Pentax announces K-3 "The ultimate field camera"

[mattb]

Yesterday Ricoh, who now owns the Pentax brand released their new flagship camera, the much-anticipated K-3. It's still using a APS-C (crop) sensor, and this has upset a few who were waiting for a full frame, but for the most part it seems well-received and looks like a great follow-up to the K-5.

Newsworthy features:

• New (to Pentax) 24 MP sensor with no AA filter and the ability to simulate an AA filter using sensor movement if one is needed to combat moire.
• Dual memory card slots.
• Weather proof (as expected)
• New AF system
• USB3
• Wifi with phone integration via an add-on card

I have to say it looks good to me. I'm ready for a new body and will probably be getting one in the next few months, depending on how business goes for me (need to save some money)
Speaking of money, it's cheaper than I was expecting at $1300 USD for the body only. That sounds like a great value!

I'm also looking forward to some early reviews to see how the new tech performs.

Official K-3 page

[Photo-John]

Thanks for posting this, Matt. I was working on the Nikon D610 announcement yesterday and wasn't able to get to this until today. I'll have a detailed announcement article with photos up later tonight.

What are your favorite features on the new camera? I'm curious about the image quality, since I assume it has some version of the same sensor the Nikon D7100 is using. I'm also curious about the "simulated" AA filter. That's a very curious feature.

I think the most important feature is the upgraded AF system. I thought the image quality on the K-30 was excellent but the auto focus was a definite weak link. Hopefully it's more competitive now. I can see myself recommending the K-3 to lots of people if the continuous auto focus is actually useable.

[Photo-John]

Went a little nuts with the K-3 intro article - it's huge. But I think it's worth it. It's a very interesting camera. Hopefully it will be a big deal for Pentax.

New Pentax K-3 Intro >>

The main things I'm curious about are the sensor and the auto focus. If the sensor is the same one that Nikon is using for the D7100, and the continuous auto focus is sports-worthy, the K-3 could be a game changer for Pentax.

[OldClicker]

The Pentax sensor is reported to be the same one as in the Sony A77. I haven't seen anything yet to confirm that the D7100 is the same.

[Photo-John]

The Pentax sensor is reported to be the same one as in the Sony A77. I haven't seen anything yet to confirm that the D7100 is the same.

Interesting. Where did you see that, Terry? I wonder if the D7100 sensor is the same, but without an AA filter? I had an NEX-7 for a bit last year and was disappointed in the image quality. I thought the newer 16-MP sensors looked better. I note that Sony hasn't introduced any 24-MP APS-C sensor cameras since the A77. Could that mean it is the same sensor?

[mattb]

I think I heard it was a non-Sony sensor (Fujitsu maybe? Can't remember) and now I can't find where I saw that. I'll report back if I locate it again. It may have also been just a rumor/speculation.
The AF system also intrigues me and I hope it lives up to expectations. I find continuous AF on my K-5 is ok but not great.
The faster frame rate and bigger buffer should be nice for sports, I'm sure I'd make use of that.
I'm hoping they have improved on the already really good high ISO performance of the K-5. I love shooting in the dark, so that's an important feature for me.
More pixels will be nice too for cropping options and big prints.
Flash sync was a little disappointing but I'm fairly used to working around that and have found FP/HSS to be a good alternative to faster sync.

Finally, it's great to see innovation and some excitement around the brand. I like what Ricoh has brought to the company and look forward to seeing what they do next.

[ken1953]

Thanks for the updates everyone. Like others, I'm in real need of an upgrade. My *ist DL is in need of major repairs, especially the shutter release button. It sometimes sets itself off. Needless to say, I've gotten some interesting "shots".
Looking forward to see how this camera performs as I have been thinking of switching to a full sensor camera.

[mattb]

I have to say that AA filter tech looks interesting too! If I was going to buy a new body before this it would have been a K-5 IIs which is the one without the AA filter. In most cases not having one is a benefit for IQ so if I get a K-3 I'd probably leave that turned off most of the time. But it's nice to know you could enable it if presented with a moire issue at some point. I guess the hard part is knowing you're having the issue while out shooting - it may not be obvious until you download the photos.

[mattb]

The sensor manufactuurer seems to be in question still. There was a thread on Pentax Forums that said:

"The sensor in the K-3 is extremely likely to be the same Toshiba chip found in the Nikon D7100 and D5200, as all three sensors have a total resolution of 24.71 megapixels. As reviews of the latter two cameras have shown, the new 24-megapixel sensor is capable of outperforming the K-5/D7000's old 16-megapixel chip in all areas, albeit to a small extent."

Read more at: K3 Sensor - It's SONY - PF is wacked out ;-) - PentaxForums.com

But then other posts contradict that and say no it's a Sony sensor. I guess we may need to wait and see. Sony would make the most sense IMO since that is what they used in the K-5 and it was very well received.