[Javanoid]

And now I am regretting it after coming back to this forum after a long time all I'm seeing are threads about all the problems with the K3. Arghh I wish I had read all these threads prior to ordering. It's also disappointing hearing about how Pentax/Ricoh were slow to acknowledging the issue and if it is fixable via a firmware upgrade then they're also very slow at sorting that out too.

[Adam]

And now I am regretting it after coming back to this forum after a long time all I'm seeing are threads about all the problems with the K3. Arghh I wish I had read all these threads prior to ordering. It's also disappointing hearing about how Pentax/Ricoh were slow to acknowledging the issue and if it is fixable via a firmware upgrade then they're also very slow at sorting that out too.

Despite all the complaining, the vast majority of K-3's are problem-free, so chances are there will be nothing wrong with your K-3 when you get it. Congrats on the purchase!

There have been much worse QC issues in the past, such as the K-5 sensor stain which affected a substantial percentage of early shipments, and the Nikon D600 dust buildup.

[OregonJim]

And now I am regretting it after coming back to this forum after a long time all I'm seeing are threads about all the problems with the K3.

Don't worry about it! The problems are small compared to other cameras. My K-3 is about to accompany me all across the USA, from coast to coast. I'm not worried at all. Enjoy your new baby!

[NZ_Ross]

I have had a K-3 now for nearly two months, and no sight at all of a problem. The main issue is learning to use it better , but that is not a camera problem.....

I actually had the mirror-flop issue twice on my K-5, so it isn't new, and in both cases took the battery out, and it went away.

Buy an extended warranty with your K-3 (i have brought a 3 year one) and then you will have some piece of mind, and go out and enjoy using it to take photos. It is a very nice camera, and I am very happy with what I am already getting from mine.

[tim60]

I have used my K3 since early March and been very pleased. Much nicer than the much earlier generation body it replaces - nicer to use and produces better results. Mine has so far done what it is meant to. Two week in Singapore, one week in Canada and about to spend two weeks in US. This afternoon I need to choose the lenses to take with me.

[danny09]

oh dont worry about those issues. Have put several thousand shutter activations on mine and no problem to report yet. I take it back, there is a problem to report: My skills! :P

[DSims]

Even if you get the mirror flop, remove the battery, recharge it, and keep using the camera if possible. Some people believe it's linked to brand new batteries that haven't gone through several charge cycles, or even third party batteries. It also may happen with batteries that are nearly discharged. So use original batteries and charge them all the way, and allow them to go though a few cycles where they don't quite drain all the way.

Odds are you'll be fine, and it's a nice camera.

[DRabbit]

Even if you get the mirror flop, remove the battery, recharge it, and keep using the camera if possible. Some people believe it's linked to brand new batteries that haven't gone through several charge cycles, or even third party batteries. It also may happen with batteries that are nearly discharged. So use original batteries and charge them all the way, and allow them to go though a few cycles where they don't quite drain all the way.

Odds are you'll be fine, and it's a nice camera.

Don't want to argue with you - but it's not related to third-party batteries or charge level. It happened to me more often when the batteries were fully charged and I never used (don't even own) third-party batteries. I can also promise you that charge cycles have nothing to do with it either. I think because the problem is so sporadic, it has more to do with the fact that you might run into it in the first several hundred shots and then not again until after you've put another couple of thousand shutter actuations on the camera. If you don't do that in a short period of time, it's easy to believe that it was just a charge-cycle thing, or a one-off occurrence.

Before I was shooting professionally, it would have taken me a year to get to 5000 shutter actuations. I probably would have run into the issue once or maybe twice in that time. That's one of the big reasons I've said it comes down to reliability for professional (or heavy) shooters more than anyone else. A wedding photographer can easily put 1000-2000 shutter actuations on a camera in a week or two. I'm easily exceeding that because of the nature of what I'm shooting (time-lapse).

All of this is why I suggest it absolutely seems to be related to how much you use the camera. Its seems the more heavily a K3 body is used, the more likely or often you will run into mirror-flapping. Of course, I could be wrong on that too... but one thing I do know with certainty is that it has nothing to do with battery charge levels or brand of battery.

[Winder]

And now I am regretting it after coming back to this forum after a long time all I'm seeing are threads about all the problems with the K3. Arghh I wish I had read all these threads prior to ordering. It's also disappointing hearing about how Pentax/Ricoh were slow to acknowledging the issue and if it is fixable via a firmware upgrade then they're also very slow at sorting that out too.

Pentax is just as fast or faster than Nikon. In the case of the D600 Nikon simply stopping making it and started making the D610 without ever fixing the the D600. Canon users have had plenty to complain about. The 1DIII had bad, bad AF issues and it was a top of the line PRO body. Canon lost a lot of professional sports photographers to Nikon over the issue. It took Sony 2 years to release the first firmware update for their top of the line A900. In the past Sony has been absolutely awful about supporting their product. They have gotten a lot better. The A7 light leak issues were fixed pretty quick.

Fuji is currently king when it comes to rapidly addressing issues and updating firmware, but then Pentax has not had many issues to address with the K-3, where Fuji has a new system and a lot of bugs to work out of it.

I got one of the first K-3's that shipped in the USA, and it has taken over 15,000 pictures. During that time I think I have had it lock up twice. Its a very well made camera.

[tim60]

In general computers are a bit of a marvel - they have so many things that must work at the same time and the probability of failure of any one of them can cause 'stop'. By saying so many things - every transistor on the chip must be working. While components can pass production tests those tests can only test part of the number of elements and functions. The difficulty is the push to miniaturisation - to put more on less silicon - which makes challenges coming from the laws of physics.


In most computing applications people put up with the fact there will need to be a 'good hard press of the reset button' sometimes. That seems like the effect you all are discussing.


Only in some applications, such as aerospace, defence products are advanced computing processes used - and they use special methods to overcome the inherent unreliability of the stuff - at prices that would horrify the average consumer. Other high reliability industries do as little as possible in computing, and when they use computers use the high reliability strategies of defence and aerospace, but generally try to use rugged hardware such as relays - less susceptibility to EMC, alpha particles etc.


Question - is this what is really different about a brand like Leica or the other professional brands that do not play in the lower end consumer space?


So what can we expect for a camera body priced like a significantly useful well featured laptop - but not a ruggedized one - they cost $50k.

[eaglem]

I've had my K-3 for around 12 months with no problems and find it an excellent DSLR so I wouldn't have regrets if I were you.

[DSims]

Don't want to argue with you - but it's not related to third-party batteries or charge level. It happened to me more often when the batteries were fully charged and I never used (don't even own) third-party batteries. I can also promise you that charge cycles have nothing to do with it either. I think because the problem is so sporadic, it has more to do with the fact that you might run into it in the first several hundred shots and then not again until after you've put another couple of thousand shutter actuations on the camera. If you don't do that in a short period of time, it's easy to believe that it was just a charge-cycle thing, or a one-off occurrence.

If you think I'm wrong, it's important you bring this up. This was my understanding of one of the believed causes, but it may not be right.

I will say this: these issues are not what prevented my from getting a K-3. The reason was simply that my priorities changed last fall when it was released. I was focusing more on video than stills, so I had to invest in different equipment. My K-5 IIs had given me a substantial enough improvement in AF performance (for shooting action) that I didn't feel I needed a K-3. If stills had remained my primary focus I would have purchased one right away, just as I had the previous fall with the K-5 IIs. I would have welcomed the improved AF performance, and I wouldn't let the potential of problems (none of which were known at the time) scare me away from getting the right tool for the job at the time of year it was most needed!


The decision is pretty easy - you simply weigh a mysterious XX% risk of unknown problems vs. a 100% certainty of getting lesser photos because you were afraid to try the better tool!


So while I'm interested in knowing about the problems, I'd never let them scare me away from getting one if I needed it, unless the camera literally exploded or something (which, interestingly, was exactly what a couple of members recently stated could happen, as they sarcastically rebuffed a statement of mine)!

[markf]

And now I am regretting it after coming back to this forum after a long time all I'm seeing are threads about all the problems with the K3. Arghh I wish I had read all these threads prior to ordering. It's also disappointing hearing about how Pentax/Ricoh were slow to acknowledging the issue and if it is fixable via a firmware upgrade then they're also very slow at sorting that out too.

Ordered mine this weekend, should get it Wednesday. Couldn't pass up the free battery grip. I am hoping that mine is problem free. Will know in a few days.

[karro]

OP: exhale and enjoy your new toy. you won't regret it.

paraphrasing M.Twain: I've known a great many issues with my K-3, but most of them never happened.

[DSims]

paraphrasing M.Twain: I've know a great many issues with my K-3, but most of them never happened.

Nice ~quote - I like it!