[Gravity]

I bought a K1000 in 1976 and have been a Pentax user ever since. My only digital SLR is a Samsung G1 which I bought around ten years ago and was, as many will know, essentially a replica of an entry level Pentax of the time. It offers only 6MP resolution and I am therefore considering a replacement to use alongside my Lumix TZ40 which is a decent point and shoot with 18MP resolution. This will likely be my last camera and I am buying it as a retirement gift to myself. My question is whether to go for a K3 II or a K1.

I am tempted by the full frame format of the K1 but I think that the lens selection is likely to be more limited - especially third party lenses such as Sigma or Tamron. I believe that the K3 II is a remarkably good camera but it has the smaller sensor and "only" 24MP resolution. I could afford the K1 but would probably need to compromise on lens selection whereas, if I go for the K3 II I can (obviously) spend more on lenses and indeed use the 18-55 and 70 -200 Schneider lenses that came with the Samsung for the time being.

I shoot mostly landscapes and buildings / cityscapes with the occasional portrait. I may also use the camera for occasional videos - mostly "talking head" training videos so an external mic socket is a useful feature. Any views or ideas would be welcome. Thanks in advance for any help.

[VoiceOfReason]

All lenses are compatible with the K1. Some will vignette unless in crop mode, but any lens that works on the K3 will work on the K1. The K1 is an amazing camera, and I would recommend it if it is in your budget.

[enoeske]

I bought a K1000 in 1976 and have been a Pentax user ever since. My only digital SLR is a Samsung G1 which I bought around ten years ago and was, as many will know, essentially a replica of an entry level Pentax of the time. It offers only 6MP resolution and I am therefore considering a replacement to use alongside my Lumix TZ40 which is a decent point and shoot with 18MP resolution. This will likely be my last camera and I am buying it as a retirement gift to myself. My question is whether to go for a K3 II or a K1.

I am tempted by the full frame format of the K1 but I think that the lens selection is likely to be more limited - especially third party lenses such as Sigma or Tamron. I believe that the K3 II is a remarkably good camera but it has the smaller sensor and "only" 24MP resolution. I could afford the K1 but would probably need to compromise on lens selection whereas, if I go for the K3 II I can (obviously) spend more on lenses and indeed use the 18-55 and 70 -200 Schneider lenses that came with the Samsung for the time being.

I shoot mostly landscapes and buildings / cityscapes with the occasional portrait. I may also use the camera for occasional videos - mostly "talking head" training videos so an external mic socket is a useful feature. Any views or ideas would be welcome. Thanks in advance for any help.

Apart from the continuous shooting speed (8fps vs 4.5), I find the K-1 to be superior in every way. The sigma and tamron lenses are lacking on both FF and APS-C so there's nothing different about their availability. The 15-30mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 are pretty much the only lenses you'd ever need, and they are available.

[VoiceOfReason]

Apart from the continuous shooting speed (8fps vs 4.5), I find the K-1 to be superior in every way. The sigma and tamron lenses are lacking on both FF and APS-C so there's nothing different about their availability. The 15-30mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 are pretty much the only lenses you'd ever need, and they are available.

Don't forget the 150-450 in Pentax branded lenses.
There are quite a few aftermarket lenses that will work too. The Tamron 70-200, Sigma 12-24, and Sigma 24-70 all work on FF. Also, the Sigma 50-500, 150-500 and some of their primes are FF compatible, not to mention loads of used lenses out there.

[jatrax]

but I think that the lens selection is likely to be more limited

I would disagree with this. Pentax has a very good line up of FF lenses, not much I can think of that is available in APS-C only that is not also available for FF. That said, both cameras are excellent and there are reasons to choose one or the other. I just do not think lens choice is a good decision factor.

I use both the k-3II and the K-1 and they both have their place. You need to consider cost, weight and other factors to make a choice.

[Nuno Almeida]

I'm also in kind of the same position, I'm starting developing trough the pro world, creating my company, and grabbing has many jobs has I can, giving the best results possible, and I need to upgrade, my current camera is a K50, and I get good shots with it, some of them are in a national spread magazine, some made bride and groom happy, but specially the af is a bit hit and miss, and some better dynamic range has well has metering would be greatly appreciated, I would prefer to stay in aps-c at least for now till I can make enough money that pays the gear, but I'm in doubt, do I buy the K3II, do I wait for it's sucessor, or do I bite the bullet and move to the K1, my current most used lenses are the tamron 17-50 2.8 and 70-200 2.8.... I read a lot about it already, but it feels like it is never enough :/

[VoiceOfReason]

I'm also in kind of the same position, I'm starting developing trough the pro world, creating my company, and grabbing has many jobs has I can, giving the best results possible, and I need to upgrade, my current camera is a K50, and I get good shots with it, some of them are in a national spread magazine, some made bride and groom happy, but specially the af is a bit hit and miss, and some better dynamic range has well has metering would be greatly appreciated, I would prefer to stay in aps-c at least for now till I can make enough money that pays the gear, but I'm in doubt, do I buy the K3II, do I wait for it's sucessor, or do I bite the bullet and move to the K1, my current most used lenses are the tamron 17-50 2.8 and 70-200 2.8.... I read a lot about it already, but it feels like it is never enough :/

The Tamron 70-200 will work fine in FF mode and the 17-50 works fine in crop mode and has roughly the same resolution that you are used to. The low light performance, noise, AF, and dynamic range will all blow your K50 away.

[HudsonShooter]

I'm also in kind of the same position, I'm starting developing trough the pro world, creating my company, and grabbing has many jobs has I can, giving the best results possible, and I need to upgrade, my current camera is a K50, and I get good shots with it, some of them are in a national spread magazine, some made bride and groom happy, but specially the af is a bit hit and miss, and some better dynamic range has well has metering would be greatly appreciated, I would prefer to stay in aps-c at least for now till I can make enough money that pays the gear, but I'm in doubt, do I buy the K3II, do I wait for it's sucessor, or do I bite the bullet and move to the K1, my current most used lenses are the tamron 17-50 2.8 and 70-200 2.8.... I read a lot about it already, but it feels like it is never enough :/

for nuno, the k3 has more features that the k50 so upgrade if you need to.

[C_Jones]

The K-3II is an excellent camera if you want to do APS-C shooting at 24 mp. The K-1 will give you full frame capability if that is important to your shooting needs at 36mp, and aps-c capability at 16 mp. Being the newer model, the K-1 has new features that the K-3II does not, but if you intend on shooting aps-c only, the K-3II will do an excellent job.

[slip]

the K1 is like having 2 cameras in one. if I was making my last choice in camera bodies, the for sure it would be the K1. when you put crop lenses on it you still have 16 Mp images, which is more then enough to meet most needs.
K1 doesn't have the fps that the K3 does, but in your case it sounds like it is not an issue

good luck with your choice!

Randy

[D1N0]

If you still have your K1000 lenses. You can use them on the K-1

[UncleVanya]

I bought a K1000 in 1976 and have been a Pentax user ever since. My only digital SLR is a Samsung G1 which I bought around ten years ago and was, as many will know, essentially a replica of an entry level Pentax of the time. It offers only 6MP resolution and I am therefore considering a replacement to use alongside my Lumix TZ40 which is a decent point and shoot with 18MP resolution. This will likely be my last camera and I am buying it as a retirement gift to myself. My question is whether to go for a K3 II or a K1.

I shoot mostly landscapes and buildings / cityscapes with the occasional portrait. I may also use the camera for occasional videos - mostly "talking head" training videos so an external mic socket is a useful feature. Any views or ideas would be welcome. Thanks in advance for any help.

The limited funds for lenses is the key for my answer. Either camera will be a massive jump in performance. The K-1 will allow the use of any older K1000 era lenses with their original field of view while the k-3ii will crop them to be roughly like a lens 1.5 times longer (narrower field of view). The K-1 crop mode is quite good by all accounts and should not be an issue should you want to reuse the Samsung lenses. Since you are into landscape and cityscape photography it boils down to what lenses you can afford and how wide you need to go. Another factor is how willing you are to scour the markets for older manual focus lenses.

[Simen1]

I would choose K-1 and existing/cheaper lenses any day over K-3II and a set of expensive lenses.

Maybe Gravity have some AF lenses too from the time in between K1000 and Samsung GX10?

[surfar]

Gravity, you will be "retired" a long time....make it a GREAT gift.....K1, you will be doing yourself a favour!


DA 23-55mm is what you have that will do most of your photography


F/FA and some DA lenses are reasonable prices compared to the DFAs...plenty of used lenses produce good photos.


My retirement gift was a K1!

[Gravity]

Many thanks to all of you for your input. It sounds like the K1 body is the way to go, combined with my existing Schneider lenses plus my old 50mm prime from the K1000 until budget permits investing in new / used ones. Thanks again.