Originally posted by BethC I get inconsistent results. I dont' trust it to be my #1 so I treat it as a back up to my K5 which is crazy!
Beth, I know another Pentax shooter who went from K-5 to K-3. I seem to recall that he, at first, found it a challenge for the very reason you describe. While he did too, at first, consider that there may be something wrong with the camera, he figured out that the issue was that the K-3 with it's 24Mp sensor was much less forgiving as to less than perfectly focused photos than his K-5. Once he took the time to use Live-View more often to compose his shots and make sure that he nailed the focus, he found the K-3 was the better camera.
I suppose that what I'm suggesting is: (Prior to going to expense) Do some test shots with various lenses, taking care to focus carefully, on tripod or whatever, and post your results please.