pentax k3 top lcd panel color made in china

Grid Display (4x4 Grid, Golden Section, Scale, Square(L), Square(S), Grid Color: Black/Gray/White ), Histogram, Bright area warning, Composition Adjustment

Digital FilterExtract Color, Replace Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Unicolor Bold, Tone Expansion, Bold Monochrome, Grainy Monochrome

White BalanceAUTO WB, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent Light (D:Daylight Color, N:Daylight White, W:Cool White, L:Warm White), Tungsten Light, CTE,

Playback ViewSingle frame, Multi-image display (20, 48, 70 segmentation), Display magnification (up to 16, 100% display, quick zoom and Focus Magnification available), Grid display (4x4 Grid, Golden Section, Scale, Square(L), Square(S), Grid Color: Black/Gray/White), Rotating, Histogram (Y histogram, RGB histogram), Bright area warning, Auto Image Rotation, Detailed information, Copyright information (Photographer, Copyright holder), GPS information (latitude, longitude, altitude, Coordinated Universal Time) , Orientation, Folder Display, Calendar Filmstrip Display

Digital FilterBase Parameter Adj, Extract Color, Replace Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Unicolor Bold, Tone Expansion, Bold Monochrome, Grainy Monochrome, Miniature, Soft, Fish-eye, Slim, Monochrome, Frame Composite

White Balance, Custom Image, Sensitivity, Digital filter, Clarity, Skin Tone, HDR, Pixel Shift Resolution, Distortion Correction, Peripheral Illumin. Corr., Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction, Diffraction Correction, Color Fringe Correction, High-ISO Noise Reduction, Shadow Correction, File Format (JPEG/TIFF), JPEG Recorded Pixels, JPEG Quality, Aspect Ratio, Color Space

SettingsUSER Mode, Fx Button, AF/AE Lock Settings, Preview Dial, E-Dial Programming, Smart Function, Monitor Touch Operation, Eye Sensor, Viewfinder Display, LCD Panel, Monitor Display, Instant Review, Zoom Review, Warning Display, Control Panel, Memory, EV Steps, ISO Sensitivity Steps, Color Temperature Steps, Input MF Lens Focal Length, Save Rotation Information, Aperture Information Record, AF Fine Adjustment, Copyright Information

My listed price for this camera is the average of the two used K-3 II bodies that I bought; the first is a black body that had just under 4000 shots when I bought it from Japan on Ebay, and the second is the silver edition that had only 279 shots on it when I bought it also from Japan on Ebay (shipping costs and taxes included, as my total costs). After I got the black K-3 II, I was so impressed with it in so many ways that I looked for another K-3 II in mint condition on Ebay, and I came across the Silver Edition model that was hardly used and pounced on it. I had thought that the silver editions of Pentax digital cameras were too �gaudy� for me (the only such Pentax camera I�ve owned is the K1000, which was standard in top silver), but the silver coloring has really grown on me with the K-3 II. I needed another good back-up camera with lots of high-level features (including the dual card slots, GPS, Astrotracer,etc.), so getting a second K-3 II body was logical for me at under half the cost of a new K-1 II. I like the fairly long battery life of the K-3 II � important to me when doing lots of long astrophotography at night.

One curiosity for me is that Nikon digital SLR cameras have lowest ISO values of 64, with or without effective EV correcting of 1 stops(and those with ISO 64 standard go down to 32 ISO with EV correcting of 1 stop),and iPhones can be set as low as ISO 24 for photography. I used to shoot a lot of film at ISO 25 and50, and I�ve not figured out why Pentax can�t set their ISO ratings that low. Also, I�d really prefer 30 or 36 megapixels in this camera; that�s my biggest complaint about this camera, by far. What that would do in an APS-C sensor is really refine the pixel size to make them much smaller; I realize that that would cost a bunch more. But when I take photos of Saturn and Jupiter with my 500-mm f/4.5 lens, it�s not the lens that is limiting the sharpness but rather the pixel size in my K-3 II sensor. (I have not tried pixel shift with Saturn and Jupiter, but will do so at some point, out of curiosity.)

Others have commented elsewhere on the poor owner�s manuals that do a poor job explaining many things and leave some things out totally �and really are poorly organized in many ways. I�ll give one example: what is called �Interval Shooting� in the manual; the manual starts out by giving steps of how to do �Interval Shooting� without ever saying what �Interval Shooting�actually is or does (every section should have an introduction saying what the feature is that they are going to gives steps for implementation, and to say why you might want to use that particular feature and what all that feature can do for you; the manual has it backwards � or worse, confusing and problematical). Pentax/Ricoh should solicit ideas and input/writing from Pentaxians (Pentax Forum members) to write a much better manual, even if they offered to pay; the response would probably be very high, very excellent, and possibly even at the volunteer level.

Sometimes I wish that this camera could be quicker to do certain things without multiple menus steps; for example, I�d like a button to just turn off the rear LCD screen quickly and keep it off (it�s a five-button effort) when I�m doing my astrophotography. A very minor issue is that I�ve actually bounced up against1/8000 sec (the top shutter speed in the K-3 II) numerous times in bright light for certain applications, and have had to stop down when I didn�t necessarily want to. I�m still amazed that the K70 and KP cameras use a different cable-release device than all the other Pentax digital cameras (including the K-3 II and the K-1II). Since I�ll be buying the K-1 II/III eventually,it�s also a huge plus to me that the K-3 II and K-1 (II) batteries are interchangeable.

Kudos to Pentax for not giving in to having touch screens; I find that the more digital that camera screens are, the worse they are,practically. Buttons and dials are very superior to touchscreens in just about everything but smartphones (certainly incars, and on DSLRs, and in laptops/computers); smudge-prone, finicky touchscreens are just way over-done in our over-teched society today. I only really need my rear LCD screen for checking out my just-taken photos to check exposure or to change something inthe menu; most of the time, I just keep the rear LCD screen off, as I rarely use LiveView (and then primarily when I�m shooting video). I don�t want to be paying extra premium prices for some of this digital stuff in a camera; I�ll go buy a mirrorless video camera for that, thank you.

Just like its predecessor, the Pentax K-3 II is based around a 24.35-megapixel CMOS image sensor with Bayer RGBG filter array. Dimensions are 23.5 x 15.6mm, and total resolution is 24.71 megapixels. Maximum image size is 6,016 x 4,000 pixels.

Like the K-3 before it, the Pentax K-3 II doesn"t include an optical low-pass filter. It does, however, feature an on-demand mechanical antialiasing function. More on that in a moment. (Or read Dave Etchells" "Geek"s Guide to On-Demand Low-Pass Filtering" from our Pentax K-3 review for the full story; the feature is unchanged from that camera.)

Also retained unchanged from the Pentax K-3 is Ricoh"s PRIME III image processor. (That"s a contraction of "Pentax Real IMage Engine", if you"re curious.)

Compared to the earlier PRIME II chip, the PRIME III processor has improved noise processing, and delivers cleaner images. It also provides for improved performance, as we"ll see in a moment. Another nice feature is that it can handle H.264 video compressionrather than the inefficient Motion JPEG compression of Pentax DSLRs prior to the K-3.

Like the K-3 before it, the Pentax K-3 II has an overall sensitivity range of ISO 100 to 51,200 equivalents, lacking the ISO 80 position of the K-5. The entire range is available without needing to enable ISO expansion as in some competing cameras, and step sizes of 1/3, 1/2, or 1EV are available.

There"s also an Auto ISO sensitivity function, whose upper limit can be manually set anywhere up to ISO 51,200 equivalent. And as in past cameras, you can configure the Pentax K-3 to raise sensitivity more or less quickly than the default.

The Pentax K-3 II"s sensor, processor, mirror / shutter / diaphragm assembly, and mirror damping together allow super-swift shooting to a manufacturer-rated 8.3 frames per second.

The Pentax K-3 II wouldn"t be expected to differ significantly in performance from the earlier K-3, sharing as it does that camera"s imaging pipeline. However, interestingly our in-house testing discovered that it was around one frame per second faster in burst mode than was the K-3, which was a rather surprising result. (And this occurred regardless of file type.) With a measured 8.1-8.2 frames per second, it now comes much closer to the manufacturer rating of 8.3 frames per second. The manufacturer-rated burst depth of around 60 JPEG or 23 raw frames also pairs nicely with the in-house test figures of 50+ JPEG or 22-23 raw frames.

Ricoh says that the Pentax K-3 II"s Shake Reduction system will provide a full stop greater corrective action than that in the previous K-3. The platter-mounted sensor (1) and magnetic coils (2) are unchanged. The improvement comes, instead, from a more precise gyro sensor.

And finally, we come to the first area in which the Pentax K-3 II is predicted to best its predecessor: image stabilization. As in the K-3, the K-3 II uses a three-axis Shake Reduction stabilization system, which can correct for vertical and horizontal motion, as well as for rotation around the central axis of the lens.

However, a new high-precision gyro sensor means that Ricoh can provide a 4.5-stop correction to CIPA testing standards, where the earlier K-3 had a 3.5-stop corrective range, and the K-5 / K-5 IIs yielded a 3-stop range. (You may have seen higher numbers stated for the K-5 series cameras, but these were to Pentax"s own testing standards, rather than the more strenuous CIPA standard test which the company now uses.)

And that"s not all. The Pentax K-3 II now includes a panning detection function, which determines that you"re panning to follow a moving subject and then automatically ceases its attempt to stabilize motion on that axis, but still stabilizes the other axes. This will prove handy for the most typical panning motion in most sports.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this video might be worth a million. The Pixel Shift Resolution system makes perfect sense once you see how it works to get full color information at every pixel.

The really big news in the Pentax K-3 II for still-life shooters and anybody else with static subjects is the brand-new Pixel Shift Resolution function, which we covered in quite some detail on our news page. That being the case, we"ll give you the nutshell overview here.

Where Pentax"s approach differs is that it takes four shots with full-pixel steps instead of eight shots with half-pixel steps, and it outputs each image at the sensor resolution, rather than at a significantly higher resolution. The downside is that there"s likely more scope to improve detail using Olympus" methodology, but the upside is that file sizes can be much smaller the way Ricoh is doing things, and there"s less time and processing power expended, too.

And while the output resolution is no different to that of a standard, single-shot image, there"s little question that by getting full color information at every pixel, Ricoh can still significantly improve detail. (You only need to look at images from the Foveon X3 sensor-based cameras from Sigma, which actually record full color at every pixel in a single shot, to see that.)

Nor is it just improved detail and a reduced incidence of moiré, false color and jaggies that makes the Pixel Shift Resolution function worthwhile. It also reduces image noise and yields a finer-grained noise structure, since the additive exposures for each pixel can be used to average out luminance noise, and the remaining noise isn"t interpolated outwards to surrounding pixels.

The only real shame here is that the function only works for static, tripod-mounted images with an electronic shutter. (But that"s just a factor of the way the technology works, and Olympus" rival system has the exact same limitation.) Although as you"ll read in our first field test, you can actually work around this to some extent in post-processing, so long as you shoot in raw format and use Pentax"s provided software as part of your workflow.

The Pentax K-3 II retains the company"s unique Anti-Aliasing Filter Simulator function, which debuted in the previous K-3 model. It"s neatly explained in the video above.

When Ricoh launched the original K-3, it debuted a revolutionary new way of combating moiré, false color, and jaggies when needed, yet maximizing sharpness the rest of the time. Instead of the resolution-robbing optical low pass filter used by some cameras, Ricoh achieved the same thing with a very fine motion of the image stabilization system during exposure.

For those who want to know the nuts and bolts, the Anti-Aliasing Filter Simulator function is explained in detail by IR publisher Dave Etchells in our "Geek"s Guide to On-Demand Low-Pass Filtering", part of our Pentax K-3 review. If you"re already familiar with the system, which has since appeared in the K-S1 and K-S2 cameras, though, you know everything you need to about how it works in the K-3 II: It"s functioning is identical to that with a K-3 running the latest firmware.

But that"s still better than the alternative from other manufacturers of a full-time low-pass filter or software techniques to combat moiré. (Which, incidentally, the Pentax K-3 II does also offer in playback mode.)

The Pentax K-3 II"s KAF2 lens mount is a variant of the K-mount that has been used in all Pentax digital SLRs to date, as well as the K-01 mirrorless camera. According to Pentax, the K-mount has the "largest offering of APS-C optimized lenses in the imaging industry".

In all, there are 46 Pentax K-mount lens models currently on the market or scheduled to ship imminently, ignoring variants of existing lenses such as DA-L vs. DA (plastic vs. metal mount), WR vs. non-WR (weather sealed vs. non-weather sealed), and HD vs. non-HD (newer versus older anti-flare coatings). Of these 46, all but six are DA, DA*, DA Limited or D FA-lenses, with the D in their names indicating that they were designed specifically for use on digital cameras rather than film.

And of course, as well as these 46 current optics, you can use older Pentax K-mount glass (some with restrictions), as well as the company"s historic 35mm screwmount and 645/67 medium format lenses with an adapter (and again, with restrictions.) You can also mount a wide selection of third-party K-mount lenses from the likes of Sigma, Tamron, and more, and optics from a healthy variety of other mounts with adapters (and limitations).

Ricoh has retained the same DR II dust removal system used in other recent flagship models for the new Pentax K3 II. It uses a piezoelectric element that vibrates at higher frequencies than a sensor shift system can, and in our experience systems like these typically do a better job of shaking free dust that"s stuck to the sensor"s protective cover glass.

To help you decide when a more detailed cleaning is needed, the K3 II also retains its predecessors" dust alert function, which helps you to locate stubborn dust particles on the sensor for manual cleaning.

Also unchanged -- at least, compared to a K-3 running the latest firmware -- is the Pentax K-3 II"s lens correction functionality. This can correct for lens distortion, lateral chromatic aberration, vignetting and diffraction in-camera when using DA and DFA lenses, as well as with some FA Limited lenses.

The Pentax K-3 II retains its predecessor"s 86,000 pixel RGB CCD metering sensor, which replaced the earlier 77-segment metering sensor of models going all the way back to the K-7 in 2009. If you have one of those earlier cameras, it should allow for much more precise metering measurements. And since it"s an RGB chip, it can also recognize color information, allowing it to help out with subject identification.

The K-3 II"s metering system has a wide working range of -3 to 20 EV with a 50mm f/1.4 lens at ISO 100. Metering modes on offer include Multi-segment, Center-weighted and Spot, and an exposure lock function is available, accessed with the AE-L button at the top right corner of the camera. You can also specify up to +/-5EV of exposure compensation, or bracket 2, 3, or 5 exposures with up to 2EV between exposures. For either compensation or bracketing, you can specify your adjustment in 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps.

Another feature that was upgraded in the previous-generation cameras -- and hence retained unchanged in the new model -- is the Pentax K-3"s autofocus sensor, which is branded as SAFOX 11. However, there is a difference in the way it"s used, which we"ll come to in a second.

As in earlier flagship models, you can also define whether a focus lock or a full shutter button press should be of greater importance to the Pentax K-3 II. In single-servo mode, you can choose focus priority to have the camera wait to trip the shutter until a focus lock is achieved, or shutter priority to take it as soon as you full press the shutter button. In continuous or AF-A modes, you can opt for focus priority, or frame rate priority (which takes another photo as soon as the shutter has recycled and there is available buffer space to do so).

Perhaps the biggest difference on the exterior of the Pentax K-3 II is its slightly taller pentaprism hump, and if you look closely, you"ll find that there"s no longer a built-in flash strobe. That"s a change which will delight some photographers (who see built-in popup strobes as merely something easy to break should they drop the camera), yet will disappoint others (who see an internal strobe as a belt-and-suspenders option for that time when they forgot to bring a flash, but needed a little extra light on their subject).

Speaking of which, the standard hot shoe on the top deck also includes both support for a locking pin, and intelligent connections that allow for Pentax"s P-TTL flash metering system. And the aforementioned PC sync socket is protected by a small, screw-in cap, although it isn"t attached to the camera body, so you"ll want to ensure it"s snug so as not to lose it. Still, it"s nice to have the terminal at all -- many competitors force you to buy a hot shoe to PC terminal adapter, if you want to hook up your studio strobes.

The Pentax K-3 II now has a built-in GPS and electronic compass, allowing latitude (1), longitude (2), altitude (3), date / time (4) and heading (6) to be captured automatically. An indication of GPS signal strength (5) is also provided.

The reason for the absence of an in-camera flash is that the Pentax K-3 II now features a built-in GPS receiver and electronic compass. With its body being predominantly crafted from magnesium alloy, there was really nowhere else to put the antenna for the GPS radio except in the top of the pentaprism housing, and that didn"t leave room for a popup flash strobe.

The upside here is that the Pentax K-3 II can now geotag your images with their capture location, the direction the camera was pointing, and the extremely accurate time provided by the GPS satellites.

Of course, we live in a world where there are now multiple competing standard for satellite positioning systems, and so when one refers to GPS, it isn"t immediately clear which systems the device is compatible with. For the Pentax K-3 II, it"s compatible with the United States government"s GPS system, but not other systems such as Russia"s GLONASS, China"s Beidou, Europe"s Galileo or India"s IRNSS. That doesn"t mean it can"t get a fix in these regions, though, as GPS has pretty-much global coverage -- it just means that it can"t take advantage of the extra satellites from the rival systems to gain a faster, more accurate fix.

What it can do, though, is to improve the quality of its positioning using a number of augmentations to the GPS system. These include the US Federal Aviation Administration"s WAAS in North America, the European Union"s EGNOS inside Western Europe, India"s GAGAN within the Indian subcontinent, and both the MSAS and proposed QZSS systems within Japan. In other regions, the Pentax K-3 II will fall back to relying solely on the base GPS system for its location information.

Nor is that all. The Pentax K-3 could do something pretty cool with its optional O-GPS1 GPS Unit accessory, and since the K-3 II effectively builds that into the camera, it can now do the same thing with no extra accessories. If you"ve ever tried to shoot an image of the night sky to reveal the details invisible to the naked eye, you"ll certainly appreciate this.

By combining information from the GPS receiver, compass, orientation sensors and lens, the Pentax K-3 II can determine how quickly stars will be moving across the night sky, and in which direction. It can then use the Shake Reduction system to counteract their motion, allowing for much longer exposures than would normally be possible without causing star trails to form.

Ricoh has also retained the viewfinder used in the K-3 for the followup Pentax K-3 II. Like that of earlier models dating back to the K-7, it"s pentaprism-based, and has a manufacturer-rated 100% coverage. Magnification is said to be 0.95x, and the viewfinder accepts interchangeable focusing screens. The bundled screen is an MF-60 Frame Matte type. Also unchanged is the dioptric adjustment range of -2.5 to +1.5m-1, which provides around 20 click detents.

The Pentax K-3 II"s rear-panel LCD monitor, too, is retained from the K-3. It has a 3.2-inch diagonal, a 3:2 aspect ratio, and a total dot count of around 1037k dots. And helping combate glare and low contrast, the monitor has a gapless design.

For quick at-a-glance checks of basic setup, battery life and shots remaining, there"s still a monochrome info display on the top deck. For nighttime viewing, it has a green backlight which illuminates when you adjust any control. If you don"t want to disturb your night vision, the backlight can be disabled.

The Pentax K-3 II offers the same selection of exposure modes as did the K-3. As well as Green (fully automatic), Program (with program shift), Shutter priority (Tv), Aperture priority (Av), Manual, and Bulb, there are a couple of Pentax exclusives: Sensitivity priority (Sv), and Shutter-and-Aperture priority (TAv). In these latter two modes, you can either dial in a sensitivity and let the camera select aperture and shutter speed, or dial in the aperture and shutter speed, then let the camera select the sensitivity. There"s also a Flash X-Sync mode, which locks the shutter speed at 1/180 second.

Drive mode options in the Pentax K-3 II include continuous (high, medium, or low), self-timer (two or 12 second), remote control (instant, three second, or continuous), bracketing, mirror lockup, HDR, and multiple exposure. (More on these last two in the creative section below.) The bracketing mode allows 2, 3, or 5 shots with up to 2EV between exposures.

The Pentax K-3 II"s shutter speed range is unchanged from that of other recent flagships, and the shutter mechanism itself is the same one featured in the K-3. It has a rated lifetime of 200,000 cycles, and is pretty quiet for an APS-C DSLR. Available shutter speeds range from 1/8,000 to 30 seconds in 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps, plus bulb.

The Pentax K-3 II"s white balance system is unchanged from that in the K-3, including its interesting Multi Auto WB mode, which aims to neutralize color casts from multiple different light sources in the same scene. As well as Automatic and Manual modes, the K-3 II provides ten white balance presets (Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Daylight Color Fluorescent, Daylight White Fluorescent, Cool White Fluorescent, Warm White Fluorescent, Tungsten, Flash, and Color Temperature Enhancement). This last option is used to retain and enhance the lighting tone - for example, to enhance a sunset.

White balance can also be measured from a neutral target, or a specific color temperature can be dialed in manually, using either Kelvin or Mired values. Three custom white balance values of each type can be stored in-camera. And finally, you can adjust white balance within a +/- 7-step range on both amber-blue and green-magenta axes.

Even by enthusiast DSLR standards, the Pentax K-3 II has a healthy selection of creative options. We"ve already briefly mentioned a couple: HDR mode and multiple-exposure shooting.

Custom image and digital filter effects in the Pentax K-3 II are unchanged from its predecessor. Custom image modes include Bright, Natural, Portrait, Landscape, Vibrant, Radiant, Muted, Bleach Bypass, Reversal Film, Monochrome and Cross Processing. Digital filters include Extract Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Unicolor Bold and Bold Monochrome.

Like the flagship models which precede it, the Pentax K-3 II can optionally embed copyright data into its raw and JPEG image files. You can enter both a photographer and copyright holder name from the camera body, and the headers of images will be tagged with both. It"s not a permanent tag, and so you can"t rely on it to protect your images from copyright theft, but it does make it so that you can easily identify who shot a particular image in your library.

Also unchanged is the Pentax K-3 II"s dual-axis level gauge function. This detects both side-to-side roll, and front-to-back pitch. Roll is displayed in the viewfinder, and on both top / rear LCDs. Pitch can be displayed only on the rear LCD. There"s still no way to calibrate the level gauge yourself -- a retun to the service depot is needed if the tilt sensor loses its calibration.

Ricoh goes a step further than most DSLRs, which simply show the degree of side-to-side roll, though. The Pentax K-3 II can automatically correct for up to two degrees of roll in either direction if Shake Reduction is disabled, or one degree if it"s enabled. If you"re driven to distraction by tilted horizons, it"s a great feature to have.

Horizon correction takes advantage of Pentax"s sensor-shift system, and so to does composition correction. This is handy when you"re shooting on a tripod, and want to make very slight adjustments to composition. You can move the sensor left, right, up, or down, and rotate it by up to a couple of degrees, fine-tuning your composition to perfection.

The Pentax K-3 II"s Movie mode is much the same as that in its predecessor, but if you"re using an earlier Pentax DSLR, it"s a big step forwards. The reason: There"s no more dated, inefficient Motion JPEG compression, with the Pentax K-3 II instead using MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 compression in a .MOV container. (OK, that"s not entirely true -- interval movies, which we"ll come to in a second, are still shot with Motion JPEG compression. All real-time movies are shot with H.264 compression, though.)

The Pentax K-3 II captures movies at up to Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixel; 1080p/i) resolutions, with a generous selection of frame rates. These include interlaced 60i / 50i or progressive-scan 30p / 25p / 24p at Full HD resolution. At the lower 720p resolution, you"ll find the same selection, except that the interlaced frame rates are replaced with progressive scan 60p / 50p rates.

Unlike models prior to the K-3, the Pentax K-3 II also allows autofocus during movie capture. It"s not the fastest and it only provides single operation, rather than full-time autofocus. Still, it means you don"t have to pull focus manually or set your shoot up so as to keep your subject within depth of field.

There"s still a 25-minute clip length limit in the Pentax K-3 II, and so if you need to have longer continuous shooting, you"ll need to look for another solution.

And we mentioned that the Pentax K-3 II supports interval movie capture. This works much as it did in the K-3, and shoots at up to 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160 pixels). If your clips are lengthy, you can expect some seriously colossal file sizes -- around 3GB per minute -- at this resolution, thanks to the Motion JPEG / AVI compression. That said, the ability to shoot ultra high-def time-lapse video is nevertheless pretty cool.

Pentax"s flagship DSLRs have a reputation as among the best-sealed in the business, and the Pentax K-3 II"s body is no less comprehensively dustproof and weatherproof, thanks to seals at all controls and body seams. The number of seals is still listed as 92 in total, despite the deletion of the popup flash strobe. The K-3 II is also still freezeproof to 14°F / -10°C, and works reliably in temperatures up to 104°F / 40°C.

Add in Pentax"s weather-resistant strobes and even a weather-sealed infrared remote, and there isn"t a link in the chain that can"t be used in dust and rain. If you plan to shoot in inclement conditions, rest assured: this is truly part of a take-anywhere system.

Like the K-3 before it, the Pentax K-3 II offers something rather rare in the camera world: a USB 3.0 Micro B connector, in place of the USB 2.0 connectors found on most cameras. Otherwise known as SuperSpeed USB, USB 3.0 is theoretically 10x faster than USB 2.0 (aka Hi-Speed USB) -- and it"s backwards compatible, so if it"s not yet supported by your PC or Mac, you can still get USB 2.0 rates with a standard cable.

Acknowledging that standard-def is now a thing of the past for most of us, the Pentax K-3 II offers only a high-definition Type-D Micro HDMI output. We"ve already mentioned much of the K-3 II"s remaining connectivity, which includes 3.5mm stereo mic and headset jacks, an intelligent hot shoe, PC sync terminal, front and rear infrared receivers, and a connector for the same optionally-available D-BG5 portrait / battery grip as used by the K-3. There"s also an 8.3V DC input, which works with the K-AC132 AC adapter kit.

The Pentax K-3 II retains the same D-LI90 battery as its predecessors, and battery life is unchanged from the K-3, although you might think there had been an improvement if you just glanced at the spec sheet. The reason: The K-3 II no longer includes a built-in flash strobe, and so while the CIPA-standard test for the K-3 has 50% flash usage, there"s no flash used for the K-3 II"s test figures.

Speaking of storage, the Pentax K-3 II still writes its images in JPEG or 14-bit PEF/DNG raw formats. And just as in the K-3, there are dual card slots which the camera can write to in several different ways. You can either write to the cards sequentially, first filling one and then the other, or write to both slots simultaneously for a backup, or write raw images to one slot, and JPEG images to the other slot.

It also supports two differing wireless flash card formats: either the well-known Eye-Fi cards, or the lesser-known Trek Flucards, for which a Pentax-specific 16GB card is available.

The latter provides not only for file transfer, but also for remote control. When shooting with a Pentax Flucard, you can receive a remote live view feed, select the autofocus point remotely, and trip the shutter remotely. You can also adjust other settings such as ISO sensitivity, aperture, shutter speed, and exposure compensation. And you can transfer reduced-size or full-size images -- but not raw files -- via standard Wi-Fi to your PC or smart device. All devices control the camera via a web browser, with no app needed.

We"d still like to see an official tethered shooting solution -- if for no other reason than that we want to see apps like Adobe"s Lightroom and Phase One"s Capture One supporting tethered shooting with the Pentax K-3 II -- the presence of any remote control solution is still good news, as prior to the K-3 it had been years since the last Pentax model with official remote shooting support.

Available accessories include the Pentax D-BG5 portrait / battery grip, which is dust / weather sealed, accepts a second D-LI90 battery pack or six AA cells, and provides duplicate shutter-release, AE-lock, AF, ISO, exposure-compensation and green buttons, as well as a preview lever and dual electronic dials. Pentax also offers an own-branded O-FC1 16GB Flucard Wi-Fi SD card, and a 50cm long, 4cm wide O-ST1401 camera strap in red or black.

The K-3 represents a series of steps forward for the Pentax line - not just with the addition of features such as anti-aliasing simulation, but also in the inclusion of a more advanced autofocus and metering systems. The autofocus system shows real promise but we weren"t able to get the full benefit from it, as many of the system"s lenses aren"t particularly fast at focusing. It still doesn"t feel as polished at the systems used in cameras such as the Canon EOS 7D. The Nikon D7100 is a safer bet in this respect, too, though it is somewhat hobbled by its small Raw buffer - 7 images, rather than the K-3"s 23-or-so.

The Info menu provides access to all the features you"re likely to regularly change and the button to toggle between AF point selection and using the four-way controller for dedicated functions is a nice idea - giving you direct access to AF points but making the four dedicated functions accessible (or vice versa). It would be nice to see those four functions represented in the Info menu, so that you don"t ever have to stop to think "actually, is this on the four-way or in the Info panel?" but, since the functions are marked on the buttons, this is something you learn pretty quickly.

The camera also offers a simple, but effective range of tools for managing dynamic range and balancing image tonality. Sadly the K-3 holds true to Pentax"s JPEG color rendition, which we"ve never particularly enjoyed. We found we were able to coax nicer results out of the camera on an image-by-image basis but weren"t able to find any single set of Custom Image settings that gave results to the standard we"ve come to expect from the likes of Olympus and Fujifilm.

The K-3 offers the strongest video specs yet for a Pentax, including a headphone socket for monitoring the recorded audio. We"re not convinced the video quality is sufficiently high that many people will be paying that level of attention to the audio quality of their recordings, especially given the lack of focus aids while recording video. Overall, then, the K-3"s video performance is about par for the current generation of DSLRs, but not strong enough to sway you if video is your priority.

We can"t recommend the camera unequivocally: the K-3"s autofocus takes a big step forwards but we"re not convinced much of the company"s lens range really allows users to take full advantage of these capabilities. Equally, it wouldn"t be our camera-of-choice if video was a priority. However, it remains a deserving flagship in the DSLR system that offers one of the strongest ranges of dedicated APS-C lenses, meaning it has lots to offer a great many photographers. It"s not a camera to change systems for, but it"s well worth upgrading to, and good enough to make the Pentax system worth considering if you have no existing commitments.

Grid Display (4x4 Grid, Golden Section, Scale, Square(L), Square(S), Grid Color: Black/Gray/White ), Histogram, Bright area warning, Composition Adjustment

Extract Color, Replace Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Unicolor Bold, Tone Expansion, Bold Monochrome, Grainy Monochrome

Single frame, Multi-image display (20, 48, 70 segmentation), Display magnification (up to 16, 100% display, quick zoom and Focus Magnification available), Grid display (4x4 Grid, Golden Section, Scale, Square(L), Square(S), Grid Color: Black/Gray/White), Rotating, Histogram (Y histogram, RGB histogram), Bright area warning, Auto Image Rotation, Detailed information, Copyright information (Photographer, Copyright holder), GPS information (latitude, longitude, altitude, Coordinated Universal Time) , Orientation, Folder Display, Calendar Filmstrip Display

Base Parameter Adj, Extract Color, Replace Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Unicolor Bold, Tone Expansion, Bold Monochrome, Grainy Monochrome, Miniature, Soft, Fish-eye, Slim, Monochrome, Frame Composite

White Balance, Custom Image, Sensitivity, Digital filter, Clarity, Skin Tone, HDR, Pixel Shift Resolution, Distortion Correction, Peripheral Illumin. Corr., Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction, Diffraction Correction, Color Fringe Correction, High-ISO Noise Reduction, Shadow Correction, File Format (JPEG/TIFF), JPEG Recorded Pixels, JPEG Quality, Aspect Ratio, Color Space

USER Mode, Fx Button, AF/AE Lock Settings, Preview Dial, E-Dial Programming, Smart Function, Monitor Touch Operation, Eye Sensor, Viewfinder Display, LCD Panel, Monitor Display, Instant Review, Zoom Review, Warning Display, Control Panel, Memory, EV Steps, ISO Sensitivity Steps, Color Temperature Steps, Input MF Lens Focal Length, Save Rotation Information, Aperture Information Record, AF Fine Adjustment, Copyright Information

As the pioneer of SLR cameras in Japan, PENTAX has devoted all its assets — its philosophy, technologies and passion — to the development of this remarkable camera.

The PENTAX K-3 Mark III features a high-performance viewfinder with a high-refraction glass pentaprism to provide approximately 1.05-times magnification (with an FA 50mm F1.4 lens set at infinity). Despite the compact, lightweight APS-C-format SLR body, it delivers a truthful, wide-view image equal to that of a full-frame SLR, and helps you to become more fully immersed in the photo-shooting process. This viewfinder also provides an almost 10-percent increase in brightness, thanks to the improved reflectance of the pentaprism, while also assuring a nearly 100-percent field of view. By incorporating a distortion-compensating optical element and optimizing the lens coatings, it provides natural, true-to-life image rendition with high-magnification observations.

Optimizing the sense of immersion in the photo shooting processSince the viewfinder eyepiece is designed to protrude from the LCD viewfinder display screen — to prevent your nose from contacting the camera body — you can look into the viewfinder more naturally and comfortably. The eyepiece also features an eye sensor, which turns the monitor off the moment you bring your eye up to the eyepiece ring. This prevents the status screen’s illumination from affecting visibility during shooting, while allowing you to capture images more comfortably.

Optimizing the ease of operationThe PENTAX K-3 Mark III features a transparent LCD viewfinder display that provides a broader range of data in the viewfinder window. Because you can adjust the camera’s settings without taking your eye away from the viewfinder, you can concentrate more fully on the subject. The camera also allows you to program the desired combination of display data, such as grid pattern and AF focus point, making it easier to swiftly change settings for a specific scene or subject.

The PENTAX K-3 Mark III features a leaf switch, a mechanism previously used in the PENTAX 645Z and PENTAX K-1. Compared to the tactile switch more commonly used in compact SLR cameras, the leaf switch provides a lighter, smoother shutter action and minimizes the camera shake caused by the shutter-release action. It also helps you by providing effortless hold-down of the shutter-release button during continuous shooting. The time lag between the shutter release and an image capture has also been reduced, compared to the PENTAX K-3 II, while the camera’s mirror- and shutter-driving mechanisms have also been upgraded. By reducing unwanted mechanical actions such as mirror bounce, it provides crisp, pleasant shutter-release action. You can feel the smooth action and speedy response every time you press the shutter-release button.

For comfortable shooting and easy carrying, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III’s grip and control-button layout have been optimized to accommodate different hand sizes and finger lengths. Perfected after producing a series of mock-ups and conducting repeated verifications, they let you to concentrate completely on your photo shooting.

The conventional Hyper Operation system allows you to instantly shift the AE mode to Tv (Shutter-priority) or Av (Aperture-priority) when the camera’s exposure mode is set to P (Program). The PENTAX K-3 Mark III"s new-generation Hyper Operation system provides more flexible exposure-mode control, by adding a new Advanced mode* to the conventional Standard mode. *The Standard mode is set as default. The Advanced mode is a customizable option.

The PENTAX-original Smart Function provides easy, single-action selection of menu items and functions. Featuring a new Smart Function button, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III now lets you preprogram a maximum of five functions from 22 options, and displays a list of the selected functions in the viewfinder window, so you can select the desired function without removing your eye from the viewfinder. It even lets you select and program the desired values for each function, allowing you to more precisely customize this function to meet your preferences.

Customization of electronic dialsThe PENTAX K-3 Mark III lets you customize the functions of the front/rear electronic dials, Green button and Smart Function dial (when the Smart Function is assigned to one of the electronic dials). You can also set the functions separately based on the shooting format (still-image or video) or exposure mode. You can even set the ISO button shift to the ISO Auto mode, or use the exposure compensation button to function as a reset button. Simply by assigning the desired function to each of these buttons, you can easily and freely customize camera operations.

The PENTAX K-3 Mark III features a large 3.2-inch LCD monitor with touch-screen control. By combining intuitive touch-screen control with the four-way controller and the front/rear electronic dials, it provides a new, user-friendly system that enhances speedy camera operation.

LCD panelOn the top panel, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III features a second LCD panel, which provides easy confirmation of the functions and settings selected for the Smart Function, in addition to providing basic data such as exposure and drive-mode settings.

You must be aware that each of your classic and cherished lenses creates its own distinctive ambience in captured images. That’s why the PENTAX K-3 Mark III has been designed to accommodate classic lenses. The camera not only saves the aperture value as Exif data when you set a desired aperture using the electronic dial, but also lets you measure the light and capture images at closed-down aperture. It even accommodates the TAv mode.* It also provides more segmented setting of the lens’s focal length in SR (Shake Reduction) shooting.

*The PENTAX K-3 Mark III allows AE photography at the closed-down aperture for M-series lenses and lenses that previously could be used only in open-aperture shooting.

Manual input of lens focal lengthWhen required to manually input the focal length of a lens for SR operation, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III allows you to select a desired length from the history log, in addition to the preprogrammed ones, to minimize the time and trouble required for manual setting.

To further improve image quality, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III incorporates a newly adopted, back-illuminated imaging sensor with approximately 25.7 effective megapixels. It also features an AA (anti-aliasing)-filter-free design to faithfully reproduce the delicacy of light, or the fine outlines of a subject.

For the PENTAX K-3 Mark III, PENTAX developed the PRIME V imaging engine and the second-generation accelerator unit. This combination provides a harmony of flawless, high-speed operations and super-high-sensitivity, high-quality imaging, all at a level of performance higher than ever before. The overall performance of the PENTAX Real-time Scene Analysis System and the autofocus system has also been much improved to ensure: flawless, high-speed operation; super-high-sensitivity, high-resolution imaging; better autofocus performance; and a broader range of shooting functions.

Superb imaging power over the entire sensitivity rangeThanks to its multi-dimensional image space filtering process, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III greatly reduces noise, while still retaining the subtle outlines of a subject. This advanced technology optimizes the camera’s resolving power, and faithfully reproduces the subject"s texture and detail. It also improves image description in the lower sensitivity range, while minimizing unfaithful reproduction of blacks in the higher sensitivity range where color reproduction becomes more difficult. Even at the top sensitivity of ISO 1,600,000, it delivers a natural, well-defined image with a sharp subject outline and vivid colors.

Thanks to the incorporation of the new PRIME V imaging engine, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III features the much-improved Fine Sharpness function to more faithfully and finely reproduce the subject"s outline and detail. Preset as a default setting, this function reproduces the subject"s details more naturally and sharply, while reducing the adverse effect of noise to a minimum.

The never-ending pursuit of high-quality imagingWith the renewal of the image sensor, imaging engine and accelerator, PENTAX has further enhanced the PENTAK K-3 Mark III’s image quality. This was based on PENTAX"s image design concept emphasizing the faithful reproduction of detail and texture. Through repeated sensibility evaluations, PENTAX made great improvement in overall image quality, by efficiently controlling the camera’s noise-reduction process while paying the utmost attention to the total balance of captured images, with an emphasis on factors such as the natural reproduction of gradation and color.

PENTAX Real-time Scene Analysis SystemThis PENTAX-original system, which performs an in-depth analysis of each individual scene by assessing such factors as the brightness distribution over the image field and the subject’s shape, color and motion, has been greatly upgraded, thanks to the incorporation of a new RGBIr AE sensor with approximately 307,000 pixels, which detects the subject in greater detail than before. Coupled with the state-of-the-art imaging engine, it performs accurate detection of the subject"s face and eyes in viewfinder shooting, along with high-precision tracking of moving subjects. Combined with an image recognition system adopting Deep Learning technology, it provides highly dependable exposure control and automatic selection of the optimal focus point.

To apply the finishing touch that recreates the impression or emotion you felt during shooting, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III"s Custom Image function features 13 distinctive modes to add a variety of visual expressions.* Each mode offers effortless adjustment of parameters such as saturation, tone, key, contrast and sharpness.**

This unique white balance mode allows you to emphasize an impression color and dramatize your personal impressions for such scenes as dramatic sunrises and sunsets, fresh green leaves in spring, or clear, blue skies in summer. In contrast to the standard Auto White Balance mode, it adjusts the white balance setting to emphasize the image"s dominant color to create a distinctive visual effect.

The PENTAX K-3 Mark III"s SR II mechanism compensates for camera shake caused by horizontal and vertical shift, roll, pitch and yaw, with a wide compensation range up to approximately 5.5 shutter steps*. In addition to the all-purpose Auto mode, this mechanism also provides a Panning mode to capture slow-moving subjects. You can choose the mode that provides the ideal compensation effect for your subject.

*In terms of the shutter speed used for still images: measured in conformity to CIPA standards, using an HD PENTAX-DA 16-85mmF3.5-5.6ED DC WR lens set at a focal length of 85mm.

Pixel Shift Resolution SystemBy taking advantage of the SR II mechanism, this innovative system* captures four images of the same scene by slightly shifting the image sensor for each image to obtain all RGB color data for each pixel, then synthesizes them into a single, super-high-resolution composite image. This assists the camera in producing super-high-resolution images with true-to-life colors free of false color or noises — something conventional cameras fail to deliver.

1) Light　 2) Color information obtained　3) CMOS image sensor receiver 　4) Motion of sensor　 5) Each pixel obtains color and brightness information of every RGB

AA (anti-aliasing) filter simulatorThis PENTAX-original simulator* effectively minimizes moiré and false color by activating the SR II mechanism to apply microscopic vibrations to the image sensor during exposure. For ordinary shooting, you can turn this off to maximize the camera"s resolving power as delivered by its AA-filter-free design. Then you can activate it for certain scenes or subjects which require a filtering effect.

Thanks to the combination of a newly developed mirror and shutter driving unit and the high-speed, high-performance PRIME V imaging engine, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III provides a high-speed drive system with a maximum speed of approximately 12 images per second in the AF.S mode, or approximately 11 images per second in the AF.C mode. This system lets you capture a momentary expression of the subject, which couldn’t otherwise have been captured by previous models.

High-speed, high-precision mirror and shutter driving unitTo improve driving speed during continuous shooting and upgrade the performance of AF and AE systems, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III features a new mirror and shutter driving unit to greatly reduce the time needed to drive the mirror and shutter mechanisms. By minimizing the effect of mirror bounce, it also helps increase the camera’s driving speed, while securing sufficient time for distance and light measurements. As the result, the operation time required to capture a single image has been reduced to about two-thirds of the PENTAX K-3 II.

Highly dependable, responsive coreless motors are installed to drive the mirror and shutter mechanisms. Light sensors monitor the position of the cam gears driven by these motors with great precision, assuring more accurate control of the drive and stop points of these mechanisms during high-speed continuous shooting.

The weight of the entire main mirror unit has been reduced to minimize collision energy, while a new damper mechanism instantly stops the mirror action to reduce mirror bounce. The sub-mirror’s drive and stop mechanism also features a new design to optimize mirror action and reduce mirror bounce.

The number of focus points in the PENTAX K-3 Mark III have been increased to 101, from 27 in the PENTAX K-3 II. The AF area also has been greatly expanded. Of 41 user-selectable points,* 25 are cross-type sensors. This high-density AF system enhances the flexibility of image composition, while optimizing focusing accuracy on the subject. Since its middle focus point is designed to detect an F2.8 luminance flux, the camera assures super-high-precision focusing when using a bright lens with an open aperture of F2.8 or larger.

AF area selectionThe PENTAX K-3 Mark III provides a choice of the AF area from Auto Area, Zone Select, Select, Expanded Select Area (S, M or L), Select (S) and Spot. A newly installed AF point selector lever makes it easier to intuitively select the optimum focus point. Since the camera displays the selected AF coverage area and the selected AF focus point in the viewfinder window, you can adjust the image composition and select the focus point simultaneously.

The camera’s continuous autofocus (AF.C) mode allows you to maintain sharp focus on a subject, regardless of direction of motion. An improved motion prediction algorism accurately detects the subject’s complex movement, which was rather difficult to predict with previous models. It also reduces the effect of the unstable motion speed and irregular stops and restarts, as well as the effect of obstacles.

In developing the PENTAX K-3 Mark III, PENTAX focused especially on superb handling and easy carrying — the most prominent features associated with APS-C-format SLR cameras. While making many functional improvements over the PENTAX K-3 II, PENTAX kept the width and height at the same dimensions as the PENTAX K-3 II, while reducing the depth (the space between the lens mount and the LCD monitor surface) by approximately 2.5mm. This slim design allows for a greater protrusion of the viewfinder eyepiece to make image-viewing easier, while realizing PENTAX’s design concept of a compact body size and easy viewfinder photography.

The PENTAX K-3 Mark III’s top, bottom, front and rear panels are all made of magnesium alloy. This lightweight, high-rigidity material not only protects the camera’s internal mechanisms from shock and vibration, but also creates the look of a solid, high-grade camera body.

Anticipating use in low-temperature locations, PENTAX has subjected the camera to exacting environmental tests at temperatures as low as -10°C*, while assessing the performance of its mechanisms and electronical circuits and measuring the precision of optical components.

The PENTAX K-3 Mark III provides a pair of SD card slots. One of the slot conform to the UHS-II standard for high-speed data writing operation. You can save data files on two separate memory cards, with a choice of recording modes: Sequential, Duplicate and RAW/JPEG Separation. You can also copy images for transfer between the two cards.

The camera features an outdoor-friendly LCD monitor whose brightness level can be easily adjusted to the desired level: make it brighter during outdoor shooting in sunshine, or dimmer during nighttime photography. This monitor also provides a Night Vision Display function, which minimizes eye strain or fatigue after the photographer’s eyes have become accustomed to a dark location during nighttime shooting, such as astronomical photography.

The PENTAX K-3 Mark III captures 4K-resolution movie clips (3840 x 2160 pixels; 30 or 24 frames per second). The camera’s touch-screen panel makes it easy to select movie-recording functions and exposure settings, while the SR II mechanism provides its shake-compensation effect for movie recording.

The PENTAX K-3 Mark III is compatible with Bluetooth 4.2 for transferring the position data detected by a mobile device to the camera via Image Sync and recording it on a captured image, making it simple to organize images captured in the field.

The menu has been completely revised for the K-3 Mark III. With the new arrangement of the menu options, their position in the menu has also changed. For all Pentax photographers who already shoot with a PENTAX DSLR, we have compared the K-3 Mark III menu with the menu of the following cameras:

With the optional O-GPS1 GPS Unit mounted,* the PENTAX K-3 Mark III captures beautiful images of celestial bodies without the need for an equatorial platform. Based on the data obtained by the GPS unit, it calculates the movement of celestial bodies with great accuracy, then shifts the image sensor in synchronization with their motion. Since it captures stars without a streaking effect even during extended exposures, you can record faint stars as sharp points.

The PENTAX K-3 Mark III features a variety of convenient creative tools to edit captured images, including: Composition Adjustment for flexible trimming of an image (with a choice of an aspect ratio and the adjustment of the image’s tilt); Level Correction; and White Balance Control. The camera also provides a choice of 18 digital filters (or 11 filters during shooting) to add a unique visual effect to a captured image. You can apply as many as seven filters to a single image.

With the PENTAX K-3 Mark III, you can select the desired set of AF modes and functions based on the subject’s motion, or the prevailing photographic conditions.

In addition to compensating for distortion, vignetting at the edges, and lateral chromatic aberration caused by specific lens properties, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III compensates for the drop in resolving power caused by diffraction, which results from capturing an image at closed-down aperture.

The PENTAX K-3 Mark III provides in-body development of RAW-format image files, and saves them as separate JPEG- or TIFF- files. You can add a desired visual effect or finishing touch to a captured image by compensating for lens properties, adjusting white balance and controlling various parameters of the Custom Image modes.

PENTAX provides a wide selection of interchangeable lenses exclusively designed for APS-C-format cameras, including: the Limited series, which demonstrates the lens designer’s sensibilities unaccountable by numerical values and captures a true-to-life ambience; and the Star (★) series, which is developed through the pursuit of ultimate optical performance, and with a goal to captivate the photographer by delivering breathtaking image rendition. Unrivalled in operability and portability, PENTAX lenses come in many types —from ultra-wide angle to super telephoto — to meet every demand made by photographers.

There are more features with this camera, but that list is still very convincing, and amazing for what you get for the price these days. I remember not too long ago that a list with just a few features the one above had constituted a pro level camera! Fact is the K5IIs has a lot more than that list above and is probably one of the most comprehensive DSLR"s on the market in terms of capability (less the K3 of course).

Personalization is the name of the game with Pentax, so I won"t make recommendations to readers on how to set up your K5IIs in regards to functions and buttons. However, I will suggest a few things that might not have occurred to you that are advantageous, as well as image quality settings for Jpegs that will give you the most detail and output for your card space (if you are going to save 16mp Jpegs, they should have the most detail, right?).

First off, setting up the K5IIs"s LCD back ground color to RED will help you with night blindness. Did any of you know that red keeps the eyes from dilating? In fact, in near darkness, a red shirt will look darker than a black one in the same scene. Bet you didn"t know that. So if you want to change it to red like me, go to the tool main menu, scroll down in section 1 to Status Screen, then scroll down to Display Color and arrow through till you see red pop up. Done. Hard to find actually!

Auto Five. I highly recommend using auto focus using the central 5 points for fast moving subjects or in general. I"m primarily a spot AF user (central AF point always), but Pentax did such a good job in the Auto 5 implementation that I find I use it more than spot AF. They seem to prioritize the central spot of the 5 in auto use, which makes a lot of sense.

For Jpeg shooters (those who do not also shoot or develop raw files), I think its best to turn off noise reduction completely, and back off sharpening to its lowest setting. There is still some noise reduction being applied even though Pentax gives an "off" setting (why do manufactures call it off when its not?). This is plenty of noise reduction while still keeping a good amount of detail. Sharpening is best done later since you can decide what kind of sharpening and how much you want applied. Since this camera does not have an anti-aliasing filter, not much sharpening is needed anyhow.

Three key differences separate the K5IIs from the K5, and two differences separate the K5II from the K5. A new Safox X AF module promises more accurate AF, and better low light AF. A new gapless resin mated glass LCD screen covers the backside which gives the user scratchless ease of mind, and better viewing angles. The third difference and only difference from the K5IIs and the K5II is that the sensor is now anti-alias filter free, which allows for more fine detail to be captured right off the sensor. With this benefit however, the unfortunate influx of moire can be seen in certain areas of the images, but only in certain subjects. Lets talk about the differences.

your K5IIs screen looking sharp. In short, I love the "new" LCD screen. It"s easy to see in just about most circumstances (bright sunny light on it will be difficult as all screens are), its plenty detailed, and highly tunable for color, contrast, and brightness. It may not be a white magic type LCD panel, but I don"t think photographers are going to miss that much.

Finely rendered details, especially when using excellent glass, are improved dramatically (just see test below in Sensor Performance). Just like the Ricoh GR, the lack of the anti-aliasing filter means that every shot is clean right off the lens, blurring via a filter is no longer hindering the performance of the glass in front of the sensor. Although moire (false colors) can be present in repeated pattern subjects, the presence of such in real life shooting is very minimal. Granted I"m shooting mainly natural subjects, but even moire can be removed with a bit of post processing. If moire is something of a major issue for you, then get the K5II or K3 DSLR"s.

Benefits of having more fine detail vs. a comparable 16mp sensor with the filter in place include- Larger and detailed print capability, and more cropping capability. Every lens you attach will now show more fine detail, and especially so on really good performing lenses such as one of the many prime lenses that Pentax offers.

Detail with a sharp lens is simply, superb. Please, I employ you to use a good lens though if to really see what you can get from the K5IIs. You don"t have to use an expensive lens! The below shot is using a very affordable Pentax DA 50mm f/1.8 at f/5.6, which is around $200.00 USD. The first sample below is a 100% crop of an image below, using Elements 12 from raw (ACR developed), no NR or sharpening was applied at all. Not bad, right?

For perspective, take a look at the scene before a crop was applied above. I"ve yet to see detail rival this sensor on any camera up to 20 mega pixels in fact. The detail you get rivals what most 24mp sensors could give you that have an anti-alias filter over the sensor. It"s that good. The K3"s detail, must be freaking off the chart with a good lens. This kind of detail on the K5IIs would make for an excellent 30x40" print right from a raw file.

So ok, we know how the K5IIs performs at lower ISO"s which really shows no measurable noise at all. So for landscapes, detail and dynamic range are the name of the game here (along with excellent color depth, ranked #35th on DXOMarks site overall in this category). The reason for the lower score than the other two, is likely due to some on chip NR being done before the final processing begins in camera. Some believe this sensor would perform even better had Pentax not chose this method, but who is really complaining? I"m not.

Now when shooting