[Kath]

Moving to the K3ii has been a very pleasurable experience, indeed. Everything said about the quality of the K3 model in general is true for my ii version. And, though I have yet to explore all of the capabilities of this fine camera, the one thing I was hoping for has turned out as well -- or better -- than expected: the satisfying results I've been getting from this wonderful sensor with all the megapixels.

I notice on the forums that some folks say they don't find a need for the increased resolution this camera offers. That makes sense for lots of photographic endeavors. My photography often involves needing to get as close as possible to my subject. Sometimes that means I need to crop my photos really close to get what I want. The K3 (and ii) delivers in a big way and I'm enjoying it.

The other morning I was lured outside before dawn by a bright Venus shining through my window. When I turned around, I saw the moon looking particularly interesting. So I grabbed the K3ii and tried my hand at moon shots, not something I had tried before shooting the eclipse. These RAW images were all made within minutes of each other as dawn was beginning to arrive: on tripod, manual exposure, with a Sigma 150-500 DG OS lens, at 440mm, f/6.3, ISO 400, mirror up. The first is at 1/125 sec, the other two are 1/250 sec. Each was Lightroom processed, mostly for contrast and sharpness, and blacks dialed way back for the darkest sky possible. All were cropped to fill the frame as you see it. The last photo in the series, with the same EXIF, is uncropped and unprocessed except for what it takes to import as a JPEG from LR.

I really like this camera.













Uncropped, unprocessed:

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Last edited by Kath; 10-03-2015 at 08:52 PM.

[jimr-pdx]

Excellent crisp images, the atmosphere played nice for you! .

Funny that you mentioned Venus; I was relaxing outside about noon today, watching clouds drift past (on their way south to Sauvie Island!). The hill-top maple is putting on its seasonal colors..and what do I see by the leaves but a bright 'star'. I have seen Venus in the daytime before, but never without planning & hunting!

[troika]

Wow, stunning. Funny you should post this with this particular example. I was trying to crop my lunar eclipse photos and realized the point at which I had run out of pixels (K5ii) and the next day saw K3s selling for $400 and started wondering...

Is there a resolution difference between the K3 and K3ii. I know it's the same sensor, just didn't know if the pixel mapping or something else makes the resolution noticeably better.

Great photos.

[Kath]

@jimr-pdx - Right? This has been a really helpful site:

October 2015 guide to the five visible planets | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky






I've also gotten a lot from my iphone/ipad app "GoSkyWatch". It's great for real time identification of what you're seeing.

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Last edited by Kath; 10-03-2015 at 08:49 PM.

[jimr-pdx]

Err $400?? Buy two!

---------- Post added 10-03-15 at 19:37 ----------

And thanks Kath for the link.. I did no eclipse homework, now must go back through my shots to ID Uranus!

[Kath]

Wow, stunning. Funny you should post this with this particular example. I was trying to crop my lunar eclipse photos and realized the point at which I had run out of pixels (K5ii) and the next day saw K3s selling for $400 and started wondering...

Is there a resolution difference between the K3 and K3ii. I know it's the same sensor, just didn't know if the pixel mapping or something else makes the resolution noticeably better.

Great photos.

Thanks, @troika. I've read some posts on the forum about reported improvements, but I was focused on the MP's and astrotracer/gps. If you don't need those things and can get a K3 for $400, I can't recommend it highly enough.

[SKYGZR]

If you don't need those things and can get a K3 for $400,

Where?

[biz-engineer]

Were these shots with pixel shift or without pixel shift hyper resolution ?

[Kath]

Were these shots with pixel shift or without pixel shift hyper resolution ?

No pixel shift used.

[troika]

Amazing resolutions and clarity. Props to the camera and the photographer!

[C_Jones]

Those are nice shots. I just received a new K-3 II yesterday, and took my first shots with it today. I mounted it on my Sigma 150-500 DG OS which I have myself. It seems to me to be a nicely performing camera from the shots I have taken so far.

I noticed how the crater edges in your shots look nicely defined. When I took a picture of a bird on a limb today, I looked at it on my LCD screen and the detail was really nice.

Thanks for the samples.

[Larrymc]

Moving to the K3ii has been a very pleasurable experience, indeed. Everything said about the quality of the K3 model in general is true for my ii version. And, though I have yet to explore all of the capabilities of this fine camera, the one thing I was hoping for has turned out as well -- or better -- than expected: the satisfying results I've been getting from this wonderful sensor with all the megapixels.

I notice on the forums that some folks say they don't find a need for the increased resolution this camera offers. That makes sense for lots of photographic endeavors. My photography often involves needing to get as close as possible to my subject. Sometimes that means I need to crop my photos really close to get what I want. The K3 (and ii) delivers in a big way and I'm enjoying it.

The other morning I was lured outside before dawn by a bright Venus shining through my window. When I turned around, I saw the moon looking particularly interesting. So I grabbed the K3ii and tried my hand at moon shots, not something I had tried before shooting the eclipse. These RAW images were all made within minutes of each other as dawn was beginning to arrive: on tripod, manual exposure, with a Sigma 150-500 DG OS lens, at 440mm, f/6.3, ISO 400, mirror up. The first is at 1/125 sec, the other two are 1/250 sec. Each was Lightroom processed, mostly for contrast and sharpness, and blacks dialed way back for the darkest sky possible. All were cropped to fill the frame as you see it. The last photo in the series, with the same EXIF, is uncropped and unprocessed except for what it takes to import as a JPEG from LR.

I really like this camera.













Uncropped, unprocessed:

Nice captures, Kath, that Sigma 150-500 really reaches out and grabs the moon. Did you use manual focus? I've found with my K-3 and a Sigma 70-300 DG live view manual focus with the live view zoom feature works great. Again, superb photos of the moon.

[Qwntm]

Where?

Ditto.


Where are there $400 K3's?

[troika]

Ditto.


Where are there $400 K3's?

That may not be quite right. There was a bundle that included a lens and a flash that if flipped, I thought would leave me with a sub $500 K3. I'd have to go back and check the deal and do the math. Considering they were $1,200-1,300 not so long ago, it definitely gave me pause.

[Kath]

Amazing resolutions and clarity. Props to the camera and the photographer!

Thank you!

---------- Post added 10-05-15 at 11:35 AM ----------

That may not be quite right. There was a bundle that included a lens and a flash that if flipped, I thought would leave me with a sub $500 K3. I'd have to go back and check the deal and do the math. Considering they were $1,200-1,300 not so long ago, it definitely gave me pause.

The K3 body-only seems to be holding at about $649. I paid about $200 more, give or take, for the K3ii, because I wanted the upgrades, particularly the astrotracer/gps. I haven't played with the pixel-shift yet, but look forward to it.

---------- Post added 10-05-15 at 11:51 AM ----------

Nice captures, Kath, that Sigma 150-500 really reaches out and grabs the moon. Did you use manual focus? I've found with my K-3 and a Sigma 70-300 DG live view manual focus with the live view zoom feature works great. Again, superb photos of the moon.

Thank you. I do love the reach of the Sigma, and it performed very well in this exercise. And yes, manual focus, just as you say: I used live view for first focus, then zoomed the view to get as sharp as possible. Then live view off, mirror up setting, 2 second delay. I didn't have my IR remote with me, or I would have used that. I really like that live view zoom for focusing and am finding that, once you practice with it a bit, it can become second nature and really improve your long shots. It sure beats wondering if your eyesight is adequate. The whole process just takes a moment.

---------- Post added 10-05-15 at 11:57 AM ----------

Those are nice shots. I just received a new K-3 II yesterday, and took my first shots with it today. I mounted it on my Sigma 150-500 DG OS which I have myself. It seems to me to be a nicely performing camera from the shots I have taken so far.

I noticed how the crater edges in your shots look nicely defined. When I took a picture of a bird on a limb today, I looked at it on my LCD screen and the detail was really nice.

Thanks for the samples.

Thank you! I feel confident you'll enjoy this camera as much as I am. I truly am blown away by the cropping capabilities. I was out with the 15mm lens yesterday shooting landscape, but threw in a few shots of family and didn't want to change the lens. I just got to editing them and am amazed how close I can get to portrait without loss of detail. I'm a pretty happy camper.