[Pål Jensen]

The blur on the left is very obviously vertical not radial as the horizon correction samples.

Hard to tell when not knowing what part of the image the crops represent....

[slartibartfast01]

Are you comparing 51200 to 51200 in Raw? The K50 doesn't go any higher than that. At that level the K3-III has significantly better detail retained. See attached.

I'm really not sure why you would compare the K3-IIIs much higher max ISO to the K-50s. I agree that it's silly for Pentax to offer this mode, but as I said like-for-like you won't find lower noise at a given ISO on another crop sensor camera.

No I was comparing 1.6 million on the K-3 iii to 51200 on the K-50. The max ISO on the K-3 iii seems to be even more unusable than the max ISO on the K-50

[c.a.m]

The issue must be in the viewfinder because the dots don't move when I move the film that is being photographed.

What type of lighting are you using? Is it a multi-LED backlight?

- Craig

[beholder3]

Photos with ISO 100 and 200 from a tripod are not quite sharp. This doesn't happen with my K-3 II and K70. I don't seem to be the only one experiencing this. ?

Sadly the basics of error hunting are lost on too many.

One would be to check if the same result also appears handheld. If that is not the case, the fault is in the setup used obviously.

Try harder. A lot.

[stevebrot]

„Worth mentioning at this stage, however, is the slight (relative) softness of the K-3 Mark III at the shutter speeds used for ISO 100 and 200 in our daylight mode in particular. Despite repeated attempts using LiveView, the optical viewfinder, mirror lock-up, shake reduction (which isn't recommended for tripod shooting) and of course a self-timer, we were unable to produce a sharp image using the mechanical shutter at these particular settings due to shutter shock.“

I'd say its time to send your lemon back to the seller and get something more to your liking. There is a lot of product in the same price range that might fit your needs...or perhaps not...


Steve

(...a review of posting history can be quite revealing and some folk are full of complaints...boriscleto? )

[Larrymc]

(...a review of posting history can be quite revealing and some folk are full of complaints...boriscleto? )

Say it ain't so!!!

[gatorguy]

I am currently testing a Pentax K-3 III. I took an ISO series to see the level up to which the images can be used. All settings above ISO 51.200 are useless. Why do they offer the higher values up to 1.6 million?

Photos with ISO 100 and 200 from a tripod are not quite sharp. This doesn't happen with my K-3 II and K70. I don't seem to be the only one experiencing this.


Have you had similar experiences?

I've never used a tripod with my K3III, and only a very few times with one of my K70's. Several thousand shots in and I can't say I've ever seen handheld "soft" images due to a 100 ISO. I'm a stickler for sharp and focused and I think I would have noticed by now.

As for why up to 1.6M ISO? for the same reasons Fuji and Nikon and Canon all promote their highest ISO's. Bragging rights and marketing. I will say that while anything about 51200 has limited use from my K3III they have not been entirely "useless" at far higher ISO's. Noise removal software is much better than just three years ago and improving by leaps and bounds. What was once a throwaway photo can now be turned into a keeper, so don't delete those noisy high-ISO images so fast, particularly the ones where you had no other choice but really did want the shot if at all possible. Just a few years ago it was a waste of time to even try, and cameras/sensors wouldn't allow it anyway.

---

Last edited by gatorguy; 06-17-2021 at 02:04 PM.

[sindbad1]

Do you have horizon correctionengaged?

No

Also, what firmware are you using onthe K3 III?

I tried it with firmware 1.0 and 1.02

Is the camera pointingdownwards?

Yes. The photo shows my setup for taking pictures of films.

---------- Post added 06-17-2021 at 04:39 PM ----------

Originally posted by sindbad1 „Worth mentioning at this stage, however, is the slight (relative) softness of the K-3 Mark III at the shutter speeds used for ISO 100 and 200 in our daylight mode in particular. Despite repeated attempts using LiveView, the optical viewfinder, mirror lock-up, shake reduction (which isn't recommended for tripod shooting) and of course a self-timer, we were unable to produce a sharp image using the mechanical shutter at these particular settings due to shutter shock.“


I'd say its time to send your lemon back to the seller and get something more to your liking. There is a lot of product in the same price range that might fit your needs...or perhaps not...


Steve

(...a review of posting history can be quite revealing and some folk are full of complaints...boriscleto? )

Are you aware that you are quoting a sentence that I quoted from dpreview, where something similar was apparently observed?

---------- Post added 06-17-2021 at 04:42 PM ----------

Hard to tell when not knowing what part of the image the crops represent....

You can see it on my website. The language is german, but the pictures are all you need.

Scanner USAF 1951 resolution target Test der Auflösung

[stevebrot]

Are you aware that you are quoting a sentence that I quoted from dpreview, where something similar was apparently observed?

Indeed, I am. Hence my comment.


Steve

[stevebrot]

What type of lighting are you using? Is it a multi-LED backlight?

- Craig

Good point...phasing might create parallax error.


Steve

[sindbad1]

What type of lighting are you using? Is it a multi-LED backlight?

- Craig

The light source is a small LED light panel approx. 10 cm below the film. I've been using it for a few years and haven't had this effect on any of my other Pentax DSLRs or third-party cameras.

[stevebrot]

You can see it on my website. The language is german, but the pictures are all you need.

Scanner USAF 1951 resolution target Test der Auflösung

Nice setup. I like the repurposed 4x5 6x6 holder. I was noticing the increased CA along with color shift on the 100 ISO comparison.

Added:

The light source is a small LED light panel approx. 10 cm below the film. I've been using it for a few years and haven't had this effect on any of my other Pentax DSLRs or third-party cameras.

The K-3iii differs from those prior cameras in having the BSI sensor. That might partially explain the difference.


Steve

[beholder3]

Sadly sindbad still hasn’t shown any meaningful comparisons to other setups, be it better tripods or super easy handheld shots.
I think it looks again like the problem is in the skill of the User First and foremost.

Unless different setups are systematically compared there is little to learn here beyond poorly performed anecdotal claims.
Sad.

[slartibartfast01]

Sadly sindbad still hasn’t shown any meaningful comparisons to other setups, be it better tripods or super easy handheld shots.

I think it looks again like the problem is in the skill of the User First and foremost.



Unless different setups are systematically compared there is little to learn here beyond poorly performed anecdotal claims.

Sad.

Sharp handheld shots wouldn't prove that there isn't an issue with tripod use.

[sindbad1]

Sadly sindbad still hasn’t shown any meaningful comparisons to other setups, be it better tripods or super easy handheld shots. I think it looks again like the problem is in the skill of the User First and foremost.

Unless different setups are systematically compared there is little to learn here beyond poorly performed anecdotal claims.
Sad.

I have described my process in detail, photographed the setup and shown it here. I've been scanning films with various Pentax DSLRs for years. I pointed out a similar observation at ISO 100 and 200 from dpreview and gave the link to the source.

If I notice this effect at ISO 100 and 200 and a large test website describes it at the same time, your reply is unnecessarily unkind.
I am interested in the specific experiences of other Pentax K-3 III users who use them in a similar way.

Maybe there is an issue that can be fixed with a firmware update. To do this, however, it must first be recognized. After information in forums or on dpreview, Ricoh must decide whether to take up the topic and carry out appropriate tests.