[jersey]

They showed a sequence of shots of an approaching train using AF.C taken with the DA* 50-135 at 11 fps. I don’t know how difficult it was for them to get a whole sequence in focus, but it was a clear, in-focus series.

[...]

The 5-axis 5.5-stop image stabilization is very effective. They were able to take 1/4 of a second exposures of a waterfall and commented it was the kind of image you would expect to have been taken with a tripod. Another magazine had a steady, handheld 1 second exposure of car light trails at night.

I love you, marry me!

Anyway, thanks for info. It seems this is THE camera I need for my main interests in photography and fill gaps both in AF-C and long, hand held exposure (plus high ISO) where K-50 lacks.

I can now wait with easy heart for both silver 35mm Limited to arrive and K-3/3 to show up.

[StiffLegged]

As for the touchscreen abilities, they didn't say much. Not much about the wireless abilities either. However, it seems very similar to the GR III, with some Pentax tweaks. I have a GR III. What do you want to know specifically?

Well, I'd like to know if I can zoom in on LV, pan around and check focus without faffing with buttons. I've seen other cameras doing this and it would make supporting grounds for me buying one. I'll have a look at the GRIII data to see what all it can do.

[luftfluss]

The March issues of a number of Japanese camera magazines were published this Saturday, and they all have reviews of the Pentax K-3 Mark III. The one I bought was Capa. It has the K-3 III on the cover and a four-page review of the camera inside. Here it is a link to the cover. Please control your frustration that that young lady has got her hands on it before you.

Thank you for this report!

Any mention of the shutter sound/feel? I don't know about the KP, but the K-3 was a little bit of a step back in this regard.

[texandrews]

I'm the outlier here, but my main interest in this camera is how it's handling video. Any word on that?

[JPT]

Thank you for this report!

Any mention of the shutter sound/feel? I don't know about the KP, but the K-3 was a little bit of a step back in this regard.

In the context of how it feels to fire off a AF.C sequence, they mentioned that the shutter has a very good sound, but of course good is a completely subjective word. In another part they mentioned how the shutter/mirror is well damped and does not cause any blur.

---------- Post added 02-21-21 at 12:41 AM ----------

I'm the outlier here, but my main interest in this camera is how it's handling video. Any word on that?

I'm afraid nothing at all was mentioned about video in this review.

---------- Post added 02-21-21 at 12:43 AM ----------

Well, I'd like to know if I can zoom in on LV, pan around and check focus without faffing with buttons. I've seen other cameras doing this and it would make supporting grounds for me buying one. I'll have a look at the GRIII data to see what all it can do.

I just tried on the GR III but I can't see a way to do it. It might be different for the K-3 III. I guess the manual will clarify this eventually when it is available for download.

[Larrymc]

Thank you for this report!

Any mention of the shutter sound/feel? I don't know about the KP, but the K-3 was a little bit of a step back in this regard.

Take a look at the Albert Siegel video and listen to the shutter sound in the video. It was very muted not at all like my K-3 or the ultra loud K-50.

[BryantCP]

Thank you for this report!

Any mention of the shutter sound/feel? I don't know about the KP, but the K-3 was a little bit of a step back in this regard.

I have the K-5, K-3 and the KP, I don't notice much difference between the sounds of their shutters. They all sound much, much quieter and have smoother action than my Nikon D700 does.

[luftfluss]

Take a look at the Albert Siegel video and listen to the shutter sound in the video. It was very muted not at all like my K-3 or the ultra loud K-50.

I had actually watched that segment several times, but it's hard to make a judgment given the lack of context. Not a big deal, I'm just going to have to be patient () and wait for more comprehensive reviews.

[luftfluss]

I had actually watched that segment several times, but it's hard to make a judgment given the lack of context. Not a big deal, I'm just going to have to be patient () and wait for more comprehensive reviews.

I have the K-5, K-3 and the KP, I don't notice much difference between the sounds of their shutters. They all sound much, much quieter and have smoother action than my Nikon D700 does.

Having owned the K-5 II prior to my K-3 II, I noticed the difference immediately. The shutter in the K-3 II is a bit less refined-sounding, although perhaps not actually louder. It's not that the K-3 II's shutter is poor, it's that the K-5 II's shutter is that nice... and I've been told the K-7's is actually a smidgen nicer.

[jpzk]

Having owned the K-5 II prior to my K-3 II, I noticed the difference immediately. The shutter in the K-3 II is a bit less refined-sounding, although perhaps not actually louder. It's not that the K-3 II's shutter is poor, it's that the K-5 II's shutter is that nice... and I've been told the K-7's is actually a smidgen nicer.

Having the K7 (and K5 and K3) I admit that the shutter "sound" on the K7 is "that" nice!

Great thread here!!

[totsmuyco]

The March issues of a number of Japanese camera magazines were published this Saturday, and they all have reviews of the Pentax K-3 Mark III. The one I bought was Capa. It has the K-3 III on the cover and a four-page review of the camera inside. Here it is a link to the cover. Please control your frustration that that young lady has got her hands on it before you.
??????????????????CAPA?3????????????CaPa+2021??? | CAPA CAMERA WEB

It’s worth mentioning up front that the style of reviews in the Japanese press is quite different from some reviews and discussion you find in English online. They are more interested in what you can do with the camera, rather than pitting one camera against the others or debunking manufacturer claims. Also, the magazines focus more on the JPEG performance. Photos are provided, but often too small to really say that much. Video is not covered at all.

Body and viewfinder
There is not much new to say about this because Pentax has covered this quite thoroughly in their own communications. The body is small and feels very high quality. The viewfinder is the top class in APS-C. Not only is it bigger, but it is also 10% brighter.

AF and continuous shooting
41 of the 101 points are selectable using the 8-way joystick on the back of the camera. AF points go right up close to the sides of the frame allowing focusing more like a mirrorless camera. The real-world speed is 11 fps in AF.C mode and 12 fps in AF.S. They showed a sequence of shots of an approaching train using AF.C taken with the DA* 50-135 at 11 fps. I don’t know how difficult it was for them to get a whole sequence in focus, but it was a clear, in-focus series. It’s interesting that they used the 50-135 because it’s not known as a speedy AF lens. It seems that the advantages of the AF system will be felt whatever lens you are using. The text also mentions that the system is good at keeping eyes in focus for portraits and good at birds in flight.

Image quality
The new sensor is BSI and with PRIME V and the Accelerator II it produces better image quality over the whole range of ISO values.The “fine sharpness” mode is also much improved to improve edge sharpness in in a natural way without emphasizing noise. There is a shot of a cat at ISO 1,600,000, presumably in near complete darkness. While it looks noisy as you would expect, it does not look worse than to top ISO of Pentax cameras in the past. Both. varieties of noise are everywhere, but there is at least some detail in there. It's no worse than my K-5 IIs at 51,200. A shot of bottles at ISO 12,800 looked very clean and with vivid colors. In a different magazine, an enlarged ISO 3,200 shot looked completely noise free to my eyes. The Capa review also mentioned the improved colors and IQ at lower ISOs. Overall, they describe the image quality as highly advanced, with high-sensitivity performance you would normally expect of full frame cameras.

Image stabilization and other features
The 5-axis 5.5-stop image stabilization is very effective. They were able to take 1/4 of a second exposures of a waterfall and commented it was the kind of image you would expect to have been taken with a tripod. Another magazine had a steady, handheld 1 second exposure of car light trails at night. Back to Capa, in this section they also mentioned real resolution and the low-pass simulator, but it seems to be more or less the same as previous models. They talk about the convenience of the new advanced hyper program mode. They said they had found it especially helpful for sports shooting. Finally they talked about using old lenses with the camera. The new function to record aperture in exif is useful, and the viewfinder makes it a lot easier to focus the lenses.

The final comments on the camera are that although Pentax decided to call it “K-3 Mark III”, this is a camera one rank up from what has come before.

So what I took away from this is that the camera is ready and just held up in production. The “character” of the camera is going to be very similar to the K-7/K-5/K-3 cameras, just better in every way. And the happiest thing is that it seems even existing lenses (vintage and current) will benefit from all the improvements. The photos were taken with the DA*50-135, the DA*55, the DA 18-135 and the DA 20-40, current but not even the latest ones.

---------- Post added 02-20-21 at 06:27 PM ----------

Oh. And I forgot to mention that the magazines once again mentioned that the price would be "around 200,000 yen". That is below what the K-1 II sells for, even three years after release.

It sounds like it's not a k-3II ,d7xxx level. It seems like it's a cut above that level. Maybe d500 level or a little lower. Maybe the price range is justifiable.

[Larrymc]

I had actually watched that segment several times, but it's hard to make a judgment given the lack of context. Not a big deal, I'm just going to have to be patient () and wait for more comprehensive reviews.

So whether you buy it or not will hinge on the shutter sound??? That's a new one.

[Kunzite]

Any mention of the shutter sound/feel? I don't know about the KP, but the K-3 was a little bit of a step back in this regard.

It should sound sharper, IIRC somewhere in the presentation materials they mentioned the mirror/shutter mechanism is faster than the K-3's.
Sharper but not louder. A nice combination; I remember years ago when I've first heard a 1-series Canon. First thought, "that's impressive!". The second: "but it's loud, and I don't really need that speed - I'd rather have my quiet Pentax".

[repaap]

It should sound sharper, IIRC somewhere in the presentation materials they mentioned the mirror/shutter mechanism is faster than the K-3's.
Sharper but not louder. A nice combination; I remember years ago when I've first heard a 1-series Canon. First thought, "that's impressive!". The second: "but it's loud, and I don't really need that speed - I'd rather have my quiet Pentax".

It is completely motor driven and controlled all the way up and down. Sure others are too, but this one should be most accurate. There was video from meetings. It is audible, and louder than K-7. But not sure how much. I had K-7 and did 60K clicks with it. It was nice.

[Apet-Sure]

Great summary JPT; thanks for taking the time to put together your post. The more I learn about this camera, the more I think it is unfortunate that Ricoh decided to call it a K-3 III. This camera is not a further refinement of the K-3 series. It has a new sensor with more megapixels. It has a joystick. Size-wise it may be similar, but IMHO it deserved a new model designation. To my mind Ricoh would have been better served marketing an entirely new model instead of a perceived re-tread of an old model. My two cents. Maybe they thought the K-3's reputation would help sell these?