So, even though my K-3II is one of the potentially effected bodies that Ricoh sent out a service advisory for, I decided to not send it back because I have a vacation coming and I really want this camera to be with me. The Ricoh service rep said that the 1 year manufacturer warranty will cover me so that should give it enough time to pop up if it will. Luckily, i played around with the GPS, couldn't get it to lock up, and also turned it on/off dozens of times and it turned off.
Anyway, I just wanted to give my initial impressions of the camera. Note this are very early impressions. I have not played around with the AF-C.
So I have had the K-5, the K-5IIs and the K-30 (the K-50's cooler brother
). Then I went to Fuji with the X-T1 for a short stretch, then the Canon 6D (which I am currently selling if you are interested) and back to Pentax. From a size, handling point of view, it is very reminiscent of the K-5. They feel very similar in the had...which is a good/bad thing for me. They are compact and dense, and the buttons/knobs are perfectly placed. The downside is that it is slightly too small in height for my real big hands. I have nowhere to put my pinky. I never noticed it with the K-5 because that is what I was used to, but when I had the 6D, the FF body just fits my hand better. I know, big guy problems, lol. I will probably get a grip, which would make it just about perfect, for "home" shooting or dedicated photo trips, and leave it at home for travel.
Don't go by pictures...the 6D (and other FF cameras) are quite a bit larger than the K-3II. I looked at the camera size comparison website and their pictures did not do the difference in size justice. The K-3II fits nicely in my small Domke shoulder bag (i.e. man purse lol) with the 16-85mm mounted. The same cannot be said with the 6D mounted with the 24-105L.
Autofocus with static subjects (Remember, no continuous AF yet) - K-3II easily beats any of the other cameras I have listed above. The center point of the 6D was superb. The other 10 were crappy and unuseable in low light. Even the outer focus points locked on quickly in real lowlight. The X-T1 had pretty decent AF in good light, but low light it really struggled. I sold the camera before the latest firmware was released, which supposedly made big autofocus improvements, but I cannot speak to them.
I also like how spread out the AF points are with the K-3II. With the 6D, the points are too centrally located, so I had to do a lot of cropping (that is if the out points obtained focus at all, otherwise, I had to use the center point and crop even further to obtain the composition I wanted).
Focus Peaking/Live View - Focus Peaking (FP) and magnification are VERY quick, much improved from the K-30. This is actually important to me because I had forgotten how loud the screwdrive lenses were
I think I am going to have to use manual focus a lot if I want to utilize my Limiteds indoors during quiet events, or if I want to go unnoticed. Luckily, FP/mag are quick enough to access and use that I think I could get away with MF a fair amount, if needed.
I am interested in how Super Resolution does with breaking water. I am a SoCal Pacific Ocean boy, and I think sea scapes may be one situation where the Super Resolution may work, with the breaking water. I will test it out.
That's all I have for the time being....I will update as I go along