Originally posted by madison_wi_gal OK, admittedly it takes me a while to think SOME things through but your comment gave me an epiphany. I *think* you mean this:
1 - take a pic using RAW (can also save as jpg if I choose, on the 2nd card).
2 - put that RAW image into DCU and start horsing around with it until it makes me happy
3 - see what DCU did
4 - plug those DCU parameters into the jpg settings on camera
5- K-3 III *should* honor those settings when it makes a jpg
6 - do 1-5 again for different shooting conditions
Am I getting close?
That is exactly it
Save any changes you make in a User Mode on the camera, then you'll not have to re-enter them except for any changes, also, you can further experiment within the camera, using those settings as a fixed starting point, being able to revert to those settings simply by switching the camera off and on again
Virtually all (if not all) the in-camera adjustments are available in DCU so, if you start with a RAW, you can apply all and any changes you like and look at them side by side on your computer
The concept will even work well from a JPG.
As DCU can establish from the EXIF exactly what if any adjustments were applied at exposure time, it can then "neutralise" those adjustments and move on from there.
Not quite as totally comprehensive as working from RAW, but for most amateur purposes, working from a well exposed original, you're unlikely to notice the difference
Much information on the use of DCU can be found here
PENTAX?????? | PENTAX official and on the subsequent associated pages. The originals are in Japanese, so the translations can be a bit stilted and the diagrams don't translate, but there's a lot of useful information that can be gleaned if you spend a few minutes browsing
Enjoy