Originally posted by house No one here is a camera brand or even works at one as far as I know.
Correct, but we are users and it is not in our interest to see our brand's reputation being damaged to the point where Ricoh calls it a day because the paltry sales are not justifying maintaining the Pentax operation anymore. If Ricoh deserves the criticism then that's fair enough, of course. However, if it turns out that the alarm bells were rung prematurely then I don't see how one would justify DPReview's approach.
I'd go further and say it is not even reputable to prematurely report a fault even if it turns out one was right. At present, the decision is just not justifiable and that does not change with future knowledge.
Originally posted by house We are users and consumers and presumanbly interested in thorough detailed reviews that find and explain any fault or weakness in the gear.
Yes, but we are only interested in faults and weaknesses that we'll actually experience. No one is interested in a report about a lens' shortcomings if they are based on a decentred copy, are they?
Originally posted by house But to remedy the K-3III they would have to go way beyond any reasonable workflow. What use would the images have if they don't reflect normal usage.
Using the electronic shutter mode on the D780 does not "reflect normal usage".
First, most users will simply not engage it, because they are unaware of the issue.
Many Nikon cameras (and I understand that includes the D780) don't even engage electronic shutter mode, if you just activate that option. You have to do further steps to really activate the electronic shutter. I believe you even need to use LiveView, which would be contrary to the normal use of a DSLR.
Second, you cannot always use electronic shutter mode due to its limitations.
I see the difference in workaround complexity, but I don't think you can argue that there is an easy way for D780 users to circumvent the problem. Currently the DPReview studio scene comparison tool implies that the D780 poses no practical problems whereas the K-3 III does. This is just not justifiable, in my view.