, camera leading? Because it's the only recent flagship release?
No. You're correct, that may be a slight factor. The other factors? Your guess is as good as mine!
JMO,
Ron