How has the K3 worked out for you?

gebco · 09-10-2014, 08:44 PM

Originally posted by southlander

Moved up from a K-x, very happy with the K-3.

I currently have a K-x and love it, but I am looking at moving up to the K-3. Can you comment on they compare in high ISO (I thought I read somewhere that the K-3 was actually a little worse in high ISO than the K-x?), DR, and focus speed? My typical set up is either my Tamron 17-50 2.8 or my Sigma 50-150 2.8, although I will pull out the 55-300 from time to time.

JinDesu · 09-10-2014, 08:46 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by gebco

I currently have a K-x and love it, but I am looking at moving up to the K-3. Can you comment on they compare in high ISO (I thought I read somewhere that the K-3 was actually a little worse in high ISO than the K-x?), DR, and focus speed? My typical set up is either my Tamron 17-50 2.8 or my Sigma 50-150 2.8, although I will pull out the 55-300 from time to time.

It's not. High ISO is on par with the k-5. I had a k-x, and I have a k-30, k-01, and k-3. Focus speed is great. With my k-x, the Tamron 70-200 was a bit slow and not great for moving objects. It's pretty damn fast on my k-3 now.

**LaurenOE** · 09-10-2014, 08:59 PM

Awesome camera. I own three of them and use them for all my professional work.
No problems whatsoever. Perfect camera.

**gaweidert** · 09-11-2014, 03:14 AM

Originally posted by chimpwithagun

I don't understand why digital cameras can't have a flash meter though, it seems like it would be such a simple software thing.

On a film camera, very little is happening electronically during exposure. Therefore you can meter flash exposure better. in the olden days, TTL metering works by a small sensor looking at light on the film at the moment of exposure.

A DSLR is a totally different animal. Electronically, there is a ton of stuff going on at the moment of exposure. Metering is done before exposure for this reason. Accepting and then processing megabytes of data in a tiny fraction of a second is a pretty intense activity. To be able to analyze light on the sensor and them feed back this information to the flash at the same time is pretty hard to do.

Even in the good old days of film, I usually relied on the sensor on the flash to do the work for me. It's just a simpler and for me, a better way to do it.

stevebrot · 09-11-2014, 09:13 AM

Originally posted by gaweidert

Even in the good old days of film, I usually relied on the sensor on the flash to do the work for me. It's just a simpler and for me, a better way to do it.

I too prefer to use an on-flash sensor with my K-3. I wish more modern flashes offered that option, but for now my AF280T does quite nicely and even provides a good amount of automation with modern Pentax cameras.

Steve

**LaurenOE** · 09-11-2014, 02:07 PM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by LaurenOE

Awesome camera. I own three of them and use them for all my professional work.
No problems whatsoever. Perfect camera.

Well, except for what is on the back of the camera, but I fixed that.

**Ahab** · 09-12-2014, 09:00 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Pavel_Zhelev

K3 is so far the best APS-C I ever owned. I am not changing it for a FF.

Same hear!

RonHendriks1966 · 09-24-2014, 12:23 PM

I sold my K-3 today. No love from it and K-5 Silver and K-01 Yellow do bring the goods for me!

**dadipentak** · 09-24-2014, 01:42 PM

Originally posted by RonHendriks1966

I sold my K-3 today

Really! I'm surprised. Why?

RonHendriks1966 · 09-24-2014, 02:28 PM

Originally posted by dadipentak

Really! I'm surprised. Why?

Not to impressed by the benefits form the K-3. The large files are not helping in sports. The faster AF is not to needed for me. More love for K-01/K-5.

**dadipentak** · 09-24-2014, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by RonHendriks1966

Not to impressed by the benefits form the K-3. The large files are not helping in sports. The faster AF is not to needed for me. More love for K-01/K-5.

I have to admit the AF upgrade hasn't blown me away but I figured I'm just not sufficiently sophisticated to appreciate it.

Paul the Sunman · 09-24-2014, 04:06 PM

Originally posted by dadipentak

I have to admit the AF upgrade hasn't blown me away but I figured I'm just not sufficiently sophisticated to appreciate it.

Wow, I was VERY impressed with the improvement in AF in the K3 compared with the K5, and the improved sharpness coming from the 24Mpx and the removal of the AA filter. Both my son and I have recently returned from (separate) trips to Europe, where we took hundreds of shots between us, me with a K3 and he with a K30, and there was hardly a missed focus amongst them. That didn't happen with the K5.

**dadipentak** · 09-24-2014, 08:23 PM

Originally posted by Paul the Sunman

Wow, I was VERY impressed with the improvement in AF in the K3 compared with the K5, and the improved sharpness coming from the 24Mpx and the removal of the AA filter. Both my son and I have recently returned from (separate) trips to Europe, where we took hundreds of shots between us, me with a K3 and he with a K30, and there was hardly a missed focus amongst them. That didn't happen with the K5.

As I say, I'm not very sophisticated: for sports, I shoot AF-S with center spot focusing and rarely more than 1 frame/second. OTOH, I used to be a mega-pixel skeptic but have really come to appreciate the enhance cropping room--for sports and wildlife. If a shot is missed, I chalk it up to user error.

RonHendriks1966 · 09-25-2014, 01:37 AM

Originally posted by dadipentak

As I say, I'm not very sophisticated: for sports, I shoot AF-S with center spot focusing and rarely more than 1 frame/second. OTOH, I used to be a mega-pixel skeptic but have really come to appreciate the enhance cropping room--for sports and wildlife. If a shot is missed, I chalk it up to user error.

I'm not so in the cropping. I like to stay close at my subject so I don't do much cropping. I'm Always glad things even fit in my image.

Edchristenson · 10-19-2014, 05:53 AM

Nomadkng- I agree with locks on the front and rear dials, or making them harder to turn. I have the same problem.

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09-10-2014, 08:44 PM	#61
gebco Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Winnipeg Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 329	Originally posted by southlander Moved up from a K-x, very happy with the K-3. I currently have a K-x and love it, but I am looking at moving up to the K-3. Can you comment on they compare in high ISO (I thought I read somewhere that the K-3 was actually a little worse in high ISO than the K-x?), DR, and focus speed? My typical set up is either my Tamron 17-50 2.8 or my Sigma 50-150 2.8, although I will pull out the 55-300 from time to time.

09-10-2014, 08:46 PM - 1 Like	#62
JinDesu Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New York City Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,638	Originally posted by gebco I currently have a K-x and love it, but I am looking at moving up to the K-3. Can you comment on they compare in high ISO (I thought I read somewhere that the K-3 was actually a little worse in high ISO than the K-x?), DR, and focus speed? My typical set up is either my Tamron 17-50 2.8 or my Sigma 50-150 2.8, although I will pull out the 55-300 from time to time. It's not. High ISO is on par with the k-5. I had a k-x, and I have a k-30, k-01, and k-3. Focus speed is great. With my k-x, the Tamron 70-200 was a bit slow and not great for moving objects. It's pretty damn fast on my k-3 now.

09-10-2014, 08:59 PM	#63
LaurenOE Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Back in Florida, but worldwide gigs! Photos: Albums Posts: 3,690	Awesome camera. I own three of them and use them for all my professional work. No problems whatsoever. Perfect camera.

09-11-2014, 03:14 AM	#64
gaweidert Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Rochester, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,325	Originally posted by chimpwithagun I don't understand why digital cameras can't have a flash meter though, it seems like it would be such a simple software thing. On a film camera, very little is happening electronically during exposure. Therefore you can meter flash exposure better. in the olden days, TTL metering works by a small sensor looking at light on the film at the moment of exposure. A DSLR is a totally different animal. Electronically, there is a ton of stuff going on at the moment of exposure. Metering is done before exposure for this reason. Accepting and then processing megabytes of data in a tiny fraction of a second is a pretty intense activity. To be able to analyze light on the sensor and them feed back this information to the flash at the same time is pretty hard to do. Even in the good old days of film, I usually relied on the sensor on the flash to do the work for me. It's just a simpler and for me, a better way to do it.

09-11-2014, 09:13 AM	#65
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by gaweidert Even in the good old days of film, I usually relied on the sensor on the flash to do the work for me. It's just a simpler and for me, a better way to do it. I too prefer to use an on-flash sensor with my K-3. I wish more modern flashes offered that option, but for now my AF280T does quite nicely and even provides a good amount of automation with modern Pentax cameras. Steve

09-11-2014, 02:07 PM - 2 Likes	#66
LaurenOE Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Back in Florida, but worldwide gigs! Photos: Albums Posts: 3,690	Originally posted by LaurenOE Awesome camera. I own three of them and use them for all my professional work. No problems whatsoever. Perfect camera. Well, except for what is on the back of the camera, but I fixed that.

09-12-2014, 09:00 AM - 1 Like	#67
Ahab Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Arnold, Md. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 762	Originally posted by Pavel_Zhelev K3 is so far the best APS-C I ever owned. I am not changing it for a FF. Same hear!

09-24-2014, 12:23 PM	#68
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	I sold my K-3 today. No love from it and K-5 Silver and K-01 Yellow do bring the goods for me!

09-24-2014, 01:42 PM	#69
dadipentak Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,590	Originally posted by RonHendriks1966 I sold my K-3 today Really! I'm surprised. Why?

09-24-2014, 02:28 PM	#70
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	Originally posted by dadipentak Really! I'm surprised. Why? Not to impressed by the benefits form the K-3. The large files are not helping in sports. The faster AF is not to needed for me. More love for K-01/K-5.

09-24-2014, 03:37 PM	#71
dadipentak Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,590	Originally posted by RonHendriks1966 Not to impressed by the benefits form the K-3. The large files are not helping in sports. The faster AF is not to needed for me. More love for K-01/K-5. I have to admit the AF upgrade hasn't blown me away but I figured I'm just not sufficiently sophisticated to appreciate it.

09-24-2014, 04:06 PM	#72
Paul the Sunman Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,843	Originally posted by dadipentak I have to admit the AF upgrade hasn't blown me away but I figured I'm just not sufficiently sophisticated to appreciate it. Wow, I was VERY impressed with the improvement in AF in the K3 compared with the K5, and the improved sharpness coming from the 24Mpx and the removal of the AA filter. Both my son and I have recently returned from (separate) trips to Europe, where we took hundreds of shots between us, me with a K3 and he with a K30, and there was hardly a missed focus amongst them. That didn't happen with the K5.

09-24-2014, 08:23 PM	#73
dadipentak Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,590	Originally posted by Paul the Sunman Wow, I was VERY impressed with the improvement in AF in the K3 compared with the K5, and the improved sharpness coming from the 24Mpx and the removal of the AA filter. Both my son and I have recently returned from (separate) trips to Europe, where we took hundreds of shots between us, me with a K3 and he with a K30, and there was hardly a missed focus amongst them. That didn't happen with the K5. As I say, I'm not very sophisticated: for sports, I shoot AF-S with center spot focusing and rarely more than 1 frame/second. OTOH, I used to be a mega-pixel skeptic but have really come to appreciate the enhance cropping room--for sports and wildlife. If a shot is missed, I chalk it up to user error.

09-25-2014, 01:37 AM	#74
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	Originally posted by dadipentak As I say, I'm not very sophisticated: for sports, I shoot AF-S with center spot focusing and rarely more than 1 frame/second. OTOH, I used to be a mega-pixel skeptic but have really come to appreciate the enhance cropping room--for sports and wildlife. If a shot is missed, I chalk it up to user error. I'm not so in the cropping. I like to stay close at my subject so I don't do much cropping. I'm Always glad things even fit in my image.

10-19-2014, 05:53 AM	#75
Edchristenson Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Northern NJ Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 50	Nomadkng- I agree with locks on the front and rear dials, or making them harder to turn. I have the same problem.