Pentax K-3 Mark III Review

Wi-Fi, Tethering and Software

Wi-Fi

The K-3 III can serve as a Wi-Fi access point, to which a mobile phone can connect. To do so, Wi-Fi must be activated via the camera menu. The phone can then connect to it by entering the right password (displayed in the Wi-Fi menu in the camera).

To take advantage of this connection, Ricoh-Pentax provides the Image Sync app (available on iOS and Android). This app allows essentially complete control over the camera. This app has been around for some time, but has been completely rebuilt recently (a good thing as the first version was not popular among users).

When opening the app, it proposes these options to connect (clicking on any screen capture on this page will show a larger view):

Selecting the K-3 III offers, option to select either Bluetooth (see below) and Wi-Fi.

After selecting Wi-Fi, the camera becomes remotely controlled.

Activating Live View (via the round icon at the bottom right) brings up the full image preview.

The user can select the focus point by touching the phone's display, as if it was the camera's touchscreen.

Touching the exposure parameters labels below the image gives access to those settings.

The display can be rotated at will.

The app offers numerous setting options:

Image Sync can also be used to review and transfer images.

We are happy to report that, even though the transfer speed is still not class-leading, it is significantly improved versus earlier models (like the K-1). This is a welcome improvement.

Using the app to control the camera and capture images is a smooth experience. Communication is reliable and fast, with low latency and minimal delays. The connection process takes a bit longer than what we would prefer, but works smoothly.

Bluetooth

The K-3 III is detectable as a Bluetooth device. This connection is only used to provide the camera with localisation info, so that files can be tagged. The phone thus acts as a GPS position provider.

Digital Camera Utility 5

Digital Camera Utility 5 is the photo editing tool supplied by Pentax. It is based on SilkyPix.

Instead of providing a CD-ROM, the program is now included directly within the camera! To access it, first go into the menu, in the fourth group (Setup), fourth page (Communication settings), then select USB Setting -> CD-ROM. Connecting the camera to a computer via USB-C will show the camera as a non-changeable drive with the DCU install file on it.

Using the CD-ROM mode prevents the user from accessing data on the memory cards. To do that, the USB Setting must be reverted to MTP.

Micro-HDMI

The K-3 III supports HDMI output via a micro-HDMI port. This lets the camera connect to a TV or monitor, or even a computer via an HDMI-to-USB adapter.

Cables such as the ones proposed here are good choices.

USB tethering

On September 27th, 2021, Ricoh released firmware v1.20, which adds USB tethering functionality when using the optional Image Transmitter 2 software. Which have not tested the functionality with the K-3 III but this software has been reviewed in the past.

Verdict

The K-3 III offers a solid list of connectivity options. At the forefront are Wi-Fi and the Image Sync app. This app works quite well and is intuitive in most of its use cases. Transfer speeds have improved with this new camera model, and the app is a true wireless tethering solution.