K-3 III and Image Sync Instructions

tomcook · 05-21-2021, 08:58 AM - **5 Likes**

As I struggled to use Image Sync to geotag with the K-3 III, I developed the attached PDF to help me understand and operate the app and camera. I attempted to draft this simple two page document to mimic the style of Pentax manuals, so it might be familiar. Hope it helps clarify the capabilities and limitations.

Attached Images

Pentax K-3 III and Image Sync Android Instructions 20210521.pdf (154.5 KB, 500 views)

0x4243 · 05-22-2021, 01:23 AM

Thank you a lot for your very detailed description. Looks like an official document but way better

I hope, the image sync will be improved very soon. I still have big problems reconnecting bluetooth after the cam was off or in standby. I can reproduce the behaviour almost 100% when the phone and cam are off and I switch on the cam. The bluetooth stays disconnected until I switch on the phone (don't even have to unlock the phone, just switching on the display is ok).
The image sync app is excluded from power saving and the background transmission is set to 1 hour.

The only thing I want to achieve is gps geotagging. I don't care about the remote control function or wifi image transfer etc (at least at the moment). Too bad, it doesn't work properly currently.

I will go through your doc once again, maybe I missed something.

BTW: May be also a problem with the phone... Its a sony Xperia XZ1 compact (G8441)

tomcook · 05-22-2021, 04:55 AM

That behavior of having to wake up the phone screen when turning on the camera, when both are off/sleeping, is the only way I could get it to work also. I attempted to describe that in the doc under Power Off and Auto Off (Sleep) Behavior section. I could not find it explained in any official instructions

0x4243 · 05-22-2021, 05:11 AM

I did some more tests and realized that the bluetooth connection is not re-established when not using the ImageSync app. I could easily pair the cam to the phone with the standard android bluetooth pairing. But after switching off/on the cam, the bluetooth is not reconnected (like it is done with all other bluetooth devices I know, like earphones, smartwatch, etc.)

I would expect that at least the "basic" bluetooth connection can be established without the ImageSync app.

To me, this seems like a bug in the cam firmware... Looks like the ImageSync app is somehow triggering the reconnection. And this only after the phone is woken up.

I'll try to sort up these observations and get in contact with ricoh. Hopefully they can fix this behaviour.

fifescapes · 06-02-2021, 06:28 AM

Image Sync us, I think, driving me to the O-GPS1. Got it working today, the first few photos have the GPS tag, the last one at 10:39. From the next one at 10:51 no tagging on any of them. This really is not acceptable for someone who goes for a walk and wants all the images tagged without having to keep waking something up and/or reconnecting. The K3iii is lovely in many ways, but the build in GPS in the K3ii knocks spots of Image Sync.

PS on reading the PDF I discovered 'Background location information transmission' which I've turned on. Hopefully that will help. Will have to go for another walk tomorrow, it's too hot now.

---------- Post added 06-02-21 at 06:41 AM ----------

Originally posted by 0x4243

Thank you a lot for your very detailed description. Looks like an official document but way better

I hope, the image sync will be improved very soon. I still have big problems reconnecting bluetooth after the cam was off or in standby. I can reproduce the behaviour almost 100% when the phone and cam are off and I switch on the cam. The bluetooth stays disconnected until I switch on the phone (don't even have to unlock the phone, just switching on the display is ok).
The image sync app is excluded from power saving and the background transmission is set to 1 hour.

The only thing I want to achieve is gps geotagging. I don't care about the remote control function or wifi image transfer etc (at least at the moment). Too bad, it doesn't work properly currently.

I will go through your doc once again, maybe I missed something.

BTW: May be also a problem with the phone... Its a sony Xperia XZ1 compact (G8441)

Before I set out today I checked my phone was picking up the GPS in 2 ways:

1) I used the phone's inbuilt app 'Compass'. That displays the lat & lon below the compass rose in degrees & decimal degrees (default - you can select Degrees, minutes & decimal minutes, and degrees minutes seconds), and above it the altitude in metres (you can select feet if you prefer).

2) There is an app 'OS Locate' in the playstore. Again it displays heading, but the location is in OS grid ref format by default, you can switch to lat/long, and the altitude by default is in metres but you can switch to feet.

0x4243 · 06-02-2021, 06:47 AM - **1 Like**

The background transmission has to be turned on in order to get gps data while the phone is off.

Still, my problem is that after switching off/on the camera it does not reconnect to the phone via bluetooth. Told that to the german ricoh support and they answered me, they could not reproduce this problem. I tested this with an other phone (samsung galaxy A3) and voila, there it works. It's just my sony phone that does not reconnect properly...

fifescapes · 10-26-2021, 12:40 AM

I have a couple of comments.

1) in Image Sync -> Settings -> Background location information transmission, select an appropriate time. I use 6 hours.

2) With an Android phone (mine is a Google Pixel 4a) make sure battery optimisation for the Image Sync app is off. This is buried deep... See K-3 III image sync bluetooth woes [Solved - Samsung settings issue] - PentaxForums.com for detailed instructions.

Note I have yet to test #2 (plan to do so today) but it seems it might account for my being back to geo-tagging only working for the first so many minutes despite #1 being set correctly. I've not changed my phone since I got the K3iii, but it has undergone several Android upgrades since then.

*if* I've fixed the problem it makes using image sync for geo-tagging easy:

1) Make sure phone is charged!
2) I turn on GPS & Bluetooth on the phone and make sure network & mobile data are turned off, to maximise battery life. It seems to take the phone a little while to 'find itself' in GPS terms
3) Turn on the camera
4) Open the Image Sync app
5) Tap the 'camera' symbol in bottom right of the screen
6) Tap 'PENTAX K-3 Mark III' (or whatever) in the list of camera types
7) Tap the 'Connect to PENTAX_999XXX' in the menu.

Job done, I hope! It was so much easier with the K3ii. Sign...

fifescapes · 10-26-2021, 06:31 AM

Originally posted by fifescapes

I have a couple of comments.

1) in Image Sync -> Settings -> Background location information transmission, select an appropriate time. I use 6 hours.

2) With an Android phone (mine is a Google Pixel 4a) make sure battery optimisation for the Image Sync app is off. This is buried deep... See K-3 III image sync bluetooth woes [Solved - Samsung settings issue] - PentaxForums.com for detailed instructions.

Note I have yet to test #2 (plan to do so today) but it seems it might account for my being back to geo-tagging only working for the first so many minutes despite #1 being set correctly. I've not changed my phone since I got the K3iii, but it has undergone several Android upgrades since then.

*if* I've fixed the problem it makes using image sync for geo-tagging easy:

1) Make sure phone is charged!
2) I turn on GPS & Bluetooth on the phone and make sure network & mobile data are turned off, to maximise battery life. It seems to take the phone a little while to 'find itself' in GPS terms
3) Turn on the camera
4) Open the Image Sync app
5) Tap the 'camera' symbol in bottom right of the screen
6) Tap 'PENTAX K-3 Mark III' (or whatever) in the list of camera types
7) Tap the 'Connect to PENTAX_999XXX' in the menu.

Job done, I hope! It was so much easier with the K3ii. Sign...

Well the battery optimisation hasn't fixed this, plus I notice the first few images all had the same geo-tag despite my being up to 350m away.

The Compass app showed changing lat/lon.

fifescapes · 10-28-2021, 03:23 AM

Originally posted by fifescapes

Well the battery optimisation hasn't fixed this, plus I notice the first few images all had the same geo-tag despite my being up to 350m away.

The Compass app showed changing lat/lon.

I did the nuclear option. The camera has the latest firmware, and I deleted & reinstalled the app on the phone. Then I set the transmission time & turned off battery optimisation for it, finally re-paired them and Lo! I only went for a very short walk due to the drizzle but I have different lat/lon on the various locations.

That includes after letting the camera turn it's display off, and turning it it off & on again.

Maybe it's fixed! This needs a longer walk to see that frames continue to get tagged but that needs a better day

angerdan · 10-31-2021, 03:39 AM

Originally posted by tomcook

I developed the attached PDF to help me understand and operate the app and camera. I attempted to draft this simple two page document to mimic the style of Pentax manuals, so it might be familiar. Hope it helps clarify the capabilities and limitations.

Thank you for your work!

fifescapes · 11-01-2021, 09:19 AM

Originally posted by fifescapes

I did the nuclear option. The camera has the latest firmware, and I deleted & reinstalled the app on the phone. Then I set the transmission time & turned off battery optimisation for it, finally re-paired them and Lo! I only went for a very short walk due to the drizzle but I have different lat/lon on the various locations.

That includes after letting the camera turn it's display off, and turning it it off & on again.

Maybe it's fixed! This needs a longer walk to see that frames continue to get tagged but that needs a better day

Did the longer walk today and all is well - despite having updated to Android 12!

**MartinD** · 04-02-2022, 03:00 AM

Originally posted by tomcook

As I struggled to use Image Sync to geotag with the K-3 III, I developed the attached PDF to help me understand and operate the app and camera. I attempted to draft this simple two page document to mimic the style of Pentax manuals, so it might be familiar. Hope it helps clarify the capabilities and limitations.

Thank you, appreciated your detailed PDF very much, using Image sync the first time.

I came across an additional "imperfection" of Image sync: In connection with Astrotracer 3 Live View is not transmitted, even with wifi.
Regrettably no workaround for an articulated monitor.

06-02-2021, 06:28 AM	#5
fifescapes Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 27	Image Sync us, I think, driving me to the O-GPS1. Got it working today, the first few photos have the GPS tag, the last one at 10:39. From the next one at 10:51 no tagging on any of them. This really is not acceptable for someone who goes for a walk and wants all the images tagged without having to keep waking something up and/or reconnecting. The K3iii is lovely in many ways, but the build in GPS in the K3ii knocks spots of Image Sync. PS on reading the PDF I discovered 'Background location information transmission' which I've turned on. Hopefully that will help. Will have to go for another walk tomorrow, it's too hot now. ---------- Post added 06-02-21 at 06:41 AM ---------- Originally posted by 0x4243 Thank you a lot for your very detailed description. Looks like an official document but way better I hope, the image sync will be improved very soon. I still have big problems reconnecting bluetooth after the cam was off or in standby. I can reproduce the behaviour almost 100% when the phone and cam are off and I switch on the cam. The bluetooth stays disconnected until I switch on the phone (don't even have to unlock the phone, just switching on the display is ok). The image sync app is excluded from power saving and the background transmission is set to 1 hour. The only thing I want to achieve is gps geotagging. I don't care about the remote control function or wifi image transfer etc (at least at the moment). Too bad, it doesn't work properly currently. I will go through your doc once again, maybe I missed something. BTW: May be also a problem with the phone... Its a sony Xperia XZ1 compact (G8441) Before I set out today I checked my phone was picking up the GPS in 2 ways: 1) I used the phone's inbuilt app 'Compass'. That displays the lat & lon below the compass rose in degrees & decimal degrees (default - you can select Degrees, minutes & decimal minutes, and degrees minutes seconds), and above it the altitude in metres (you can select feet if you prefer). 2) There is an app 'OS Locate' in the playstore. Again it displays heading, but the location is in OS grid ref format by default, you can switch to lat/long, and the altitude by default is in metres but you can switch to feet. Last edited by fifescapes; 06-02-2021 at 06:41 AM.

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05-22-2021, 01:23 AM	#2
0x4243 New Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Maxhütte-Haidhof, Germany Posts: 23	Thank you a lot for your very detailed description. Looks like an official document but way better I hope, the image sync will be improved very soon. I still have big problems reconnecting bluetooth after the cam was off or in standby. I can reproduce the behaviour almost 100% when the phone and cam are off and I switch on the cam. The bluetooth stays disconnected until I switch on the phone (don't even have to unlock the phone, just switching on the display is ok). The image sync app is excluded from power saving and the background transmission is set to 1 hour. The only thing I want to achieve is gps geotagging. I don't care about the remote control function or wifi image transfer etc (at least at the moment). Too bad, it doesn't work properly currently. I will go through your doc once again, maybe I missed something. BTW: May be also a problem with the phone... Its a sony Xperia XZ1 compact (G8441)

05-22-2021, 04:55 AM	#3
tomcook Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Albums Posts: 125 Original Poster	That behavior of having to wake up the phone screen when turning on the camera, when both are off/sleeping, is the only way I could get it to work also. I attempted to describe that in the doc under Power Off and Auto Off (Sleep) Behavior section. I could not find it explained in any official instructions

05-22-2021, 05:11 AM	#4
0x4243 New Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Maxhütte-Haidhof, Germany Posts: 23	I did some more tests and realized that the bluetooth connection is not re-established when not using the ImageSync app. I could easily pair the cam to the phone with the standard android bluetooth pairing. But after switching off/on the cam, the bluetooth is not reconnected (like it is done with all other bluetooth devices I know, like earphones, smartwatch, etc.) I would expect that at least the "basic" bluetooth connection can be established without the ImageSync app. To me, this seems like a bug in the cam firmware... Looks like the ImageSync app is somehow triggering the reconnection. And this only after the phone is woken up. I'll try to sort up these observations and get in contact with ricoh. Hopefully they can fix this behaviour.

06-02-2021, 06:47 AM - 1 Like	#6
0x4243 New Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Maxhütte-Haidhof, Germany Posts: 23	The background transmission has to be turned on in order to get gps data while the phone is off. Still, my problem is that after switching off/on the camera it does not reconnect to the phone via bluetooth. Told that to the german ricoh support and they answered me, they could not reproduce this problem. I tested this with an other phone (samsung galaxy A3) and voila, there it works. It's just my sony phone that does not reconnect properly...

10-26-2021, 12:40 AM	#7
fifescapes Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 27	I have a couple of comments. 1) in Image Sync -> Settings -> Background location information transmission, select an appropriate time. I use 6 hours. 2) With an Android phone (mine is a Google Pixel 4a) make sure battery optimisation for the Image Sync app is off. This is buried deep... See K-3 III image sync bluetooth woes [Solved - Samsung settings issue] - PentaxForums.com for detailed instructions. Note I have yet to test #2 (plan to do so today) but it seems it might account for my being back to geo-tagging only working for the first so many minutes despite #1 being set correctly. I've not changed my phone since I got the K3iii, but it has undergone several Android upgrades since then. if I've fixed the problem it makes using image sync for geo-tagging easy: 1) Make sure phone is charged! 2) I turn on GPS & Bluetooth on the phone and make sure network & mobile data are turned off, to maximise battery life. It seems to take the phone a little while to 'find itself' in GPS terms 3) Turn on the camera 4) Open the Image Sync app 5) Tap the 'camera' symbol in bottom right of the screen 6) Tap 'PENTAX K-3 Mark III' (or whatever) in the list of camera types 7) Tap the 'Connect to PENTAX_999XXX' in the menu. Job done, I hope! It was so much easier with the K3ii. Sign...

10-26-2021, 06:31 AM	#8
fifescapes Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 27	Originally posted by fifescapes I have a couple of comments. 1) in Image Sync -> Settings -> Background location information transmission, select an appropriate time. I use 6 hours. 2) With an Android phone (mine is a Google Pixel 4a) make sure battery optimisation for the Image Sync app is off. This is buried deep... See K-3 III image sync bluetooth woes [Solved - Samsung settings issue] - PentaxForums.com for detailed instructions. Note I have yet to test #2 (plan to do so today) but it seems it might account for my being back to geo-tagging only working for the first so many minutes despite #1 being set correctly. I've not changed my phone since I got the K3iii, but it has undergone several Android upgrades since then. if I've fixed the problem it makes using image sync for geo-tagging easy: 1) Make sure phone is charged! 2) I turn on GPS & Bluetooth on the phone and make sure network & mobile data are turned off, to maximise battery life. It seems to take the phone a little while to 'find itself' in GPS terms 3) Turn on the camera 4) Open the Image Sync app 5) Tap the 'camera' symbol in bottom right of the screen 6) Tap 'PENTAX K-3 Mark III' (or whatever) in the list of camera types 7) Tap the 'Connect to PENTAX_999XXX' in the menu. Job done, I hope! It was so much easier with the K3ii. Sign... Well the battery optimisation hasn't fixed this, plus I notice the first few images all had the same geo-tag despite my being up to 350m away. The Compass app showed changing lat/lon.

10-28-2021, 03:23 AM	#9
fifescapes Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 27	Originally posted by fifescapes Well the battery optimisation hasn't fixed this, plus I notice the first few images all had the same geo-tag despite my being up to 350m away. The Compass app showed changing lat/lon. I did the nuclear option. The camera has the latest firmware, and I deleted & reinstalled the app on the phone. Then I set the transmission time & turned off battery optimisation for it, finally re-paired them and Lo! I only went for a very short walk due to the drizzle but I have different lat/lon on the various locations. That includes after letting the camera turn it's display off, and turning it it off & on again. Maybe it's fixed! This needs a longer walk to see that frames continue to get tagged but that needs a better day

10-31-2021, 03:39 AM	#10
angerdan Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2015 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,639	Originally posted by tomcook I developed the attached PDF to help me understand and operate the app and camera. I attempted to draft this simple two page document to mimic the style of Pentax manuals, so it might be familiar. Hope it helps clarify the capabilities and limitations. Thank you for your work!

11-01-2021, 09:19 AM	#11
fifescapes Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 27	Originally posted by fifescapes I did the nuclear option. The camera has the latest firmware, and I deleted & reinstalled the app on the phone. Then I set the transmission time & turned off battery optimisation for it, finally re-paired them and Lo! I only went for a very short walk due to the drizzle but I have different lat/lon on the various locations. That includes after letting the camera turn it's display off, and turning it it off & on again. Maybe it's fixed! This needs a longer walk to see that frames continue to get tagged but that needs a better day Did the longer walk today and all is well - despite having updated to Android 12!

04-02-2022, 03:00 AM	#12
MartinD Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2022 Posts: 4	Originally posted by tomcook As I struggled to use Image Sync to geotag with the K-3 III, I developed the attached PDF to help me understand and operate the app and camera. I attempted to draft this simple two page document to mimic the style of Pentax manuals, so it might be familiar. Hope it helps clarify the capabilities and limitations. Thank you, appreciated your detailed PDF very much, using Image sync the first time. I came across an additional "imperfection" of Image sync: In connection with Astrotracer 3 Live View is not transmitted, even with wifi. Regrettably no workaround for an articulated monitor.