[SonOfMerope]

I'm thinking of getting a K3 soon and would like some honest options of the camera. I have done some comparisons of it to the like of Nikon and Canon and from what I've read it's the superior camera.

But aside from the "official" reviews I was wondering if some users here could give me some of their opinions on it that other websites wouldn't have already mentioned.

Does anything on it break after a while, any upshots over the D7100 that not too many people know about etc?

I am hoping to the the 55-300mm lens in a few months as I prefer it with it's water proofing over the likes of sigma and tamron lenses.

So yeah, any info or opinions at all will be more than welcome and appreciated.

[MJSfoto1956]

I'm a longtime Nikon user with a bunch of Nikon gear. I have shot extensively with the D200, D300, D7000, D7100 and D5200 and can tell you the K-3 is the best of the bunch. I currently use my K-3 mostly with the DA* 60-250mm and I pair it often (especially for events) with a Nikon D800 + 24-85mm. Makes for an awesome 2-body kit.

You can check out my flickr site (see below) for samples of the quality produced by both cameras.

M

[rr1736]

I bought one K3 and after using it for 6 months I bought a second. The camera is everything the reviews say. I have been very happy with them. I also have a K5, K30 and a K01, the K3's are my favorite

[jatrax]

k-3 is a home run for Ricoh. I've had k-x, k-5 and k-5IIs and now k-3 each was an improvement over the previous model, but k-3 was a significant improvement. If it was marketed even remotely in the fashion that Canon and Nikon do it would be a runaway best seller.

[Hattifnatt]

I have the K5IIs and a lot of friends use the D7000. They all agree K5IIs is a better camera especially regarding the ergonomics. K3 should be even better.

[Hamiltom]

I own Pentax, Sony, Canon and Olympus systems and I find each is unique in it's own way. I have grown to prefer the Pentax rendering of images and have found it to be superior to that of almost any other brand.

Pentax glass is superb and the SMC coatings are probably the best in the industry. I do not own any of the new HD nano coated lenses yet, but they look to be an improvement in contrast. I already own the older 55-300 and it is a very nice lens, although the screw drive can be a little noisy. It works well in the K-3. I really like the 18-135WR because it is very fast and very quiet.

Important points not usually mentioned in reviews.

1) easy to do astrophotography with the GPS unit.
2) very, very quiet shutter
3) compatibility with every Pentax K mount and M42 lens(with mount adapter), including the power zoom lenses.
4) focus lock confirmation with manual lenses.
5) really bright viewfinder
6) front and rear wireless remote receivers
7) all the hookups you will ever need - mike, ac adapter, wired remote, headphone, USB 3.0
8) seems heavier than the Canons, but I prefer more weight as I feel it makes the camera more stable. Light weight bodies seem more unbalanced with larger lenses.
9) Rated at 200k shutter life. (I have burned out the shutter in some Canons and so shutter life is really important to me.)

Overall, the build quality seems high, but it's still too early to tell. I don't feel any camera is reliable until I have used it for at least 4-5 years. If you live in the US, the extended warranty is a bargain.

Good Luck

[loco]

I'm reading this thread with interest. Seems everyone loves the K-3 and with good reason. My only question is how do you deal with the (according to reviews) high level of noise over ISO 800? Is it easily dealt with in Lightroom or other software? What are folks' thoughts on this?

[Hamiltom]

The Topaz DeNoise plugin for Photoshop gives me the best results. It works with Lightroom and Elements as well. It comes on sale quite often and you can get a free trial.

I was amazed at the results when I first tried it.

The K-3, in my experience, only starts to generate noise after ISO 3200.

[AquaDome]

After I bought my Pentax K-3, I sold my Nikon D7000 and Canon EOS 70D. The K-3 is a pleasure to use.

[Hattifnatt]

I'm reading this thread with interest. Seems everyone loves the K-3 and with good reason. My only question is how do you deal with the (according to reviews) high level of noise over ISO 800? Is it easily dealt with in Lightroom or other software? What are folks' thoughts on this?

Maybe this thread would be of interest: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/172-pentax-k-3/248079-k3-vs-k5-high-iso-noise.html

[SonOfMerope]

Thanks for the replies so far guys.

One other question I was wondering about was shutter life. Can this be fixed after 200,000 shots or do you need to buy a whole new camera again?

I'm reading this thread with interest. Seems everyone loves the K-3 and with good reason. My only question is how do you deal with the (according to reviews) high level of noise over ISO 800? Is it easily dealt with in Lightroom or other software? What are folks' thoughts on this?

This is ISO2500. I do not find it very noisy...



ISO5000

[loco]

Thanks Tjompen 1968! not noisy at all! Those pics and the thread referenced by Hattifnatt make me feel like the "noisy K-3" talk was just a bunch of hot air!

[Jacquot]

This is ISO2500. I do not find it very noisy...



ISO5000

Those wonderful images are probably larger than the bird itself. Kinglets are "micro-birds," really small. I love my K-3, and use it for any critical work. I also have a lot of Pentax glass.

[Hattifnatt]

Thanks Tjompen 1968! not noisy at all! Those pics and the thread referenced by Hattifnatt make me feel like the "noisy K-3" talk was just a bunch of hot air!

Well honestly I didn't pay too much attention to that thread, since I don't shoot high ISO a bunch so it's not such a concern for me. But some people stated that it's not fair to compare K3 noise with the K5 noise at the same iso without scaling, otherwise the higher resolution of the K3 will make the noise more visible. If you scale down the K3 samples to the K5 size, they will probably look about the same.