[madbrain]

Has anyone who received their camera tried shooting any ?
How long can you actually record in 4K/30fps before hitting the 4GB limit ?
What's the bit rate for 4K video ?

[Batman_]

Yeah, I would like to know the bit rate as well.

[i_trax]

I wish Pentax would remove video recording all together from all bodies without SCN ( scene mode ) option.
Keep video on budget models but remove it completely from all upmarket ( semi & professional ) bodies.

[ThorSanchez]

I wish Pentax would remove video recording all together from all bodies without SCN ( scene mode ) option.
Keep video on budget models but remove it completely from all upmarket ( semi & professional ) bodies.

Video has been in every Pentax camera for over a decade. It's not going anywhere.

So... About that K-3 III video performance. Anyone tested it out?

[i_trax]

Video has been in every Pentax camera for over a decade. It's not going anywhere.

So... About that K-3 III video performance. Anyone tested it out?

well , I was not aware about it , being Pentaxian for 40+ years it is ignorance , I suppose.
I did some videos with the Q a while ago.
Now if I want to do some serious filming I use Black Magic , Canon or Sony , the dedicated 4k + camcorder.
If I want to do at hoc footage I use my iPhone 11 or 12 Pro, they are very capable tools and I always have at least one of them with me.
I would never try to use DSLR to do video.

[bobmaxja]

well , I was not aware about it , being Pentaxian for 40+ years it is ignorance , I suppose.
I did some videos with the Q a while ago.
Now if I want to do some serious filming I use Black Magic , Canon or Sony , the dedicated 4k + camcorder.
If I want to do at hoc footage I use my iPhone 11 or 12 Pro, they are very capable tools and I always have at least one of them with me.
I would never try to use DSLR to do video.

You don’t but many of us are doing some and don’t need to buy a new camera.

[mtkeller]

I suspect that one of the conundrums with video testing is that those who know something about video are waiting for testing, and the early adopters don’t know much about video to do testing. If those who would like some video testing would give some ideas of what they’re looking for in a test (with specific details so I don’t mess it up!), I might be able to do some. I also have my own web host, so I think I could post video files direct from the camera somewhere for people who want to inspect a video file for themselves.

[W412ren]

Has anyone who received their camera tried shooting any ?
How long can you actually record in 4K/30fps before hitting the 4GB limit ?
What's the bit rate for 4K video ?

Yeah, I would like to know the bit rate as well.

I have ordered the K-3 iii but not expecting it until early next week. Personally I never have used video on any of my DSLRs - only ever used dedicated video cameras in the past and now just my phone. I suspect that most early adopters are not in it for the video - other manufacturers have usually done it better.

If I remember though I willl give it a go and post some results

[madbrain]

I wish Pentax would remove video recording all together from all bodies without SCN ( scene mode ) option.
Keep video on budget models but remove it completely from all upmarket ( semi & professional ) bodies.

That makes no sense at all. Do you want Pentax to commit sepukku ?
Not having video really would be a major problem, especially for a camera priced at $2K like the K3 III, or my K1 II. It's a standard feature of every digital camera from any brand.
And unlike, say, the built-in flash, which is removed from pro bodies, video is not something you can add back externally with a better unit.
Although in theory, it could be, if there was a clean HDMI output in live view, if one used an external recorder. I don't know if that's a possibility on the K3 III.

---------- Post added 04-25-21 at 04:10 PM ----------

Now if I want to do some serious filming I use Black Magic , Canon or Sony , the dedicated 4k + camcorder.

It's great that you have the budget to own so many cameras from different brands, and all the lenses to go with them. Most of us in the real world don't want to own so many cameras.

If I want to do at hoc footage I use my iPhone 11 or 12 Pro, they are very capable tools and I always have at least one of them with me.
I would never try to use DSLR to do video.

Smartphones have their place, and my Note 20 Ultra also takes excellent video. However, it's limited by its sensor size especially indoors in low-light. It has a fixed aperture which causes problem to control depth of field. And the zoom is digital and useless. You can't use your own lenses with it.
Camcorders suffer from limited sensor sizes too, and no interchangeable lenses.
There are professionals shooting movies on other brands of DSLRs. It should be possible on a Pentax DSLR too, if one so wished. The video on my Pentax K1 II is unsatisfactory. I'm very curious to see how much the K3 III improved video, as that seems to have been one of the areas Pentax wisely chose to spend R&D to improve.

---------- Post added 04-25-21 at 04:15 PM ----------

I suspect that one of the conundrums with video testing is that those who know something about video are waiting for testing, and the early adopters don’t know much about video to do testing. If those who would like some video testing would give some ideas of what they’re looking for in a test (with specific details so I don’t mess it up!), I might be able to do some. I also have my own web host, so I think I could post video files direct from the camera somewhere for people who want to inspect a video file for themselves.

Thanks. That was the idea of this thread - I asked some specific questions.
The tests are very simple.
1) recording duration test.
Set the camera to 4K / 30 video recording
start recording
Look how much time the camera allows you to record. On other Pentax cameras, there will be a count down.
You don't necessarily need to wait all the way to the end. You can stop the recording earlier. But it would be appreciated if you did record the whole thing.
2) bit rate test
If you are on Windows, right click on the video file in Explorer.
Click Properties
Go to the Details tab
Under the "Video" section, report the fields called "Data rate" and "Total bit rate".

[mtkeller]

It now counts up the run time and file size, so I let it run until the 4GB limit got hit. I got 7 minutes and 27 seconds. I'm on macOS, where QuickTime reports data rate 76.43 Mbit/s.

[madbrain]

Thanks. Nice bit rate. 3x the HD bit rate of previous cameras. Would love to see the video.

7mn47s is pretty lame, tough. Pentax really needs to get rid of that 4GB limit. There is no technical reason to keep it, at least not on EXFAT cards.

[Dave L]

Thanks. Nice bit rate. 3x the HD bit rate of previous cameras. Would love to see the video.

7mn47s is pretty lame, tough. Pentax really needs to get rid of that 4GB limit. There is no technical reason to keep it, at least not on EXFAT cards.

They may be concerned about overheating though, and keeping to the old (otherwise unnecessary) limit may just let them avoid having to solve that problem.

The bitrate looks good enough, for h.264/4K30. If that bitrate or even a bit less is available for 50/60 fps HD too, it should produce an excellent picture. And thank goodness sensor stabilization is back - I hated my K-3's omission of that after having it on a K-5.

[madbrain]

They may be concerned about overheating though, and keeping to the old (otherwise unnecessary) limit may just let them avoid having to solve that problem.

The bitrate looks good enough, for h.264/4K30. If that bitrate or even a bit less is available for 50/60 fps HD too, it should produce an excellent picture. And thank goodness sensor stabilization is back - I hated my K-3's omission of that after having it on a K-5.

I doubt it has anything to do with overheating. Modern chips can record at very high bit rates without overheating. My Note 4 years ago would overheat recording 4K after 5-10 minutes. But in larger camera bodies, this isn't an issue. My 2020 Note 20 Ultra can go for hours in 8K at 75 Mbps in H.265 with no sign of overheating . My 2016-vintage GX85 can do 4K/30 in H.265 at 100 Mbps with no limit. Both are far, far smaller cameras than a K3 III.

7.5 minutes really is very short. I guess it's great if you are shooting 15-60 second Tiktok videos. But that's really limiting.
You really wouldn't be able to record things like concerts at all with that kind of limits. I hope Pentax comes to their senses in a firmware update and at least allows proper exFAT support with >4GB files, and limits the 4K recording to at least 25 minutes rather than 7.5 minutes when using an SDXC card. Or just scrap both limits - now that would really be something. Sad they tripled the bit rate but couldn't fix something this simple as the 4GB limit at the same time.

[clackers]

I doubt it has anything to do with overheating. Modern chips can record at very high bit rates without overheating. My Note 4 years ago would overheat recording 4K after 5-10 minutes. But in larger camera bodies, this isn't an issue. My 2020 Note 20 Ultra can go for hours in 8K at 75 Mbps in H.265 with no sign of overheating . My 2016-vintage GX85 can do 4K/30 in H.265 at 100 Mbps with no limit.

No, overheating hasn't gone away. The Canon R5 is only good for 20 minutes of 8k before it overheats, that's a big full frame sensor.

The GX85 is a little m43 sensor and the Samsung phone sensor is even smaller.

DSLRs are not camcorders, they're most similar to cine cameras, and take their cues from film and TV production - manual focus and exposure, with separate audio capture, and colour manipulation to occur in post.

Shots in a production are not twenty minutes. Twenty *seconds* is an awkwardly long scene, an editor will usually break it up before then.

When shooting B roll, ten seconds is enough, for example.

[repaap]

It now counts up the run time and file size, so I let it run until the 4GB limit got hit. I got 7 minutes and 27 seconds. I'm on macOS, where QuickTime reports data rate 76.43 Mbit/s.

I’v seen one video with 86 mbit/s so it might vary a bit. But good to know it is in 70-90 territory. I’v handeled one video file. And it looked okay. Have you already tried movie SR?