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04-15-2016, 10:15 AM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rupert Quote
Might have been a better choice for me too....I shoot mostly wildlife. However, I can do the same cropping with the K1 and have both worlds. In reality, the K3 would have been a smarter choice for me and a better value by far. Still...when Mrs Rupert offered to give me her new credit card for the K1, I couldn't turn it down. Was that wrong of me?

Regards!
If you got a K-3 you'd have to be banned from The Thread... so good thing you got a K-1.

04-15-2016, 02:20 PM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by Nass Quote
I went from K-5 to K-3ii. Bigger files, more detail, more camera tools to play with like focus peaking, faster camera CPU... alltogether more a 2015 experience rather than 2010. I don't particularly use AF so don't know any the difference there.
I'm excited about focus peaking. Especially for my A-50/1.7 and M-100/4 Macro... A faster CPU is welcome also as the K-5 is just flat slow.

QuoteOriginally posted by microlight Quote
I went from K-5 to K-3II and the difference is palpable. Physically they are very similar and the build quality is the same - excellent. The resolution is better (lack of AA filter and more megapixellage), the autofocus is much improved, the shutter is even quieter, the mirror is tightly-controlled so no slap or thump. Don't forget the pixel-shift too; on a tripod for landscapes it makes the resolution even better. For back-button focusing, the button is better placed than on the K-5. You'll be very pleased.
A quieter shutter is surprising to me. I am already impressed with the K-5 shutter after coming from a canon 50D...
I am really looking forward to the placement of the back button AF. Being a left eye shooter makes its placement on the K-5 far from ideal.

QuoteOriginally posted by C_Jones Quote
I had the K-5, actually two of them and now have the K-5IIS and K-3II. The K-5IIS is a fantastic camera, and in itself is definitely an image resolution and AF advancement compared to the K-5. Though the K-5IIS is a camera that delivers superior results, the K-3II has a resolution/detail factor that contributes even more to the image quality, and the AF seems to perform in long distance and moving subject shooting (example: bird in flight) in a more advanced manner. There are also features such as the dual SD card slots, built in GPS, and Pixel Shift Resolution, along with others, that contribute to the K-3II. I have been really pleased with it.
I've seen some BIF shots on the forum from the K3 and K3II that my K5 couldn't dream of. Really looking forward to that.

QuoteOriginally posted by mikeSF Quote
I traded in my K5 for a K3II as well and could not be happier.
I am noticing cleaner images and very smooth operation of the GPS and Astrotracer feature vs the more clunky O-GPS1.
A tremendous value at that price point too!
Good to hear
QuoteOriginally posted by Turbofrog Quote
For wildlife shooting in particular, I think you clearly made the right choice.

The K-1 looks to be a spectacular camera, but besides its pricing, I think its real forte will be producing the highest-quality landscape, architecture, and studio photos this side of a 100MP Hasselblad with its 36MP pixel-shift mode. Considering the pixel-shift modes on the K-3 II and Olympus E-M5 II produce better image quality than a 36MP FF D810 (assuming no subject movement, of course!), I am really looking forward to seeing how amazing the samples from the K-1 are going to look.
Indeed. With pixel shift, I think it will be a big improvement for landscape as well, even if a step or two behind the K1
04-16-2016, 07:31 PM   #18
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It's a choice of going into full frame or not. I'm happy with APS-C and I think Pentax is where I'm staying.

I have a k-3II and a k-5II. I love them both and I believe they will serve me well for a long number of years. I'm still waiting for great improvements of the APS-C sensors. Maybe 5 years down the line we'll have better images at low light using high ISOs. I'm sure Pentax AF will improve by that time. By then, I would be ready to put down both cameras and change them with the new APS-C bodies. Probably we'll have a pro APS-C to play with.

Last edited by totsmuyco; 04-16-2016 at 07:33 PM. Reason: Missed a word
04-20-2016, 07:39 PM   #19
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I have had the camera in hand a couple of days now and got the chance today to really put it through its paces. Here are some impressions of it in no particular order:

1- The AF is far more decisive. My Tamron 17-50 doesn't fine tune much at all now, and the DA*300 hunts a lot less
2- AF tracking actually works. Perfectly? no. But it keeps up with herons, osprey, geese, ducks and things of that sort. It may some smaller bird with practice and patience
3- three user modes is really helpful to have things set up in different AF modes for bird photography when you need to change modes quick
4- AF button location is much better
5- There appears to be more noise when viewing at 1:1- but this is negligible with viewed at equivalent sizes
6- the difference between 16MP with a low pass filter, and 24mp without a lowpass filter is significant for cropping
7- the time it takes to play back an image and clear the buffer is entirely too long
8- the LCD is crisper and brighter
9- it responds and acts much more like a professional camera than my K-5- I was shooting next to a guy with a 7DII and I didn't feel outmatched


Last edited by Venom3300; 04-20-2016 at 07:52 PM.
04-22-2016, 10:53 AM   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by Venom3300 Quote
7- the time it takes to play back an image and clear the buffer is entirely too long
Just a couple points that might help...

Instant review might be delayed a slight amount if you have in camera lens corrections enabled (distortion, vignetting, abberation, etc.). If you shoot RAW you can turn them off since they only affect the JPEG, and I believe it will still spend time processing the thumbnail JPEG it puts in each RAW file.

Make sure you have a fast SD card since even Class 10 cards can limit the camera. Sometimes you get a bad card, which can make it perform worse than it's rated. SD cards are also fastest when they're freshly formatted. Try formatting your card to see if that makes it a little faster. (*See note below)

The Sandisk Pro Extreme cards are great, though pricey. Some people have shown that the K-3 itself can't write faster than 40 MB/s, but a faster card can't hurt. I have a pair of PNY Turbo 64GB microSD cards in my K-3 using microSD to SD adapters and I have no issue with buffer, though I don't shoot long bursts on continuous-high very often since continuous-low is enough for me. I can fly through images when I view them in playback though, so any lag you see there is probably card related.


*Flash memory doesn't get fragmented the same as hard disks, but when you write and delete files you end up with partially filled data blocks. Data blocks are read and written as whole blocks, so to add more data to a partially filled block the controller has to read out what's in the block already and re-write the whole block again with the new data added. Writing files to partially filled blocks require more blocks to be read/written than if writing to empty blocks, and empty blocks are written without reading first, which is why a freshly formatted empty card is faster.

This is also why SSD's lose performance over time, especially with random writes. Newer SSD's get around this by having a TRIM function that restores performance by merging partially filled blocks and freeing up full blocks for writing. (Similar to defragmenting, just on data blocks instead of files.)
04-22-2016, 02:04 PM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by TheOneAndOnlyJH Quote
Just a couple points that might help...

Instant review might be delayed a slight amount if you have in camera lens corrections enabled (distortion, vignetting, abberation, etc.). If you shoot RAW you can turn them off since they only affect the JPEG, and I believe it will still spend time processing the thumbnail JPEG it puts in each RAW file.

Make sure you have a fast SD card since even Class 10 cards can limit the camera. Sometimes you get a bad card, which can make it perform worse than it's rated. SD cards are also fastest when they're freshly formatted. Try formatting your card to see if that makes it a little faster. (*See note below)

The Sandisk Pro Extreme cards are great, though pricey. Some people have shown that the K-3 itself can't write faster than 40 MB/s, but a faster card can't hurt. I have a pair of PNY Turbo 64GB microSD cards in my K-3 using microSD to SD adapters and I have no issue with buffer, though I don't shoot long bursts on continuous-high very often since continuous-low is enough for me. I can fly through images when I view them in playback though, so any lag you see there is probably card related.


*Flash memory doesn't get fragmented the same as hard disks, but when you write and delete files you end up with partially filled data blocks. Data blocks are read and written as whole blocks, so to add more data to a partially filled block the controller has to read out what's in the block already and re-write the whole block again with the new data added. Writing files to partially filled blocks require more blocks to be read/written than if writing to empty blocks, and empty blocks are written without reading first, which is why a freshly formatted empty card is faster.

This is also why SSD's lose performance over time, especially with random writes. Newer SSD's get around this by having a TRIM function that restores performance by merging partially filled blocks and freeing up full blocks for writing. (Similar to defragmenting, just on data blocks instead of files.)
Humm I do think I remember seeing that in camera lens correction was on. I'll be sure to turn that off. I shoot exclusively in RAW... JPEGS aren't worth my time(JMO).

Both of my memory cards are fast, but Ill give them a fresh reformatting as well.

Thank you for the tips!
04-25-2016, 10:09 AM   #22
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QuoteOriginally posted by Venom3300 Quote
Humm I do think I remember seeing that in camera lens correction was on. I'll be sure to turn that off. I shoot exclusively in RAW... JPEGS aren't worth my time(JMO).

Both of my memory cards are fast, but Ill give them a fresh reformatting as well.

Thank you for the tips!
Just curious, did you notice an improvement, or does it still seem slow to you?

04-25-2016, 12:30 PM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by Venom3300 Quote
So Ive been drooling over the K-1, but I pulled the trigger on a lightly used k-3II. I mainly shoot wildlife and occasionally landscape. The k-1 would have really been reaching too far for the famiy budget right now and if Im honest there is likely no real advantage for wildlife applications. At least not a 1200 dollar advantage.

This will also allow me to have money to pick up a flash to help round out my kit.

It should be here in a few days and im excited but anxious as I'm hoping for a reap improvement in autofocus over the k-5- which it seems i should get. Ill post some thoughts once its in hand.

Anyone else switch from the k-5 original to k-3II? Thoughts?
On the thread about Ricoh's FaceBook contest, I posted my reasons for not even entering the contest. Some of the reasons related to having to be a FB member, but I was willing to do that until I counted the other costs. A year ago today, when I was a Canon Rebel user, I had 10mm to 300mm capability, provided by three lenses, including a Sigma 10-20mm lens which I got from an eBay seller who exactly summarized my dilemma in museums with his headline "Can't Back Up Anymore?" When my Rebel died in May and I bought a Pentax K-30, that lens was the one thing I truly missed ... and then I was able to buy the K-mount variant through the PF Marketplace. My math showed that getting 15 to 450mm capability with a K-1, even given that the camera and mid-range lens were free, was not easy, and could easily cost me as much as the original "gift" from Pentax was worth. So, I may improve the contents of my camera bag by buying a lightly-used K-3ii {or even splurge for a new copy of its replacement}, but I don't see that going to a K-1 would be good for me right now. Ironically, considering the fact that wide-angle is one place where FF is supposed to shine, K-mount weakness in covering the lower part of my range is a contributor to that conclusion.

This is my very-long way of saying that I totally agree with your decision.
04-25-2016, 12:31 PM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rupert Quote
Might have been a better choice for me too....I shoot mostly wildlife. However, I can do the same cropping with the K1 and have both worlds. In reality, the K3 would have been a smarter choice for me and a better value by far. Still...when Mrs Rupert offered to give me her new credit card for the K1, I couldn't turn it down. Was that wrong of me?

Regards!
If Lovin' the K-1 is wrong, I don't want to be right.
04-25-2016, 03:44 PM   #25
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QuoteOriginally posted by TheOneAndOnlyJH Quote
Just curious, did you notice an improvement, or does it still seem slow to you?
It improve. Still not what one might call fast, but no longer embarrassing.
04-25-2016, 04:45 PM   #26
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Both are great choices. I have the K3, I'm still super impressed with it a year and a bit in. They are really solid, nice cameras.
04-25-2016, 05:29 PM   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by totsmuyco Quote
It's a choice of going into full frame or not. I'm happy with APS-C and I think Pentax is where I'm staying.

I have a k-3II and a k-5II. I love them both and I believe they will serve me well for a long number of years. I'm still waiting for great improvements of the APS-C sensors. Maybe 5 years down the line we'll have better images at low light using high ISOs. I'm sure Pentax AF will improve by that time. By then, I would be ready to put down both cameras and change them with the new APS-C bodies. Probably we'll have a pro APS-C to play with.
There's only so much physical light a sensor can capture.. I wouldn't bank on revolutionary changes to high ISO..
04-25-2016, 05:44 PM   #28
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QuoteOriginally posted by Venom3300 Quote
I have had the camera in hand a couple of days now and got the chance today to really put it through its paces. Here are some impressions of it in no particular order:

1- The AF is far more decisive. My Tamron 17-50 doesn't fine tune much at all now, and the DA*300 hunts a lot less
2- AF tracking actually works. Perfectly? no. But it keeps up with herons, osprey, geese, ducks and things of that sort. It may some smaller bird with practice and patience
3- three user modes is really helpful to have things set up in different AF modes for bird photography when you need to change modes quick
4- AF button location is much better
5- There appears to be more noise when viewing at 1:1- but this is negligible with viewed at equivalent sizes
6- the difference between 16MP with a low pass filter, and 24mp without a lowpass filter is significant for cropping
7- the time it takes to play back an image and clear the buffer is entirely too long
8- the LCD is crisper and brighter
9- it responds and acts much more like a professional camera than my K-5- I was shooting next to a guy with a 7DII and I didn't feel outmatched

It looks like you are enjoying your new camera. I think you will notice as you are able to shoot even more how very well it performs. Amazing!!
04-26-2016, 08:45 AM - 1 Like   #29
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For shooting wildlife or any photography where a telephoto is going to be used a lot, you have made the right decision. Unless you have a lot of disposable income or shoot professionally, buy what you are going to use and will produce the best results for YOUR photography. I think you made the right choice.

We all would love to own a K1. I certainly would and maybe someday I will. I would also love to own a Corvette and an F350 Super Duty Diesel too, but we have to be practical sometimes......
04-29-2016, 10:36 AM   #30
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K5 was great on paper, K3 deliverd what K5 promised and more. Autofocus especially in low light was completely erratic with K5. K3 has better high ISO and overall precision and feeling.
In case K3II can be had for even less money soon, I may get one as well. K1 is on my priority list - as high iso performance will be better, pixel pitch is wider, but I need to get a couple more lenses for it to be happy - Pentax still needs to release most of them.
Even the K1 will drop in price in two years... don't worry. K5 to K3 is worth the step.
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