[jimmm18]

Well I am going to suggest a slightly different option. The k3iii, though a wonderful camera, is a very complex device. I would think that a K70 or KP would be better. They are lighter, similiar in size to the K5 and the KP is said to have image quality rivaling the K3iii. I guess the question is how serious you want to jump into this. Now I love my K3iii but it took me awhile to figure it all out. If you are not going to use most of the features of it, the other cameras offer simplier but still excellent solutions.

[idontstairs]

Get the new KF and 2 or 3, maybe 4, lenses for the price of the K-3iii and a lens.

The K-3iii while advanced compared to older outdated Pentax cameras isn't on an even playing field with the technology used in cameras released in 2023. Especially those with specific subject recognition modes. The K-3iii is still easily confused with simple things like horses walking towards the camera and clumps of grass in a large field of green grass the horse is walking through. Unless you have money to just burn on the latest and greatest I would take time and research your purchase. I'd even say go to a camera shop and hold some cameras beforehand but you won't find a new Pentax in a shop in the U.S.unless you go to one of the big two (online) shops in New York maybe?

I would never, and will never, recommend a K-3iii under any circumstance or reason.

Yesterday marked 2 years since mine arrived. It is about the 5th or 6th choice of camera when I go out to shoot pictures. For the $2,400.00 price tag I should have just bought more lenses for a camera I use more often.

[UncleVanya]

Get the new KF and 2 or 3, maybe 4, lenses for the price of the K-3iii and a lens.

The K-3iii while advanced compared to older outdated Pentax cameras isn't on an even playing field with the technology used in cameras released in 2023. Especially those with specific subject recognition modes. The K-3iii is still easily confused with simple things like horses walking towards the camera and clumps of grass in a large field of green grass the horse is walking through. Unless you have money to just burn on the latest and greatest I would take time and research your purchase. I'd even say go to a camera shop and hold some cameras beforehand but you won't find a new Pentax in a shop in the U.S.unless you go to one of the big two (online) shops in New York maybe?

I would never, and will never, recommend a K-3iii under any circumstance or reason.

Yesterday marked 2 years since mine arrived. It is about the 5th or 6th choice of camera when I go out to shoot pictures. For the $2,400.00 price tag I should have just bought more lenses for a camera I use more often.

Why not sell it and be done with it?

[pedroin]

Get the new KF and 2 or 3, maybe 4, lenses for the price of the K-3iii and a lens.

The K-3iii while advanced compared to older outdated Pentax cameras isn't on an even playing field with the technology used in cameras released in 2023. Especially those with specific subject recognition modes. The K-3iii is still easily confused with simple things like horses walking towards the camera and clumps of grass in a large field of green grass the horse is walking through. Unless you have money to just burn on the latest and greatest I would take time and research your purchase. I'd even say go to a camera shop and hold some cameras beforehand but you won't find a new Pentax in a shop in the U.S.unless you go to one of the big two (online) shops in New York maybe?

I would never, and will never, recommend a K-3iii under any circumstance or reason.

Yesterday marked 2 years since mine arrived. It is about the 5th or 6th choice of camera when I go out to shoot pictures. For the $2,400.00 price tag I should have just bought more lenses for a camera I use more often.

That's an interesting advice...Sadly, there is no way that I can hold a Pentax camera here in Lima Peru. The market is full of Sonys and Canons. And I move to Florida in July, so my best chance is getting a Pentax online. Thank you for your insight.

[yucatanPentax]

Yesterday marked 2 years since mine arrived. It is about the 5th or 6th choice of camera when I go out to shoot pictures. For the $2,400.00 price tag I should have just bought more lenses for a camera I use more often.

To round out your comment, which of the 5 or 6 cameras do you find yourself using most often? What are the choices?

[Sandy Hancock]

It is about the 5th or 6th choice of camera when I go out to shoot pictures.

Just putting it out there, but perhaps you have too many cameras and just haven't learned how to use the K-3 Mark III optimally.

I say this as someone who has the same problem, but I'm willing to accept the problem is me, not the camera. I'll be using mine exclusively this month to remedy the situation.

[davidhartanto]

Seriously guys....BIG THANKS.....After my K5 was stolen many years ago, I bought second hands cameras...mostly from friends. Sonys, Lumix and Fujis...everybody praise them...Pentax seemed relegated... But I always felt connected to Pentax. A friend of mine was trying to sell me his Fuji XT 3 and his selling point was the chrome simulation. At the end, I use RAW so, who cares about the simulation right?... (only when I enter in my Daido Moriyama mode with the Ricoh gr3 hahaha).
anyways, my point is that Pentax is that kind of brand that you never forget so I'm selling my Fujis and Lumix and saving for these amazing suggestions that you guys gave me.
Cheers!!!

I also just came back to Pentax land, I left whenever K3 III was finally released with quite high price and a fixed screen. The fixed screen itself wasn't unexpected since there were pre-release videos showing a japanese photographer holding the real unit with a fixed screen, I was still hoping to see another version with tilted or flip screen but it never came, it came to market with fixed screen and steep price (at least to me).
On top of that, I also had problem lifting heavy full frame lenses from Pentax (and sigma's k mount) due to health issues, so slowly I sold my k mount (full frame) lenses one by one and only D FA 100 macro left.
At the same time I was tempted to take mirrorless path, trying many brands: sony, fuji, panasonic, leica, I didn't go for Nikon (mirrorless) or Olympus because I already tried them before Pentax, but I am not really happy with all of them except the skin color rendition of Leica CL hence I still keep it with me till now.


But, somehow every time I looked at my family photos (my missus, kids) in my NAS, the ones from Pentax always strikes me. I always like the jpeg sooc output or DCU (Digital Camera Utility) output with custom image: Bright. Not to mention how I need to be very careful every time it starts drizzling here in Melbourne, I always run into panic to keep my gears back to its shelter (read: bag), it never happened when I used Pentax gears.
That made me keep watching for Pentax K3 III prices, sometimes looking at youtube review about K3 III, check this forum once in a while, and finally pull the trigger last month, roughly 2 years after it was first released.

I recommend you to watch @KobieMC channel in Youtube, especially these 2 videos:

You Tube

You Tube

and

You Tube

You Tube

Also don't forget to buy this Pentax K3 III ebook, it will shorten your learning curve about the camera's menu setting: Master your Pentax K-3 Mark III with the Pentax K-3 III eBook - PentaxForums.com


My favourite lens for this Pentax K3 III is Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 PLM (not the old SDM one), it is a bit heavy but very sharp and very quick to focus. I have 22 months old baby (my second born) at home and K3 III with 16-50 PLM can keep up quite well with his active movement.

You can read the review regarding that lens in this forum, but you can check @Kobie review from this link as well:

You Tube

You Tube

In summary, like almost everyone in this thread, go for K3 III.. it is a very good camera.

[gatorguy]

Just putting it out there, but perhaps you have too many cameras and just haven't learned how to use the K-3 Mark III optimally.

I say this as someone who has the same problem, but I'm willing to accept the problem is me, not the camera. I'll be using mine exclusively this month to remedy the situation.

I agree with you Sandy. A few minutes earlier this morning I was looking at my camera gear on the dining room table, still there after coming back from some shooting yesterday. (Sorry honey, I promise to put it up after work today!)

You know the thought that occurred to me? I could do nicely with two cameras: The K3III and the monochrome K1, and gosh it would simplify things soooo much. Just stop trying to figure out which camera to take for what I'm doing today, which is less irritating or inconvenient but supposedly "better" compared to which one I'd rather take if I understood using features more thoroughly.

I love my K3III. I don't need the K-70, even if it does not harm to keep it in the truck console, just in case.
I love the images I'm getting from the K1 mono, but I like the K3 Monochrome too. I don't need both.
I have a normal color K1. I'll carry it along on a shoot, then not use it, or use it for only a half dozen shots. Truth be told, I really could do without it.

So for simplicity, perhaps it would be even better if I sold both K1's and just concentrated on being the best APS-c photographer I can be? I mean I really, REALLY like the K1 mono, but I could probably learn to make the K3 mono work just as well for me if I didn't swap around forms and lens formats so often.

Just some random camera thoughts that came into my head this morning.

[Sandy Hancock]

Just some random camera thoughts that came in my head this morning.

Indeed. Decision paralysis is real. It has affected me so badly in recent months that I have used my iPhone more than my much-loved Pentaxes.

I need a K-1 Mark II (but probably not two of them!) in my life though; all those lovely old lenses deserve their native format. And I can not possibly part with my GR III.

I'm not so sure about the 645Z, or the KP, or the Q7, or the film cameras, or the WG-6, or the Theta Z1

[gatorguy]

I would never, and will never, recommend a K-3iii under any circumstance or reason.

Yesterday marked 2 years since mine arrived. It is about the 5th or 6th choice of camera when I go out to shoot pictures. For the $2,400.00 price tag I should have just bought more lenses for a camera I use more often.

I would have thought you would send it in for repair by now or send it on to a new home. Why just leave it in a non-optimal state on a shelf? It obviously irritates you. Sell it at a hefty loss or fix it would be my recommendation, and others have suggested the same thing.

Like you I've been there, choosing from the lesser of evils (not necessarily cameras), unhappy with each of them in some way or another, when ridding myself of all of it and getting one that I really do want to use would be the smart and most economical course of action. Sell off 4 of the ones you own and concentrate on two that are at least kinda compatible with what interests you.

But you do offer a great piece of advice. Quality lenses will make a far more positive impact on a photo hobby than a camera body. When you have a strict budget get a capable camera, then spend the rest of it on the best lenses you can afford. In my case a K3III makes the most sense for what interests me: Wildlife and action, with people stuff close behind. For what it does it was relatively inexpensive when coupled with the very good glass I already owned and left me with enough savings from not changing platforms to pick up the 150-450 to round things out. It would have been silly to blow it all on a Nikon Z9 and then forced to settle for budget glass. The K3III I have with the excellent lenses I own would give me better results.

[mikesbike]

I would say, usage dictates what to get. The main claim to fame for the new K-3 III is faster AF and a better rate for burst shooting. It is also tops in Pentax APS-C models for low light/ higher ISO when needed. But at a much lower price, the new KF will be nearly as capable in this regard. If you like to shoot fast-moving action, the K-3 III would be the obvious choice, in addition to the right lens for this purpose. I can afford a K-3 III, but have no intention to get one. I am more an all-around usage shooter, virtually never do burst shooting, and not often fast action. So between my older K-5 IIs, my little K-S2, my KP, and my K-1 II for when FF shooting with my FF lenses are best for the circumstances, I do not need or want anything more.

If you were satisfied with the perfromance of your K-5, the KF will perform even better, but will be more compact, if that is ok. As to controls, however, the larger, pro-oriented models, like the K-5 or K-3, have more dedicated on-body controls. As to resolution, the 24mp KF and the 26mp K-3 III will be too close to tell a distinct difference, and then the in-camera proccessor won't matter much either, since you say you use RAW. It sems to me, with the shooting needs you indicate, and your past with the K-5, a KF with the DA 18-135mm and DA 55-300mm PLM lenses would do quite well to satisfy those needs. It also has a built-in flash, which I have often found to be good for spontaneous shots indoors, or outdoors for fill and puttng catchlight in eyes.

You might also consider a compact, inexpensive fast-aperture prime lens like the DA 50mm f/1.8, which is not WR, but is very useful for very low light conditions, and is also a very good portrait lens for family pictures.

If you move to Florida first, you might get a better deal from a reputable US high-volume dealership, like B&H of NYC. I got most of my gear from them.

[jimmm18]

I would say, usage dictates what to get. The main claim to fame for the new K-3 III is faster AF and a better rate for burst shooting. It is also tops in Pentax APS-C models for low light/ higher ISO when needed. But at a much lower price, the new KF will be nearly as capable in this regard. If you like to shoot fast-moving action, the K-3 III would be the obvious choice, in addition to the right lens for this purpose. I can afford a K-3 III, but have no intention to get one. I am more an all-around usage shooter, virtually never do burst shooting, and not often fast action. So between my older K-5 IIs, my little K-S2, my KP, and my K-1 II for when FF shooting with my FF lenses are best for the circumstances, I do not need or want anything more.

If you were satisfied with the perfromance of your K-5, the KF will perform even better, but will be more compact, if that is ok. As to controls, however, the larger, pro-oriented models, like the K-5 or K-3, have more dedicated on-body controls. As to resolution, the 24mp KF and the 26mp K-3 III will be too close to tell a distinct difference, and then the in-camera proccessor won't matter much either, since you say you use RAW. It sems to me, with the shooting needs you indicate, and your past with the K-5, a KF with the DA 18-135mm and DA 55-300mm PLM lenses would do quite well to satisfy those needs. It also has a built-in flash, which I have often found to be good for spontaneous shots indoors, or outdoors for fill and puttng catchlight in eyes.

You might also consider a compact, inexpensive fast-aperture prime lens like the DA 50mm f/1.8, which is not WR, but is very useful for very low light conditions, and is also a very good portrait lens for family pictures.

If you move to Florida first, you might get a better deal from a reputable US high-volume dealership, like B&H of NYC. I got most of my gear from them.

What he said.

[pedroin]

I would say, usage dictates what to get. The main claim to fame for the new K-3 III is faster AF and a better rate for burst shooting. It is also tops in Pentax APS-C models for low light/ higher ISO when needed. But at a much lower price, the new KF will be nearly as capable in this regard. If you like to shoot fast-moving action, the K-3 III would be the obvious choice, in addition to the right lens for this purpose. I can afford a K-3 III, but have no intention to get one. I am more an all-around usage shooter, virtually never do burst shooting, and not often fast action. So between my older K-5 IIs, my little K-S2, my KP, and my K-1 II for when FF shooting with my FF lenses are best for the circumstances, I do not need or want anything more.

If you were satisfied with the perfromance of your K-5, the KF will perform even better, but will be more compact, if that is ok. As to controls, however, the larger, pro-oriented models, like the K-5 or K-3, have more dedicated on-body controls. As to resolution, the 24mp KF and the 26mp K-3 III will be too close to tell a distinct difference, and then the in-camera proccessor won't matter much either, since you say you use RAW. It sems to me, with the shooting needs you indicate, and your past with the K-5, a KF with the DA 18-135mm and DA 55-300mm PLM lenses would do quite well to satisfy those needs. It also has a built-in flash, which I have often found to be good for spontaneous shots indoors, or outdoors for fill and puttng catchlight in eyes.

You might also consider a compact, inexpensive fast-aperture prime lens like the DA 50mm f/1.8, which is not WR, but is very useful for very low light conditions, and is also a very good portrait lens for family pictures.

If you move to Florida first, you might get a better deal from a reputable US high-volume dealership, like B&H of NYC. I got most of my gear from them.

Thank you for this. I agree, I'm more an all around shooter. Your experience with differents Pentax cameras make me think. In the meantime I'm checking the Pentax hashtag on IG. It gave me a lot of ideas about combos and usage.

[robgski]

Pentax hashtag on IG

check the #shootpentax tag for a larger set of results

I agree, I'm more an all around shooter.

FWIW, I used a K-5 and the 18-135mm WR almost exclusively for 6 months in all sorts of situations while I was traveling and away from home for 6 months. The only other lens I had was the DA 40mm XS. Lightweight, compact, great results in any situation on a K-5 or on my newer KP.

[idontstairs]

To round out your comment, which of the 5 or 6 cameras do you find yourself using most often? What are the choices?

I've been using my Fuji X100V as a daily carry. The thousands of combinations for film simulation recipes remind me of shooting film decades ago and going into my local camera store and picking out all different kinds of film to shoot with.

I've got a Nikon Z6 with the 24-70mm F4 kit lens if I need to make sure I get the shot. The eye autofocus and animal eye autofocus are just light years ahead of the K-3iii and the Z6 was released 2 years before the K-3iii and unlike Pentax, Nikon has actually released firmware with autofocus upgrades since the release of the Z6.


I've got a Fuji XS10 with the 18mm F1.4 lens I bought since I couldn't get either of my Pentax 15mm HD Limited lens to produce even halfway decent results. I need to have a +10 on my K-3iii to get anywhere close to a usable image. The other one is best at +7 and still looks decentered. I gave an SD card full of images to my nephew to look over on his calibrated monitor and he just laughed and said "sell your Pentax gear". That Fuji 18mm F1.4 is just as sharp if not sharper than my Pentax FA* 50mm F1.4.


I've got a KP that works just fine. The buffer is super tiny. I keep a 20-40mm Limited on that camera. I have a K3 with a 55-300 zoom for stuff like UPS planes flying over. I'm near the UPS worldport. I also have a K5-II but it is loaned out right now with a try it before they buy it kind of thing going on.

I'm not wasting money on postage sending the K-3iii in for repairs. It is just crappy Pentax autofocus. If Pentax sold me a brand new flagship camera broken from the factory at initial release that's just as bad as using a defective part for almost 10 years causing aperture block failures in 3 or 4 lines of camera bodies. I'll just keep my K-3iii and if I ever need 33 frames in 3 seconds of a stationary rock or tree I'll know which camera to grab.