[Marktax]

Thanks for replies, everyone! I should have mentioned that I was an early adopter of the K-3 Premium Silver, almost the day it came out, and paid more than TWICE this $829. That K-3 has been a real workhorse for me, no failures whatsoever. I can keep going with it, except that I have some starscape-over-cityscape pictures planned, which would demand the GPS -- or maybe just the external GPS module that I could get for the K-3. But that is $185, which is far enough down the road to $829 that the K-3ii seems like the better idea. BTW, any examples of stars over city skylines from anyone using K-3ii or K-1 with native astrotracer (not scope mounts on motors)? K-1 is tempting, but that starts another round of lens chasing. Maybe just the new FF wide zoom would be possible for me, for this project. Too bad the 20-40 ltd.isn't FF. I love that on K-3

[MossyRocks]

Thanks for replies, everyone! I should have mentioned that I was an early adopter of the K-3 Premium Silver, almost the day it came out, and paid more than TWICE this $829. That K-3 has been a real workhorse for me, no failures whatsoever. I can keep going with it, except that I have some starscape-over-cityscape pictures planned, which would demand the GPS -- or maybe just the external GPS module that I could get for the K-3. But that is $185, which is far enough down the road to $829 that the K-3ii seems like the better idea. BTW, any examples of stars over city skylines from anyone using K-3ii or K-1 with native astrotracer (not scope mounts on motors)? K-1 is tempting, but that starts another round of lens chasing. Maybe just the new FF wide zoom would be possible for me, for this project. Too bad the 20-40 ltd.isn't FF. I love that on K-3

If you already have the K-3 then getting the GPS seems like a small investment and the extra $600 can buy a pretty nice FF lens, especially if bought used. This way you can start planning for full frame and upgrade bodies later.

If you are interested in pixel shift like functionality look into stacking using the super resolution method off of a tripod. You will have to take more shots to get the slight jitter but it does work. 9 to 16 should start to show pretty good results and in the 25 to 36 range you start getting some great results. Once all the images are aligned, stacked, and flatted just down sample to the original size.

---------- Post added 08-21-18 at 02:08 PM ----------

BTW, any examples of stars over city skylines from anyone using K-3ii or K-1 with native astrotracer (not scope mounts on motors)? K-1 is tempting, but that starts another round of lens chasing.

I should have kept reading. Over in the astrophotograpphy group Pete_XL just posted a couple and he uses a K-3ii but I don't know if those were with astrotracer or not, and there was this discussion a little while ago on the subject.

[peggers]

Do you need it now? If not, wait.
But there is a difference between want and need
I know you reallllllllllly want it
It is a great camera
go on........ grab it

[The Squirrel Mafia]

The best 2 recent prices that I have seen were the ones from Adorama. They were giving away the battery grip when you bought a K-3II for $829. The next one was the silver K-3II that was going for $739.

Adorama is still selling the K-3II for $829, but they're no longer offering grip. It looks like they have only 2 left. It's still a decent deal, but not as great as the previous ones.

I didn't buy one 'cause I'm waiting for that K-3II replacement. That camera will either make or break Pentax for me. Don't get me wrong. The K-3II is still a fantastic camera today, but I think something even better is heading our way.

[aaacb]

A long time ago, in March 2016 or so, I bought my k3ii for around $730 new. But that was a time when all Pentax gear was cheaper in $ count, and I'm venturing to guess it had to do with exchange rates or something that is not predictable. Imo it's worth the current price if you want pixel shift, otherwise the external GPS might be enough to get astrotracer with your current k3. Expect to still need some significant pp and stacking if you need star photos as good as possible, astrotracer will just reduce their number.

[boriscleto]

[stevebrot]

Since there are still new examples of the K-5, K-30, K-50, and original K-3 to be found if you look...

Truly? Non-gray market with warranty?

I just did a quick Internet search for a K-3 and came up dry at under $1350 USD, body only. One can get a K-50 new on eBay for about $500, but other vendors want quite a bit more. Ditto for the K-30. K-5s start at about $650 and go up to over $1000. I don't see that picture to be particularly enticing, particularly for the K-3. Bargain prices new with full US warranty might well be out there, but are doing their best to remain hidden.


Steve

[dubyam]

They're not easy to find, most assuredly. But Abe's of Maine has the K-5, K-5ii, and K-50 right now, brand new, listed for sale, at reasonable to slightly high pricing. I'd say $425 for a new K-50 with kit lens is probably in line at about $300 below the K-70 with the same 18-55WR lens. Or a K-50 body only, NIB, for $335 is an option. I didn't look much beyond those three, but that's what I found. None are current models, of course, but they are all available. A NIB K-3 is a tougher get right now, but I suspect someone will 'find' some NOS here in the next year or two. That seems to be the pattern with cameras. They disappear, then suddenly a reputable dealer has a batch available. Probably a batch which were sitting in a warehouse somewhere, waiting to be ordered, but weren't showing up in retail channels.

[stevebrot]

But Abe's of Maine has the K-5, K-5ii, and K-50 right now, brand new, listed for sale, at reasonable to slightly high pricing.

Those might be legitimate deals, but I personally won't do business with Abe's due to their reputation for bait 'n switch and gray market goods. It also seems flaky that they are not in Maine and never have been.

FWIW, Abe's did not come up in my Web search. I just took a look at their site and was surprised to find that with the exception of 645Z, none of their Pentax bodies are current product. Are they an authorized dealer?


Steve

[JeffBurns]

B&H is out of stock. Best order one soon.

[boriscleto]

Those might be legitimate deals, but I personally won't do business with Abe's due to their reputation for bait 'n switch and gray market goods. It also seems flaky that they are not in Maine and never have been.

FWIW, Abe's did not come up in my Web search. I just took a look at their site and was surprised to find that with the exception of 645Z, none of their Pentax bodies are current product. Are they an authorized dealer?


Steve

No they are not. I bought my K-x from them but I wouldn't buy from them again. They went bankrupt a while back too IIRC.

[dubyam]

Well, perhaps I am not up to date, but Abe's was listed as a site related vendor, on the "buy here and support the forum" post. I haven't done business with them, and if they're not legit, please say so.

[Marktax]

LOL! Thanks, boriscleto and Chancellor Palpatine!

[bwgv001]

buy it

[jddwoods]

Those might be legitimate deals, but I personally won't do business with Abe's due to their reputation for bait 'n switch and gray market goods. It also seems flaky that they are not in Maine and never have been.

FWIW, Abe's did not come up in my Web search. I just took a look at their site and was surprised to find that with the exception of 645Z, none of their Pentax bodies are current product. Are they an authorized dealer?


Steve

Abes of Maine was once located in Brooklyn, NY back when I lived there. I went into their store and wasn't impressed with their staff sales tactics, but that was about 15 years ago. I looked at their website back in 2014 when I was shopping for a K-3 and noticed they were located in New Jersey. I do not know where they are now. I decided to play it safe and bought my K-3 from Adorama. Since then I have split my purchases fairly evenly between Adorama & B&H. If either of them have the K-3 ii at a fair price, I would stick with them. Correction, it was more like 20 years ago when I checked their Brooklyn store. I was still shooting film (Pentax SF-10) back then.