[rr1736]

Two days ago I received my new K3 mark 3 the camera so far has proved to be worth the price.. I wondered when I unpacked my camera why Pentax has gotten away from a out of Camera battery charger replacing it with charging via a USB C cord into the camera. Now I always have extra batteries for my Pentax camera which I have charged and ready to go at all times. I would never leave an unattended camera charging that could be a disaster ( falls, spills, pets ect. ) what were they thinking at Pentax.

I do not see how changing the charger is a cost saving it is just weird

[cmohr]

I think it's more about what the Kids want, just plug it in and go. I will say, that I personally still charge my batteries with my old charger from previous cameras, and like you am cautious about just leaving the camera charging away unattended, but will say, the USB charging is better for traveling, you can top up the battery quickly between shoots if out and about in the car, and even at cafes and such when walking about.

[i_trax]

I think it's more about what the Kids want, just plug it in and go. I will say, that I personally still charge my batteries with my old charger from previous cameras, and like you am cautious about just leaving the camera charging away unattended, but will say, the USB charging is better for traveling, you can top up the battery quickly between shoots if out and about in the car, and even at cafes and such when walking about.

and I can just use one USB-C power source for everything ( !) , my MacBookPro , iPads , iPhones , Nikon , Sony , Fuji etc and now also , thanks God , Pentax

[RobA_Oz]

I think we’re seeing the same change that started with mobile phones, a while ago. A continual waste stream of chargers going to scrap as people ditch their old phones for new ones. Cameras (digital ones, of course) are a different case, but the principle is the same. If you don’t have an old charger from a previous body, it’s easy enough to buy a new one.

I’m with i_trax. The fewer chargers I have to pack in my bag, the better. I will say, however, that I recently added a 30,000 mAh charger pack to my kit, and that recharges everything when I’m in a remote area.

[Paul the Sunman]

I just use an old one.

[luftfluss]

Nikon and OM/Olympus are also shipping cameras sans charger. Cheaper and more environmentally friendly.

[clackers]

Two days ago I received my new K3 mark 3 the camera so far has proved to be worth the price.. I wondered when I unpacked my camera why Pentax has gotten away from a out of Camera battery charger replacing it with charging via a USB C cord into the camera. Now I always have extra batteries for my Pentax camera which I have charged and ready to go at all times. I would never leave an unattended camera charging that could be a disaster ( falls, spills, pets ect. ) what were they thinking at Pentax.

I do not see how changing the charger is a cost saving it is just weird

It's faster charging, RR, that's of real benefit.

The camera itself also can be used to charge your phone out in the field, that's very handy.

USB-C is here to stay, I'm afraid!

[Not a Number]

For years one of the wished for features in the multitude of "Pentax/Ricoh must/should/has-to" threads has been USB charging. Be careful what you wish for.

[zapp]

Cheap feature. Charger costs extra. I would never charge a battery inside the camera.
An external charger should also work with the same cable that is used for in-camera charging.
Whatever Pentax presented great gear recently and needs to make money. K3iii is great, an extra charger just costs a little more.

[Fogel70]

Two days ago I received my new K3 mark 3 the camera so far has proved to be worth the price.. I wondered when I unpacked my camera why Pentax has gotten away from a out of Camera battery charger replacing it with charging via a USB C cord into the camera. Now I always have extra batteries for my Pentax camera which I have charged and ready to go at all times. I would never leave an unattended camera charging that could be a disaster ( falls, spills, pets ect. ) what were they thinking at Pentax.

I do not see how changing the charger is a cost saving it is just weird

I believe most people buying K3 III already have multiple chargers they can use. So in many cases it is wasted resources supplying another charger.

[house]

I have three unused Pentax chargers still in the box. I'm quite sure I'm no alone. Makes perfect sense to avoid that waste.

[JPT]

My understanding is that the charge times are something like this (from memory)
- Old charger - About 6 hours
- In camera with new adapter - About 4 hours
- New adapter with optional outside charger - About 2 hours

I do wish they had provided the charging cradle with the camera, but it only costs about 5,500 yen (I guess about $50). I was interested to see that the similar optional charger for the Olympus OM-1 is an astonishing 14,300 yen. Admittedly it will charge two batteries at a time, but it's a lot to pay to be able to charge outside the camera. And each battery costs 11,000 yen too compared to Pentax's 7,480 yen..

I think the appeal of USB-C is when you have multiple devices, and especially if you go traveling and only need to bring one charger for your phone, camera, computer, headphones, etc. That's very convenient. I'm close to the point where everything portable I own can charge from USB-C.

I also think that Pentax has been quite customer friendly in keeping the existing battery for so long and committing to it into the future. If you want to avoid any expense, you can just use your old chargers with the new camera. If you just want fast charging for your older camera, you could buy the new adapter kit and have the benefit with cameras as old as the K-7.

In my case, I've been using the old chargers mainly, but one day I realized I needed to charge more quickly before going out. I was able to do that in camera. I'll probably get the new external charger soon, and that will mean I can charge not only my K-3 II faster, but also my K-01 and K-5 IIs.

[zapp]

129€ is the price for the charger in Europe. Time to go third party which I hate to do.
USB-C is a common ground, but you are more likely to own a USB-C cable than a Pentax battery charger. Chargers come and go with cameras. The day, I am selling my K1 for an update, there will be no charger left. Try taking images while your camera is hooked up to the cable, OK they only provide one battery with the camera, so why bother. The second battery plus charger is 200€.
I can easily live without the strap - anyone wants to swap strap for charger?
I like all m6 Pentax gear, but no charger just increases cost of ownership.

[VictorDA]

129€ is the price for the charger in Europe. Time to go third party which I hate to do.

To you and the OP: as stated by others above, many Pentax users have multiple unused original D-BC90 chargers laying around (personnally I have 1 extra).
Anyone who needs one for their K-3III: maybe it's time to write up a "Wanted" post in the marketplace section, I'm sure someone can send you one for a few eurobucks.
It will be cheaper, more reliable, and more environmentally-friendly that buying a new no-name Chinese one with doubtful CE compliance.

[Macario]

129€ is the price for the charger in Europe. Time to go third party which I hate to do.
USB-C is a common ground, but you are more likely to own a USB-C cable than a Pentax battery charger. Chargers come and go with cameras. The day, I am selling my K1 for an update, there will be no charger left. Try taking images while your camera is hooked up to the cable, OK they only provide one battery with the camera, so why bother. The second battery plus charger is 200€.
I can easily live without the strap - anyone wants to swap strap for charger?
I like all m6 Pentax gear, but no charger just increases cost of ownership.

The 129€ is for the quickcharger. If you buy the normal one it is about 70€