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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
04-10-2014, 06:20 PM
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I don't know - they seem about neck-and-neck.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
04-10-2014, 05:34 PM
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DPR is generally objective in its reviews, and given the amount of time they spent with the K-3 I'd say they about nailed it.
Is this a fast action camera? It can be used as such, but I doubt any sports shooters would opt for it. Is it heavy compared to its size? Hell yes - over 2 pounds with the battery grip. Add to that the amount of heavy 30-year-old glass you can mount and your bag can suffer serious bloat.
But the main features are really at the top of this class of camera: great image quality, excellent noise performance at low ISO, good at high ISO. Excellent all-metal build, excellent viewfinder and LCD monitor.
And they are right about the AA simulator: mainly hoopla to offer a crutch to those who are unsure about buying a camera without an AA filter. I shoot a lot of vineyards and moire can be an issue in the background - but is always fixable in post. I've never used the AA simulator and I really like the sharpness the K-3 sensor delivers.
So the 83% is about right: DPR rarely if ever scores above 89%. So given this review and DxO raving about the sensor I think we can say Ricoh has done a good job. Best APS-C DSLR on the market!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
04-08-2014, 05:08 PM
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Yes it looks cumbersome but it's actually very light. I refer it on my tripod to my Panosaurus 2 - that sucker weighs a ton.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
04-08-2014, 05:06 PM
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Used my new BG-5 for the first time today and my K-3 locked-up twice. Firmware 1.03.
I had an old Takumar K-mount 135mm f/2.5 on at the time.
It was aggravating to say the least as I was in the middle of shooting a massive HDR panorama.So I was in remote bracketing mode at the time and had to switch off/on and reset everything.
By comparison my $50 aftermarket BG-4 clone from China that I use on my K-5 has never given me any trouble.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
04-02-2014, 10:22 PM
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Now it's number one with 12 percent.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
04-02-2014, 10:16 PM
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The model number is MS050M4-Q5
To use the anti-rotation restraining arm marked A, you have to move the plate over to avoid the grip - and that means that distances DB and DC are not equal. So when you flip from landscape to portrait orientation the center point of the lens is raised.
Ideally those distances should be equal, but without the battery grip there's no way to do that AND use the restraining arm, which matters because the damn camera will rotate a bit on the mounting bolt (you don't want to tighten it so much it gets stuck).
Like I said it's not an issue unless you depend on the center of the image staying the same when you change orientation: you have to adjust either the tilt of the ball head or the height of the tripod.
But it's something to be aware of if centering matters to you.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-28-2014, 08:32 PM
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They are taking their sweet time finishing it! But so far it's a McDonald's review: they're lovin' it! |
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-28-2014, 08:28 PM
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Just got my Manfrotto L-bracket (they are all the same - just the quick-release plates are different for the different QR mounts) - and it doesn't properly fit the K-3 unless you have the battery grip!
I mean it works, but because the distance from the bottom of the lens to the bottom of the camera is soooooo short you can't get it blocked-in so the center-of-frame is the same in both landscape and portrait orientation. If you have the grip on there then it should adjust correctly. If having that equal distance to the lens center from the bottom and from the left side isn't important to you (and it really isn't to me) then it's fine without the grip.
I'm mainly interested in using the portrait orientation to shoot landscape panoramas - all that is really important is that the ball head is centered with the axis of the lens, and that adjustment works fine without the battery grip.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
01-02-2014, 08:36 PM
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-19-2013, 10:40 PM
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The K-3 is at 30% and leading easily with about 4,500 votes cast!
You will always see posts about issues in a forum - when people have problems they seek information and commiseration. I'm sure the vast majority of K-3 owners have had my experience with the camera: so far, after a couple thousand shutter activations, it has been flawless. And the image quality is superb.
Every time I read about one of these issues I test my K-3, and so far I can't reproduce any of them.
Great camera!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-19-2013, 10:31 PM
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I just tested this using my 35mm f/2.4.
On the tripod both OVF and Live View shots were tack sharp.
Handheld the OVF shots were tack sharp (at 0.3 second) but the Live View shots were blurred - as you would expect since the OVF shots had the camera shoved up against my face and the Live View shots were held out at a distance.
I guess this is a good test for people to perform out of the box - just glad after a month with the K-3 mine was okay. I am very impressed with this camera. I thought it would be tough to improve on the K-5 but they've done it.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-19-2013, 10:04 PM
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Ah - I see - not "Menu" but the "Options" when you are viewing an image: one of the options is to convert raw to JPEG or TIFF! Excellent!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-19-2013, 09:59 PM
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I just looked at the Playback menu - it shows "Slideshow", "Quick Zoom", "Highlight Alert", "Auto Image Rotation", "Protect All Images", and "Delete All Images" - not a thing about conversion to TIFF.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-10-2013, 04:51 PM
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-10-2013, 01:40 AM
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The K-3 is the kine when it comes to HDR panoramas.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-06-2013, 08:43 AM
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The thing I find with the K-3 is I have less wiggle-room as far as my abilities as a photographer - it is less forgiving if I'm not on my game.
It's a more sensitive and refined device than the K-5. Especially as far as image noise is concerned, you have to think ahead and really visualize what the image is going to look like at the far end of the processing pipeline. I have also found that in Lightroom less is more with the K-3: less sharpening, less color tweaking, less contrast adjustment, etc. The only place I use more is noise reduction - take care of that at the start of your processing workflow and the results are great. It is especially useful to make local noise reductions using the adjustment brush: heavy in the sky or any "flat" color area, less where there is a lot of texture detail. But the extra 8 megapixels are just going to make the sensor more subject to noise because the photosites are smaller. I think we are seeing the limit for APS-C at 24 megapixels with current technology.
Once we get software with profiles for the K-3 the fight for IQ will settle-down. And of course the camera will improve with firmware updates from Pentax just as all digital cameras do.
My K-5 is resting in foam inside a hard case with my "extra" lenses. I won't sell it, but so far I haven't been tempted to take it out, either.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-06-2013, 08:29 AM
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Will these things fit with the bevel on the right side of the rear screen?
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
11-26-2013, 02:31 AM
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I'm still learning to process the images from the K-3. Granted there is no Lightroom profile, but I'm also finding a "less-is-more" approach to the K-3: less sharpening, less color tweaking, less contrast pushing.
The IQ is definitely different than the K-5, but I wouldn't say it's better or worse. The resolution of detail is amazing, though! But as far as processing work, I feel like I did when I got the K-5: still finding the right workflow and settings. I expect the release of Adobe's profile will help to find the sweet spot.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
11-17-2013, 01:40 AM
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In general just more and better everything.
Only two gripes so far: I don't like the position of the Live View button - it should be in the center of the LV/Movie switch. And I really get annoyed with the Info screen menu - I want to get the Level Screen with three presses of the Info button, not two presses, plus two presses of the Right button, plus a press of Okay. It's maddening. But I can't use the FX/Raw button for the Level anymore because that's controlling Shake Reduction now that there are only three User modes.
So that's three gripes: only three User modes is annoying, too.
But the new viewfinder is great, as is the new rear screen. Focus peaking is very cool. They have obviously redesigned the lens release button, as it's much more springy now and I don't fear it popping-off like on the K-5. I'm not finding the dual SD card slots as groovy as I thought they would be. It really seems like something for video users mostly, although if I was making a living with my camera having a backup as insurance would be very worthwhile. I think I'll mainly use it to get away with buying smaller and cheaper SD cards since now two 16s can fill-in for one 32.
But of course the BIG deal is the sensor: the resolution blows me away. Besides the larger image size the sharpness OOC is amazing. Just slightly more noise than the K-5 - no problem taming it in Lightroom.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
11-14-2013, 05:34 PM
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I use LR5, Photoshop, and Paintshop Pro from Corel.
I do 90% of my editing with LR5 and Photomatix (HDR) and Nik plugins. I use Photoshop for stuff like resizing, conversion to sRGB for Web, and some pixel-level editing that just can't be done in LR5.
I also use Photoshop for heavy-duty editing using layers and advanced tools - but I also use the far less expensive Paintshop Pro for these tasks - it is very capable and the new 64-bit version is comparable to Photoshop in features and performance. And it costs around $100 U.S. It is not, however, as popular as Photoshop, and when you are learning to do advanced editing almost all the books and articles you read will have examples in Photoshop. But most of the things you can do in Photoshop can also be done in Paintshop Pro. It also can use many Photoshop plugins (Nik's tools work, for example).
I have Paintshop Pro set up as my "alternate" external editor in LR5. Paintshop Pro also has a Bridge-like organizer and a Camera Raw-like raw converter - but LR5 is superior to either for raw work. It also has stuff like HDR processing, multi-exposure merge, etc. Paintshop Pro is not as refined as Photoshop, but it's good and it's stable. It also has a very similar interface (GIMP's interface drives me nuts).
Because I don't like "renting" my Photoshop for $20/month through Creative Cloud I am considering dropping Photoshop and just using Paintshop Pro.
Photoshop Elements is also a good choice if you need pixel-level editing features but not the advanced features of Photoshop (and really only pros or enthusiasts who are heavy into photo manipulation need Photoshop). It has the main features of Photoshop in a simplified interface: layers and brushes, etc. are all available. It also has a very nice organizer that can search on photos based on their content (like "find all images with cars in them"). Many Photoshop plugins also work in Elements.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
11-07-2013, 05:56 PM
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...as long as the features and quality are there and my K-mount glass works on it.
For how long did Pentax cameras also say "Asahi" on them?
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
11-04-2013, 02:18 AM
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I just worked this up in Lightroom 5.2 and the results are stunning! I won't step on the original poster's toes by posting it - but I am seeing no problems with exposure or white/black levels.
The amount of detail is really fine! And the noise at ISO 400 is easily tamed: very fine and consistent, not chunky or blocky and mainly luminance, not much chrominance noise.
My HP laptop is chugging to deal with the file size, though. Definitely the quad core desktop will be used to process these things.
I'm sporting a K-3 owner badge but damned Amazon won't deliver until the 19th - the slowest kind of time is time spent waiting for a new camera to be delivered.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
10-31-2013, 06:58 AM
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Not if I want to use Amazon's credit card....
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
10-31-2013, 06:34 AM
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They estimate my order arrival date at Nov. 19
That's a looong time....
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
10-29-2013, 10:13 PM
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