[Rush2112]

Okay the title is way over the top, but so is the K-3 Mark III.

So quickly, some of you may know that last year I started the five part review series on the K-3 Mark III. We'll I'm finally finishing up parts IV and V now. But these two editions will be somewhat special since the first three I completed last year. A few things have changed since then and I'm glad I waited to complete these two segments... because after the first three I've done:

1. I acquired the Jet Black K-3 Mark III. I always daydreamed of having a logo-less camera, and Pentax turned out to be the only maker with the balls to do it. Then, they made it look fricken fantastic.
2. There is full K3III ACR support now for raw and camera color profiles.
3. I've acquired the D-BG8 battery grip for better weight distribution/balance of the camera/lens combination during action/bird in flight shooting (mimicking my Canon 1D series pro rig), plus better battery life.
4. The new v1.70 firmware is out and the XS spot setting is awesome and hyper accurate, and the auto-orientation of the AF spot setting is super nice to have.
5. I have an even more improved lens lineup with the addition of a couple new lenses.

I've said it, almost ad-nauseum, but I'll keep saying it. The K-3 Mark III is a serious game changer for Pentax, and I think it is the most important camera they have made yet. It is the first camera from Pentax that can shoot the entire spectrum of photographic subjects at a competitive pro level to the EF and F mounts from Canon and Nikon (and in a lot of ways beat even the new mirrorless offerings). Action photography has many genre's, very important ones in fact, and Pentax has historically not been a serious player for this segment of photography (at least at the serious/pro level). That is until the K-3 Mark III was introduced.

In so many ways its speed and AF system have already done so much more for the K-Mount.

I'm so convinced of this camera's performance, that I've given Pentax full duty for my serious action photography. Something I've never done before with the Pentax brand going way back to 2006. In fact I never even considered Pentax for this role.

But now, the K-3 Mark III is so convincing, so good not only at this role but for everything else too, it's put my D500, 1D Canon's, and my D series Nikon Pro cameras on the shelf. It's truly a camera that can do everything, but do it convincingly well in nearly every category, and is a better all rounder by far then any DSLR from Canon and Nikon I've ever used (yes even better than the D850). I have been giving the K-3 Mark III my full attention and it's been kicking some C and N booty, let me tell you.

Let me finish this quick post by saying that I am terribly disappointed at the typical review "community", you know the "big sites/usual suspects" for not making a bigger deal about the K-3 Mark III. For those who have, like Pentaxforums.com, I salute you for giving this camera the credit it is due. We are not done giving due respect to Ricoh/Pentax for the gargantuan effort that the K-3 Mark III is. We don't need those shills or those sites, word is spreading (albeit slower than we'd like), and hopefully more and more lucky people catch on to one of the best cameras I've ever had the pleasure of using.

End of rant.

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Last edited by Rush2112; 12-10-2022 at 08:55 AM.

[UncleVanya]

Link to the review?

[Mikesul]

It is in his sig at the bottom of the post.

[Joetitch]

Link doesn't show on mobile

[c.a.m]

Okay the title is way over the top, but so is the K-3 Mark III.

Indeed. Great to read such a positive "rant."

Without hesitation, I agree with you. I pre-ordered the camera, owing in large part to Ricoh Imaging's terrific marketing with their year-long series of product stories, videos, and announcements. The highlights of the key advancements really resonated with me, and I loved the personal accounts from the development manager and team members.

Like you, I absolutely love my K-3 Mark III. The viewfinder is exceptional; the operability and ergonomics are fantastic, and the performance is right up there. Smart function, hyper-operation, improved IBIS, high-ISO noise control, face/eye detection in viewfinder mode -- all really good. I find that the camera's exposure control is super and usually spot-on, the best I've experienced across five Pentax DSLRs. And little things like the manual entry of aperture value when shooting with vintage manual lenses -- goodbye field notebook!

Also agree that it's unfortunate that the 'mainstream' review sites dropped the ball and neglected to review the camera to the level it deserved. DPReview and Imaging Resource both had initial reviews, but never finished them properly IMO. Other authors have largely neglected the camera -- arguably the finest APS-C DSLR ever -- in favour of the mirrorless push.

In any case, the camera is a real joy to use, and it produces wonderful images.

- Craig

[Rondec]

The interesting thing about the K-3 III is that with improvements in firmware, it is a different camera today than it was on the day of release, even though the baseline specs are the same.

Highly Recommend!

[bspn]

As the original poster mentioned recently purchased a JetBlack K3iii, I'm sure his next review segments will include comments on new FW improvements. My JetBlack came with 1.5 and now has 1.6, though my 'regular' K3iii is on the newest 1.7 FW version. My JetBlack doesn't get the use my other one does.


To OP Carl, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts in the review sections on your blog.

[mikesbike]

Nice to know, at last Pentax has a model to compete against the big boys for pro sports photography. How does the K-3 III's buffer compare? I seem to remember reading that to be a weak spot.

[gatorguy]

Nice to know, at last Pentax has a model to compete against the big boys for pro sports photography. How does the K-3 III's buffer compare? I seem to remember reading that to be a weak spot.

30+ images, and a buffer I've never yet filled shooting BiF and water skiing. Just as on the D500 it's typical for the photographer to take short 3 or 4-image bursts, so barring something very uncommon I don't see the buffer being an issue. I'd note that BiF doesn't need more than medium speed bursts IMO. Extreme action of course might need high, and I seem to remember using that for the wakeboarding championships, but even there I used short bursts and never filled the buffer.

I'll be interested in reading his updated review when it posts.

[Rush2112]

30+ images, and a buffer I've never yet filled shooting BiF and water skiing. Just as on the D500 it's typical for the photographer to take short 3 or 4-image bursts, so barring something very uncommon I don't see the buffer being an issue. I'd note that BiF doesn't need more than medium speed bursts IMO. Extreme action of course might need high, and I seem to remember using that for the wakeboarding championships, but even there I used short bursts and never filled the buffer.

I'll be interested in reading his updated review when it posts.

For raw or raw/jpeg, yeah about 30-32 shots, however with Jpeg only (like many pros shoot professional events), it's basically unlimited. But its like at what point is the buffer practically enough though? I never shoot bursts more than 15 shots, and usually its 3-6 at a time. With Jpeg only, you can just keep going and going and going.

I will update when I post parts IV and V

[UncleVanya]

It is in his sig at the bottom of the post.

As another person kindly pointed out, the signature links don’t display on mobile. I read nearly 95% of the content on this site using my iPhone.

[Mikesul]

It is there on my Android.

[UncleVanya]

It is there on my Android.

I’m sure I could switch to desktop mode on my browser and find it; the point is the question was valid and the answer was ok but less helpful than simply posting it in a reply.

[Rush2112]

We're not allowed to post directly in our replies here . I've had that discussion with the mods here in the past. We're all at a happy place now. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[UncleVanya]

We're not allowed to post directly in our replies here . I've had that discussion with the mods here in the past. We're all at a happy place now. Sorry for the inconvenience.

? You can’t post your review links. Wow. Sorry I didn’t know that. Sorry to cause confusion folks.