[subsea]

My list. Bear in mind I don’t have one:

Full time gps sync with the phone - always on when set to that mode. (Based on earlier comments in the thread)

I’m sure there’s more.

FYI: if you load Ricoh’s Image Sync app on your smart phone, there’s a setting that allows full-time communication between the phone and the camera allowing GPS position to be transferred to the K-3 Mk. 3 in real time.

[UncleVanya]

FYI: if you load Ricoh’s Image Sync app on your smart phone, there’s a setting that allows full-time communication between the phone and the camera allowing GPS position to be transferred to the K-3 Mk. 3 in real time.

Ah. Then that was just my misunderstanding. That makes perfect sense.

[jslifoaw]

FYI: if you load Ricoh’s Image Sync app on your smart phone, there’s a setting that allows full-time communication between the phone and the camera allowing GPS position to be transferred to the K-3 Mk. 3 in real time.

Do you mean that as long as the phone is nearby, you can get the GPS data synced by simply turning on the camera? In the iOS app, I understand the directions require me to first turn on the camera, then open the app to maintain syncing for the selected time (off/1hr/3hrs/6hrs/forever). Once that's done, I can put the phone back in my pocket. This works, but if I turn the camera off, I need to re-activate the app after turning the camera on again. It's one extra step I wish I could avoid but I haven't figured out if there's supposed to be a way to do that. My solution was to disable auto power off for the camera, but it will slowly drain the battery.

What I don't like or find questionable:
a) Why have touch screen if you have all these new buttons ?
b) The over-done customizable options will keep you reading the manual instead of taking pictures(believe me, the Canon 7D vs. 1 tried the same thing and it flopped)
c) User1 - User5 my God unless you have the camera permanently attached to your hip why do you need all of these options ?? 3 would have been enough.
d) The camera is bigger and heavier than the k5 and k7
e) No pop-up flash, or astro-tracer ?
f) No flippy screen
g) No way to lock the Aperture or Shutter speed as far as I know ?
h) The card slots support different USB's, WTF ???
i) Need to get a new battery grip
k) The outrageous PRICE !
L) Tiny Top LCD
M) Ridiculous Maximum ISO is out of this world(OOTW) !

Items a), b), c), and m) are discretionary - you don't need to know how to utilize these to use the camera; they are (practically) free options.

d) the K-7 is 754g, the K-5 is 740g, the K-5 II is 760g, and the K-3 III is 820g. Not sure most people would notice the weight or the few extra mm in dimensions.

e) Part of me misses the flash since my first two Pentax DSLRs had it (even old TTL), but nowadays many people willing to lug around a DSLR will either shoot ambient or also bring a more comprehensive lighting setup and leave flash snapshots to smartphones.

f) I think Pentax could have pulled it off, but yes this was a design compromise and may affect some more than others

g) Someone else addressed this though I don't use the feature myself

h) In most practical terms, this is a non-issue. The UHS-i card slot can still support about 100MB/sec and given how the average Pentax user loves backward compatibility, I'd bet not many of us would bother shelling out for the requisite UHS-ii cards needed to benefit from the faster speeds in the first slot (I use a Lexar v60 card that tops out at 120MB/sec writes). I use slot 1 for stills and slot 2 for video.

i) We are on the D-BG8 - the BG4 was unusual in supporting multiple generations of body but recent bodies are shaped so differently that a one-size fits all grip would attract just as many design gripes as having to buy the matching one

k) It seems to be selling. Each person attaches a different value they perceive in relation to the price paid for a product or service. Many people would say we're foolish to pay the asking price for a K-3 III when a Sony A7III is more or less the same price.

l) While some of the information is indeed cryptic, it presents all the key shooting information likely required for the situations where you'd generally use the top LCD for reference. The viewfinder and rear LCD provide so much information that I can see why the top LCD has shrunk over time.

[Sideway]

Do you mean that as long as the phone is nearby, you can get the GPS data synced by simply turning on the camera? In the iOS app, I understand the directions require me to first turn on the camera, then open the app to maintain syncing for the selected time (off/1hr/3hrs/6hrs/forever). Once that's done, I can put the phone back in my pocket. This works, but if I turn the camera off, I need to re-activate the app after turning the camera on again. It's one extra step I wish I could avoid but I haven't figured out if there's supposed to be a way to do that. My solution was to disable auto power off for the camera, but it will slowly drain the battery.

I don't know about the iOS app, but on Android if you set the maintain syncing time to forever (and disable battery optimization on the app maybe? Not sure about if this is needed or not), the camera and the app will automatically connect whenever the camera powers on. Works perfectly for me every single time.

[biz-engineer]

My only gripe about the K3iii : Why implement the Ricoh GR iii menu system, when the system in previous K digital bodies wasn't broken?

To save software development money. But what's weird is that every new Pentax had design changes, buttons moving around even when the position was just fine on previous model, changes mostly unexplained. On the K3, the buttons on the back panel were well spaced, but on the K1 they stuck a tiny button right next to the top button of the 4-ways pad, why did they do that I have no idea. The video mode lever is just fine on the K1, but it was changed on the K3 III, I don't see how removing that switch is better. The K33 grip is slight better than K1 grip it seems.

[subsea]

Do you mean that as long as the phone is nearby, you can get the GPS data synced by simply turning on the camera? In the iOS app, I understand the directions require me to first turn on the camera, then open the app to maintain syncing for the selected time (off/1hr/3hrs/6hrs/forever). Once that's done, I can put the phone back in my pocket. This works, but if I turn the camera off, I need to re-activate the app after turning the camera on again. It's one extra step I wish I could avoid but I haven't figured out if there's supposed to be a way to do that. My solution was to disable auto power off for the camera, but it will slowly drain the battery.

I believe that the auto-sync works as long as neither the iPhone nor the camera are turned off and you have the "forever" option selected in the app. If either device is turned off, I think the bluetooth link must be manually re-enabled within the app when both devices are turned on again. Of course, this will have an impact on battery life both on the phone and the camera. I haven't gotten a calibration of that, yet. I'm still playing with this, so I'm not completely sure of the limitations.

[tibbitts]

I don't have a K3 of any variety, but my understanding (could be wrong) is that it can't do focus bracketing, which would be a significant shortcoming. And, as has been mentioned, it would be very useful to have automated AF fine-tuning using comparisons to CDAF, including at various focal lengths for zooms.

[kypfer]

First of all I got my heart set on this camera once the price goes down a little to replace my beloved K-5 IIs which is getting a little long in tooth. with that said

What I don't like or find questionable:
a) Why have touch screen if you have all these new buttons ?

Choice … like so many of the customisable options. I simply don't use it, though I might theoretically argue I'd rather not have to pay for it

b) The over-done customizable options will keep you reading the manual instead of taking pictures(believe me, the Canon 7D vs. 1 tried the same thing and it flopped)

Use the customisable options to set up unique User Modes … not for every shot

c) User1 - User5 my God unless you have the camera permanently attached to your hip why do you need all of these options ?? 3 would have been enough.

Three wasn't enough on the K-70, five was OK on the KP … the K-3iii has 10, albeit only five at a time on the Mode Wheel

d) The camera is bigger and heavier than the k5 and k7

Not so I've noticed

e) No pop-up flash, or astro-tracer ?

The jury is out on the loss of the flash … there is a non-GPS reliant version of astro-tracer being developed, it's in beta in Japan. However, if you mean no GPS ...

f) No flippy screen

Agreed … a disappointing loss

g) No way to lock the Aperture or Shutter speed as far as I know ?

Av or Tv Modes? … or maybe a variation on one of the Hyper- options!

i) Need to get a new battery grip

Always a disappointment … and if providing a battery grip, at least give the option to use AA cells, as with the K-5

k) The outrageous PRICE !

From what I can find online, the original Pentax APS-C DSLR, the *istD, was a similar price when launched in 2003

L) Tiny Top LCD

I find it easy and intuitive to read, certainly a lot easier than not having one.

M) Ridiculous Maximum ISO is out of this world(OOTW) !

"Pushing the boundaries" … can actually give quite interesting results when used in monochrome


The K-3iii is certainly more than just a "sum of it's parts" and can be many different things to many different people … I do enjoy using mine

[jersey]

Tilt screen. It is only thing that really bothers me with this camera. I was photographing yesterday at train station and met some other guy doing same. He had Fuji with tilt screen and I envied him soooooo much when he was shooting close to the ground without weird postures and half blind aiming for focus point.

[Rondec]

I will say that the one thing I don't have sympathy for is those who complain that there are too many features or too many ways to access a given setting. In the real world, you choose the features that you want to use and ignore the ones that you don't use. It doesn't hurt you if your car has cruise control, but you choose never to use it. Same if your camera can do pixel shift or has 10 User modes and you don't use those features. The same with respect to being able to access features via a variety of ways -- buttons, dials, and touch screen. You just choose the way that makes the most sense to you and go with that.

Clearly the K-3 III isn't a perfect camera, but most of the complaints I have seen sound more like quibbles than major feature flaws.

[Pål Jensen]

The main drawback of this camera is the lack of an image counter on the top LCD display.
The menu system is not logically layed out. It is the only Pentax camera that I had to refer to the manual to figure out how to do tings (eg. manual focusing aid in live view can be found under auto focus in live view). Also that you have to deactivate functions in order to activate other functions and/or get to access to submenues.

[brewmaster15]

I'm fine with it as is. I've had to put a little extra effort into getting used to the menus and play button location as I still use the original k-3. But for what the new K3 mk 3 gave me.... its so minor .

I rarely use the flippy screen on my cameras that have them...so not an issue though I recognize its value to many here.Would have been nice and a better marketing move for pentax,imo.

Seriously though, the k3 mk 3 has been for me an excellent camera that ticks off all the boxes of what I wanted if not perfectly, enough to make me happy. I'm sure if I looked closely at it I could find some things that could be done more to my liking , which isn't the same as better,by the way.

I already know that if I have the chance and can afford it I will most likely pick up a second body at my first opportunity, even if I have to sell off some of my other treasure.

Al

[gatorguy]

I don't have a K3 of any variety, but my understanding (could be wrong) is that it can't do focus bracketing, which would be a significant shortcoming. And, as has been mentioned, it would be very useful to have automated AF fine-tuning using comparisons to CDAF, including at various focal lengths for zooms.

My assumption is it could be added with a firmware update, but even then I'm pretty certain that it would only work with specific Pentax lenses. My guess is only the HDFA 16-50 at the moment, but perhaps the DFA21 and HDFA50 too? Notice the keyword: Guessing.

[MikeStnly]

Many people would say we're foolish to pay the asking price for a K-3 III when a Sony A7III is more or less the same price.

Not foolish when you have 28 Pentax lenses, two Pentax flashes (ring and regular), four of the required battery, a Pentax teleconverter etc. etc. etc.

[MikeStnly]

You guys need to meet my brother, he gets a new camera every six months - trades in all his lenses, flashes and so on. At a loss I might add. He loops through Nikon, Canon and Sony. His reason - no tilt screen, focus isn't as good, not enough megapixels, buffer to small, doesn't have the lens I want, not what they used to be. He has switched twice so far since going mirrorless - good grief Charlie Brown! The camera is what it is - learn it, use it, enjoy it.

The OP listed 12 things they didn't like or found questionable. Would you buy a car, TV, appliance or anything else that had 12 things you didn't like? Likely you would buy something else that was closer to what you were looking for.