pentax k3 top lcd panel color in stock

The K-3"s interface is very similar to that of other current Pentax DSLRs. The K-3 menus are essentially a mix of the K-5 interface and the K-50 interface, with a few new screens and settings as needed.

One key thing we"d like to mention in this section is that the K-3"s larger 3.2" LCD screen is a big upgrade. Even though its resolution (pixel density) could have been higher (it has 1037k dots vs. the K-5"s 921k dots), the key selling point is that the new screen has a 3:2 aspect ratio. This means that the live view image as well as images in playback mode will fill the entire screen! The increased area is of course also a plus.

During the adjustment process, the settings are shown in the viewfinder, on the top LCD, and the rear LCD, if enabled. When the camera reverts to shooting mode the AF mode is only shown on the rear LCD, if enabled.

Having a physical switch for the AF mode settings would have been nice, but it was inevitable, though, that Pentax had to do away with the switch as it would have been hard to accommodate more than 3 focus modes on a physical switch. Still, the new interface for AF does slow things down some. It also introduces a bit of button duplication: for example, the 4-way pad cannot be used to access sub-menus as long as AF SEL mode is highlighted.

Pentax forgot to add an arrow that points at the metering symbol on the top LCD when holding down the metering button (a minor inconsistency, as the arrow is shown for shutter speed, aperture, ISO, memory cards, and AF modes). They got it right on the rear LCD, though.

The K-3"s live view display behaves just like it did on earlier Pentax bodies: it does not offer a real-time preview of the actual exposure. Instead, it always tries to keep the scene properly-exposed and this impacts the utility of the histogram and highlight alert features.

Viewfinder diopter adjustment. On previous Pentax DLSRs this was a sliding switch and somewhat fiddly to use. The new design is an improvement. The adjustment range is -2 to +1.5

Green button: Its main function is to reset various shooting parameters. With legacy lenses with aperture rings but no "A" position, the green button is used for stop-down metering

AF point selection: Enables/disables moving the focus point with the four way pad. In playback mode it toggles between the two SD cards This button is active even if the rear LCD status screen is disabled. This means that you can activate focus point selection and use the viewfinder rather than the LCD to select the desired AF point if desired. After pressing this button, the 4-way pad cannot be used to access the WB, flash, drive mode, and custom image sub-menus until it is pressed a second time, so you must remember to do so after you"ve selected the desired AF point. This confusion could easily be avoided if the rear LCD were automatically enabled while selecting AF points, thus alerting the photographer that the primary function of the 4-way pad is disabled. Pentax could also add a timeout for the button"s effect via a firmware update. An icon is in the viewfinder indicates whenever select mode is active, so this is only an issue when you"re caught off-guard and just want to change some settings.

Status of various shooting settings can be displayed on the rear monitor. Most of what"s shown is a duplication of the information on the top LCD, but it is very useful to have this information on the back when shooting on a tall tripod for example. At other times it is annoying that this screen comes on, but it is easily disabled by hitting INFO twice and selecting it off.

The MENU button exits out of the Control Panel. Or you can hit the INFO button again, allowing you to select whether or not to show the Status Screen in shooting mode, and if so, how much information to include. Additionally, from this screen you have the option to select the electronic level to help vertically and horizontally level your shots (most effective when used while mounted on a tripod), and the final button allows for a compass and coordinate reading. This right-most button will be greyed out and inaccessible unless you have the optional Pentax O-GPS 1 accessory mounted to the hotshoe.

While Pentax was at it, they went all the way! The screen also adjusts to being held upside down as shown here with the electronic level. The electronic level, in addition to allowing you to hold the camera steadily, adds an automatic horizon correction feature that straightens your images when possible.

Images will also rotate in playback mode, but the corresponding metadata does not. This feature from the older Pentax K-7 has finally been brought back!

Overall, you do need to spend a bit of time to get accustomed to the K-3"s facelifted interface. After a while with your camera, finding the right settings becomes second nature, and at that point you can start taking full advantage of Pentax"s intuitive interface.

The playback mode on the K-3 is very similar to what we"ve seen on previous bodies, but a few key changes have been made. First of all, it has become slightly more tedious to switch between various information displays while in playback mode. On older Pentax bodies, the info button simply caused the camera to cycle between the different screens. Now, the info button brings up a pop-up menu, and you must select the desired screen using the 4-way pad or e-dial, and then confirm using the OK button. This adds two extra button presses if you just want to view detailed metadata, for instance.

Zooming out while viewing the whole image lets you access the thumnail view. The K-3 can display 6, 12, 20, 35, or 81 thumbnails at a time (the default is 20). This gives you much more flexibility than on the K-5, but is overwise similar to what we"ve seen in Pentax"s recent entry-level DSLRs like the K-50 or K-500. To change the number of thumbnails shown, press the info button while in the thumbnail view.

The K-3 allows users to adjust the rear screen"s brightness, contrast, and colors. You can also choose one of 12 background colors used throughout various displays. Thanks to these settings, you can set up the screen so that it"s easy for you to read and use.

The K-3"s user interface is well laid out in the usual Pentax way which is intuitive and user friendly. With this particular camera we must say, though, that complexity has gone up and can be a bit overwhelming at first. Switching between playback mode screens has become slightly more tedious, and due to button duplication, you might be caught off-guard when accessing some of the camera"s functions, based on the current context. Overall, though, we"re happy to see that the the K-5"s aging interface has finally been modernized.

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

Pentax, which has had a somewhat rocky and quiet go of it in the last few years, has stayed out of the mirrorless fray. Ricoh, Pentax"s parent company, has doubled down on DSLR cameras. Well, "doubled down" is probably not the right phrase, as new cameras have been few and far between.

Finally, Pentax"s flagship APS-C camera series, the K-3, has a new entry in the form of the K-3 Mark III. The camera has been teased for months, and Pentax has gone so far as to publish some amazing deep-dive articles about its development leading up to its release this spring. It"s evident that a lot of attention has been given to the K-3 III, and Pentax"s team of engineers and designers have worked hard to make it a great APS-C camera.

To that end, I think that they"ve hit the mark in some ways and missed it in other, perhaps more critical, ways. If you"re going to make a new DSLR in 2021, there"s a difficult decision to make. Do you do everything in your power to try to compete with mirrorless cameras in every aspect? Or, and this I think is the better choice, do you instead dial in on the relative strengths of DSLR cameras and ensure that the final product offers substantial physical controls, robust build quality and an enjoyable – and familiar – user experience? I believe Pentax mostly went the latter route, much to benefit the K-3 III"s design. However, I think that it might just be the case that there"s not a lot of room for a new DSLR camera in 2021, after all.

While DSLRs have primarily given way to their mirrorless counterparts, there"s something to be said for the traditionally chunky, rugged form factor of a good DSLR camera. While there are mirrorless cameras with large grips and heavy-duty designs, of course, very few of them feel quite as substantial in the hands as the new Pentax K-3 III. It"s a rugged, well-built camera.

The K-3 III is a weather-sealed camera, protected against dust, moisture and freezing temperatures. The camera"s front, back, top and bottom panels are constructed of sturdy, lightweight magnesium alloy. While the camera is tough and feels very solid, it doesn"t feel overly heavy. With its battery and an SD card inserted, the K-3 III weighs 820 grams (1.8 lbs). It"s not a featherweight camera, but it"s a bit lighter than the Nikon D500, which weighs 860g (1.89 lbs.). Of course, compared to a mirrorless APS-C camera like the Fujifilm X-T4, the K-3 III is considerably heavier (820g versus 526g).

On the back of the camera are function buttons (which double as directional buttons), a dedicated autofocus joystick, a rear command dial, AF button and much more. The top of the camera has another dial, the Smart Function dial. This can be used to quickly access a wide variety of the camera"s most important settings and functions. And it, too, can be customized. There"s also a Smart Function button on the top of the camera, plus direct access to exposure compensation, ISO, stills/video modes, and a jam-packed mode dial. The shutter release has a great feel, too. I also like when the power switch is surrounding the shutter release, as it"s a convenient location.

The top of the K-3 III is well-designed. The info display is useful and the various dials and buttons are conveniently located. The mode dial could probably do with fewer modes, honestly, but that"s okay.

Although a DSLR camera can feel a bit old-fashioned in 2021, the K-3 III"s menus don"t look old. This is thanks to an all-new, revamped menu system, complete with a new font. The new font may not seem too exciting, but the old font was archaic. The new menu system is relatively easy to navigate, which is quite the feat considering how many settings, features and customization options are jammed into the K-3 III. Speaking of which, you can even change the color of some information on the camera, which is a neat touch.

At low ISO settings, the K-3 III produces good image quality. The colors are quite nice, and there"s a good amount of detail. With the lenses I used alongside the K-3 III, I felt like I was limited at times by glass, but not by the image sensor itself. At its best, in ideal situations, images are crisp.

This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE lens at 300mm (450mm equiv.), f/6.3, 1/500s, ISO 6400.

100% crop of the above image. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE lens at 300mm (450mm equiv.), f/6.3, 1/500s, ISO 6400.

The K-3 III"s raw files are very flexible during post-processing. You can bring out considerable shadow detail and recover quite a bit from highlight areas without creating many issues with image quality. I found that I had to tweak white balance with the K-3 III a lot, so I recommend shooting RAW for easy white balance adjustments, if not versatile exposure and color adjustments.

Before closing out the performance section, it"s worth talking about the stabilization. The SR system works pretty well in terms of getting sharp shots at slower shutter speeds. However, the SR doesn"t stabilize the optical viewfinder since it"s sensor-shift and not optical image stabilization. The SR system also works for a pixel-shift shooting mode. This mode captures four images in succession, with the sensor having shifted by a pixel. The resulting image is still 25.7MP, but Pentax promises a bit more detail and better color.

4K video quality is solid. You can use all the same color profiles for video as for stills, which is nice, and the 4K footage offers good detail across a wide ISO range. However, the camera"s IBIS doesn"t work well for video, and the sensor doesn"t have great readout speed. A tripod is highly recommended.

I"m not a Pentaxian, but for the passionate Pentax users out there, the K-3 III represents an exciting prospect. You can continue to use lenses from the last few decades, and the K-3 III offers a huge array of new features and improvements compared to its predecessor. It"s expensive to switch camera systems, and many people simply don"t want to, which I appreciate.

For those who aren"t already in the Pentax ecosystem, however, there"s not much reason to consider the K-3 III. Some other DSLRs are similarly good, if not better, in certain ways, and the industry is moving toward mirrorless. "Moving toward" might not be the right term. It feels like it"s already gotten there. Canon and Nikon are very heavily focused on their respective mirrorless systems, and there"s no indication Sony is going back to its A-mount camera system. For the Pentax loyalists out there, the K-3 III is a great upgrade option. For everyone else, it"s a tough sell.

The Pentax K-3 III is a fascinating camera. It"s been a long time coming, and for Pentax fans, it could very well be worth the wait. The camera is well-designed and very comfortable to use. The optical viewfinder is one of the best I"ve seen. Image quality from the new image sensor is impressive, too, especially when the improved autofocus system delivers (which it doesn"t do quite as often as I"d like).

However, during the long wait for the K-3 III, a lot has changed in the photo industry. Photography has sort of passed the DSLR by. The K-3 III is a great choice for existing Pentax owners. However, I don"t believe it"s the right choice for everyone else.

For years and years, camera maker Ricoh Pentax had remained dedicated to the APS-C sensor size with its broad range of DSLR cameras (medium-format 645 platform notwithstanding). However, in 2016, the photo world saw the introduction of Pentax"s first full-frame DSLR, the K-1. Then, a couple of years later, the full-frame K-1 II debuted with some minor hardware improvements. Meanwhile, Pentax"s crop-sensor DSLRs felt somewhat ignored, particularly regarding its higher-end enthusiast-level model, the K-3. The latest version of that camera, the K-3 Mark II, was announced all the way back in 2015.

At long last, though, the Pentax K-3 Mark III is here. Finally! And while the K-3 III maintains that distinctive DSLR design, the camera features several new features and upgrades, including an all-new sensor, a new processor, a new autofocus system, an updated optical viewfinder, a touchscreen LCD and much more.

Much like its predecessors, the new Pentax K-3 Mark III maintains that classic DSLR shape with a deep, high-contoured handgrip and large, central viewfinder. The K-3 III also keeps very similar physical dimensions, with only minor changes to size and weight compared to its predecessor. True to Pentax"s heritage, the flagship K-3 III is also built with ruggedness in mind, offering full weather-sealing against dust, moisture and freezing temperatures (down to -10 degrees C/ 14 degrees F). The top, bottom, front and back panels of the camera body are made of lightweight and sturdy magnesium alloy, making the camera body both lightweight and very durable. Additionally, the K-3 III"s shutter mechanism is rated for at least 300,000 actuations. Needless to say, the K-3 III is designed for durability and longevity.

Starting at the top of the camera, it"s quickly evident that there are several changes to the buttons, dials and top-deck LCD screen compared to the K-3 II. The K-3 Mark III maintains both front and rear command dials, but you now have a third dial placed right at the top rear corner of the camera for additional control of settings and features. There is also a new dedicated "Smart Function" button on the top deck of the camera between the ISO and Exposure Compensation buttons that provides quick access to several camera settings, letting you avoid diving into the camera menus.

Additionally, there is now a dial on the top to switch between viewfinder stills mode, live view stills mode and movie mode, which replaces the Stills/Movie mode toggle switch that was on the back of the camera on the previous model. The K-3 III also features a smaller top-deck LCD info screen, a necessity in order to fit the new third command dial and S.Fn buttons. The screen still displays all primary shooting info and is still back-lit for easy operation in dark environments. Lastly, the lockable Mode Dial on the left side of the viewfinder gets upgrade with two more custom user mode slots compared to just three on the previous model.

The camera now also offers a 3.2-inch touchscreen rear display, a long-missing feature on Pentax cameras. In fact, this is the first Pentax K-series camera with a touchscreen display. The addition of a touchscreen should be a much-welcomed feature and will allow for menu navigation and zooming in on images in Playback mode. However, despite the addition of a touchscreen, the K-3 III"s rear display is still fixed in place with no tilting or articulating functionality, which is similar to previous K-3 models. This design choice is perhaps made to maintain better durability and weather-sealing, but it does feel a bit outdated compared to other cameras on the market these days. Plus, several other Pentax models offer articulating rear screens, including the flagship K-1 II full-frame camera.

On the left side of the camera, features are largely unchanged from the prior model, with ports for both a 3.5mm microphone input and a headphone output. The microphone input is now in stereo rather than the monaural input in the predecessor. The K-3 III also includes a Type D Micro HDMI connection and a USB port, which has now been upgraded to a USB 3.2 Gen1 with Type C connector. The K3 III supports in-camera charging via the USB-C port.

Lastly, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity finally make their way into a K-3-series camera. The original K-3 and follow-up K-3 Mark II both offer a form of wireless connectivity by way of Eye-Fi or Pentax Flucard Wi-Fi-based SD cards. With the rise of direct, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology (as well as the Eye-Fi company ceasing business in 2016), Ricoh Pentax designers made the wise choice of adding this more modern wireless connectivity to the flagship K-3 Mark III.

The K-3 III includes 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity as well as Bluetooth v4.2 (Bluetooth Low Energy), and offers remote pairing with smartphones and tablets using Pentax"s Image Sync mobile application. The camera supports wireless image transfer as well as remote shooting functionality via the paired app.

At the heart of the new Pentax K-3 Mark III is both an all-new image sensor and image processor along with a new "accelerator unit," which all together should offer pleasing image quality improvements over 2015"s K-3 II. The new K-3 III now features a higher-resolution 25.73-megapixel sensor, which isn"t a major increase over the 24.35MP CMOS sensor in the predecessor. However, the K-3 III"s sensor now uses a back-illuminated design, which on its own should help increase low-light and high ISO performance.

In addition to the new sensor, the K-3 III also sports an all-new PRIME V imaging processor and new-generation accelerator unit. Though it isn"t explicitly stated what functions the additional "Accelerator Unit" processor or engine handles, it"s likely a similar setup to the processor + accelerator unit setup in other Pentax cameras, such as the full-frame K-1 II and crop-frame K-70 cameras. From what we understand, the Accelerator Unit handles a lot of the noise reduction processing, while the primary imaging chip handles the other image quality-related processes.

Altogether, the new BSI image sensor and processor + accelerator unit setup gives the Pentax K-3 III an extremely wide ISO range, with Pentax promising improved noise reduction processing performance at higher ISO. The K-3 III offers a full native ISO range of 100 and rising all the way up to ISO 1,600,000! The full-frame K-1 II topped-out at ISO 819,200. On paper, that is a very impressive spec, but in our testing of the K-1 II, for example, we found these super-high ISO settings weren"t very usable in real-world uses. We"ll have to see how the K-3 III does, however, before making a final judgment.

The K-3 III features in-body image stabilization like its predecessor, however the new IBIS unit offers higher performance than the K-3 II or any other Pentax camera to date, with up to 5.5 stops of correction. By comparison, the K-3 II offered 4.5 stops of shake reduction. The K-3 III"s 5-axis SR system compensates for pitch and yaw movements as well as horizontal and vertical shifts plus rotational/roll motion. The camera also includes a new Panning stabilization mode that"s designed to help stabilize the frame when photographing slow-motion subjects.

Additionally, the K-3 III offers Pentax"s clever AA (anti-aliasing)-filter simulator technology. The sensor itself does not have a fixed optical low-pass filter, and with AA filter simulator disabled, photographers are able to take full advantage of the fine-detail resolving power of the sensor. However, when photographing subjects, such as fabrics, architectural subjects or other objects that are prone moiré and aliasing artifacts, users can "enable" the AA filter (at different levels of strength, too). The AA (anti-aliasing)-filter simulator uses the camera"s sensor-shift image stabilization system to vibrate the sensor at microscopic, sub-pixel amounts at super-high speed during the moment of exposure to effectively similar the subtle pixel-level blurring effect added by an optical low-pass filter. (For more information on how this AA Filter Simulator technology works, check out our deep-dive article.)

Additionally, the K-3 III includes a Pixel-Shift Resolution shooting mode for creating images with improved fine detail and better color reproduction. With this PSR mode, the camera captures four frames while moving the sensor by a single pixel for each frame capture and then compositing them all together for a fine image. Unlike other manufacturer"s "high-resolution shooting modes," such as those from Olympus or Sony, the Pentax K-3 III"s PSR doesn"t create a composite image with higher resolution in terms of megapixel count -- PSR images here are still 25.73-megapixels. However, according to Pentax, the composite image should provide better color data and more accurate, finer detail than a standard single-shot capture. The camera also features a Motion Correction option, which should automatically detect moving objects in the scene and minimize compositing errors and artifacts.

Additionally, the K-3 III also incorporates a sophisticated scene detection system for high-performance face and eye-detection autofocus. By using the new metering sensor and faster PRIME V image processor, the A.I.-powered "PENTAX Real-time Scene Analysis System" uses Deep Learning-based detection technology not only to increase AF accuracy but also to improve scene exposure.

The Pentax K-3 III also offers several improvements over its predecessor in the video department, including 4K video recording. The K-3 III can recording video in 4K UHD resolution (3840 x 2160) at 30fps and 24fps, as well as Full HD 1080p video at 60p, 30p, and 24p frame rates, using MPEG-4 AVC/H.264(MOV) encoding.

Additional features include the ability to use custom image presets and digital filters, such as Retro, High Contrast, Invert Color and Bold Monochrome, with video recording.

Like with the K-3 II, the Mark III"s continuous video recording is limited to 25 minutes (or 4GB) regardless of video resolution or frame rate. Once 25 minutes is reached, you"ll need to restart video recording manually. Also, video recording may stop automatically if the internal temperature of the camera becomes too high.

The Pentax K-3 Mark III is set to go on sale in late April and can be pre-ordered at authorized retailers starting on April 6 at 5 p.m. ET at a manufacturer"s suggested retail price of $1,999.95.

Ricoh is also creating two limited-edition kits -- the Pentax K-3 Mark III Black Premium Kit and Pentax K-3 Mark III Silver Premium Kit. These special kits include a camera body and D-BG8 battery grip (the Silver Premium Kit comes with a silver camera body and a silver battery grip that is exclusive to this package), plus a special leather strap and a spare battery. The Premium Kits will also go on sale in late April for a suggested retail price of $2,299.95.

Ricoh"s flagship APS-C camera, the 24-megapixel Pentax K-3 is jam-packed with clever technology, yet it"s also affordably priced and among the very smallest enthusiast DSLRs. As well as overhauled imaging, autofocus, and metering, it also boasts an industry-first system that lets you choose whether resolution or moire-resistance are more critical for any given shot. But can its unique advantages tempt you away from mainstream rivals Canon and Nikon? (And should you upgrade, if you"re already a Pentaxian?) Find out in our Pentax K-3 review!

Top-notch image quality; Great ergonomics in a compact body; Unique on-demand low-pass filtering; Broad sensitivity range; Large and bright viewfinder for an APS-C camera; Dual card slots; Optional Wi-Fi remote control

Available since November 2013, the Pentax K-3 digital SLR is priced at US$1,300 body-only in the US market. Body-only, that"s just US$100 more than the launch price for the Pentax K-5 II, and the exact same price at which the Pentax K-5 IIs first shipped. This seems eminently reasonable, considering that the Pentax K-3 is a complete overhaul, where the earlier cameras were relatively modest updates. (To put things in perspective, the K-3 is actually priced US$300 below the launch price of the Pentax K-5, just three years earlier.)

The Pentax K-3 was long the flagship of Ricoh"s DSLR camera line, at least unless you wanted to step up to a pricey medium-format camera. Those days are over: The full-frame Pentax K-1 is here to occupy the middle ground between Ricoh"s APS-C and medium-format models! As well as offering a much larger sensor than the K-3, the Pentax K-1 also boasts much higher resolution, a far broader sensitivity range, a much bigger viewfinder with helpful on-demand overlays, a more sophisticated autofocus system, and built-in GPS and Wi-Fi radios to help keep tabs on where your photos were shot, then get them online as quickly as possible. The K-1 also won a Camera of Distinction award for "Best Professional DSLR" in our 2016 Camera of the Year Awards. For all the details, read our Pentax K-1 review, or to see how the sub-frame Pentax K-3 stacks up against the full-frame K-1, check out our side-by-side comparison here: Pentax K-3 vs. Pentax K-1.

Since the launch of the Pentax K-7 in 2009, the company"s flagship models have been among our favorite enthusiast-grade digital SLRs. Pentax"s most recent iterations -- the simultaneously-launched K-5 II and K-5 IIs -- were very much evolutionary models, with only relatively minor changes from their shared predecessor. The Pentax K-3, unlike its recent precessors, is revolutionary -- and not just because it"s the first in the series to be made under the watch of Ricoh, the Pentax brand"s new owner.

Not only does the Pentax K-3 feature significant changes inside and out, it also includes an industry first: on-demand low-pass filtering which lets you choose whether ultimate resolution or resistance to moiré are more important for any given shot. The attention-grabbing, mechanical alternative to an optical low-pass filter has clearly grabbed all the headlines, and deservedly so, but there"s plenty else besides that makes the Pentax K-3 an exciting upgrade.

Perhaps most obviously, there"s a brand-new body that -- while it retains the spirit of the design first introduced with the K-7 -- makes some significant changes to the controls for the first time in several generations. The 24.3-megapixel Pentax K-3 also packs 50% more pixels into its APS-C sized image sensor, increasing linear resolution by almost a quarter. Yet thanks to a new PRIME III image processor, it simultaneously increases performance. Pentax claims a whopping 8.3 frames per second at full resolution, for as many as 60 JPEG or 23 raw frames. And despite the significant resolution increase, the K-3 still offers a maximum sensitivity of ISO 51,200 equivalent.

Pentax has gifted its newest APS-C flagship with a brand-new, much finer-grained metering sensor with 86,000 RGB pixels, not to mention a much more capable 27-point autofocus sensor. All but two of the K-3"s focus points are cross-types, sensitive to detail on both the horizontal and vertical axes. And at the center of the array, three points provide for autofocus with apertures as bright as f/2.8. If you prefer focusing manually, you"ll find a new focus peaking function in live view mode to be a very handy addition.

The Pentax K-3 also boasts double the shutter life of its predecessor, along with an improved image stabilization system that should better fight image blur. And on its rear panel, you"ll find both a brighter pentaprism optical viewfinder with greater magnification, and a larger, higher-resolution LCD monitor. Both storage and connectivity options have been refreshed, too. The Pentax K-3 provides dual SD card slots with support for high-speed UHS-1 cards, and supplements its high-def video output with a new USB 3.0 SuperSpeed data connection, helping you get all your images and movies off the camera in the shortest possible time.

And speaking of movie capture -- long an area in which Pentax has lagged its rivals -- this, too, has received a total overhaul. The Pentax K-3 now uses more efficient H.264 video compression, allows single autofocus during movie capture, and provides a much more generous selection of movie frame rates. It also allows program, priority, and manual exposure control for movies. And the existing stereo microphone jack has been supplemented with a headphone jack for levels monitoring, plus a fine-grained audio levels control. You can even opt for a stereo levels display during video capture, should you wish!

The Pentax K-3 has a weather-sealed magnesium alloy body with 92 different environmental seals, which sits over the top of a steel chassis. Move your mouse over the image to see the chassis design.

Clearly, a lot has changed. The good news is that almost everything we loved about earlier Pentax flagships has been retained for the K-3. It still sports a solid magnesium-alloy body with great ergonomics, and despite an enthusiast-friendly control layout, it"s still barely any larger than the typical consumer SLR. The Pentax K-3 is also still freezeproof and fully weather-sealed. And as you"d expect, it retains enthusiast-friendly features such as a 100% pentaprism viewfinder, twin control dials, a built-in flash sync terminal, and support for an optional portrait/battery grip.

Alongside the Pentax K-3, the company also launched several new accessories, most of which hit the market at the same time as the camera body. The Pentax D-BG5 battery grip replaces the earlier D-BG4 that was compatible with the Pentax K-7, K-5, and K-5 II / IIs models. It"s priced at around US$230 list. There"s also a new weather-sealed HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8ED WR lens, priced at about US$450. Finally, a Pentax-branded, Wi-Fi capable Flucard SDHC card had yet to go on sale as of December 2013, but will ship for US$100 in a 16GB capacity. Not only will this allow wireless data transfer, it will also let you control your camera remotely (including live view feed) from your PC, or from recent Android / iOS smart devices.

In the past, Pentax has also offered limited-edition silver-bodied variants of its flagship DSLRs, and it did so for the Pentax K-3, as well. There was a slight change in strategy, though. Previously, you"ve typically had to wait many months after launch to get your hands on a silver Pentax SLR. This time around, the Pentax K-3 Premium Silver Edition shipped immediately alongside its black-bodied sibling. It was sold in a bundle with a silver D-BG5 battery grip, and an exclusive leather strap. Just 2,000 units were offered worldwide, and with a pricetag of only US$1,600, they cost an almost insignificant US$70 more than the black version plus battery grip. At that price, it"s not surprising that these didn"t hang around on store shelves, with stock vanishing almost instantly.

If you still want to buy the silver Pentax K-3, you"ll need to look to the second-hand market unless you"re very lucky in finding remaining stock. (And if you have that kind of luck, may we suggest picking up a lottery ticket at the same time?)

Walkaround. Just like its predecessors, the Pentax K-3"s body is constructed of magnesium alloy over a steel chassis -- and that"s mag-alloy on all sides, unlike some rivals. (The Nikon D7100, for example, has magnesium alloy panels top and rear, but polycarbonate plastic panels on the front, bottom, and sides.)

The K-3 is still fully dust and weather-sealed, and now sports a total of 92 different seals, up from 77 in the K-5 II. That difference is likely down to the need to seal new controls and connectivity, rather than to an increase in the already-impressive water resistance. And like its predecessor, the Pentax K-3 is also freezeproof to 14°F / -10°C, while at the upper end of the range it"s possible to shoot in temperatures of 104°F / 40°C.

Although it"s still pretty compact as rugged, control-and-feature-rich enthusiast SLRs go, the Pentax K-3 has grown in size just slightly compared to its predecessors. With dimensions of 5.2 x 3.9 x 3.1 inches (131 x 100 x 77mm), it"s grown in height by around 3% (0.1 inches / 3mm), and in depth by some 5% (0.2 inches / 4mm). It"s also grown in heft, with a weight of 28.2 ounces (800g) when loaded with battery and Secure Digital card, up 5% from the 26.1 ounces (760g) of its predecessor.

Seen from the front, the Pentax K-3 looks a lot like its predecessors, the K-7, K-5, K-5 II, and K-5 IIs, but it"s actually a brand-new body. (And that"s big news, because really, there have only been very minor changes to the body design since it first debuted in 2009.)

There"s also a single-hole port for the microphone, just below and to the right of the P in the Pentax logo (as seen from the rear of the camera). It"s still a mono mic, but the new position should result in slightly better reception of sound from subjects in front of the camera. Previously, it sat on the top deck.

On the top deck, the changes are more obvious. For one thing, you can see that the increase in body depth is largely down to a deeper thumb grip at the top right corner of the rear panel, which again helps to make for a slightly more secure and comfortable grip. The Mode dial has also been reworked, with its Movie position dropped, and the previous User position replaced by three separate user modes, U1 thru U3. (That, sadly, means that while you now have direct access, you lose two modes, since earlier models allowed five user modes to be accessed through the single User position.)

Another top-deck change is that the monochrome LCD info display has been revisited, with several new indications added. These include both the metering mode and AF point selection, since there are no longer physical controls that show the status of either function. The K-3 also boasts dual card slots, and the info LCD can show to which of these you"re currently writing, and in which file format.

More subtle changes include the absence of the microphone port, previously located in front of the hot shoe, and the diopter adjustment slider on top of the viewfinder. (We"ll come back to that in a moment.) Pentax has also relocated the focal plane marking to the right side of the pentaprism hump. (Previously, the marking was just to the right of the info LCD.)

The bulk of the changes, though, are to be found on the rear panel. Starting at top left, the Delete button now doubles as a Metering button when in Record mode. You simply hold it down and roll the front or rear dial to change metering modes, and the result can be confirmed either in the viewfinder, on the info LCD, or (if active) on the main LCD. The change does mean that you can"t confirm the metering mode without powering the camera on, but it also means you"re less likely to forget to check it when you glance at the info LCD. One slight quirk, though, is that you can"t change the metering mode when you"re viewing the Control Panel display. (The same is also true when you"re in the menu system, or in Playback mode.)

Moving across to the viewfinder, it looks little-changed, although its optics and internal coatings have been reworked for a slightly larger, brighter image. If you look just right of the viewfinder, though, you"ll see a new diopter adjustment dial, which replaces the previous adjustment slider that sat on top of the viewfinder. The new dial has around 20 detents that help you make small, reasonably precise adjustments, although I"m not an eyeglass-wearer, and so can"t comment on their efficacy. The adjustment range is unchanged, though, so if you were happy with the correction provided by the earlier cameras, you should be OK here too.

The change does mean that the viewfinder eyepiece frame, which is still removable, has been changed. It no longer has a cutout at its top surface for the linear slider of the earlier cameras. You can still use existing eyepieces -- for example, the O-ME53 viewfinder loupe -- they"ll just have a cutout for a control that isn"t there.

Just beneath the diopter adjustment dial is a new Live View / Movie Record button. This works in concert with another new control that sits near the top right corner of the LCD, the Still / Movie switch. Together, these make for a quicker and more intuitive way to switch between still capture through the viewfinder, still capture in live view mode, and movie capture. The addition of the Still / Movie switch, though, means that Pentax has also had to remove the physical AF point selection switch. We"ll come to its replacement in a moment. I"m happy to say that the Still / Movie switch is much easier to turn than the AF point selection dial was, even when shooting single-handed.

The AF button, which used to sit in the center of the AF point selection dial, has now moved to the top right corner of the camera, much where the AE Lock button used to be. I"m fine with that change, but less happy with the new location for the AE Lock button, which is very close to the corner of the camera body, and right above the hump for the rear grip. It"s not the easiest or most comfortable location to reach, and while I learned to live with it, I"m still not happy with its new location.

There"s also a brand-new button at the bottom right of the corner. As I"ve already alluded to, the Pentax K-3 has dual flash card slots, and this button is used in Playback mode to switch between the two, letting you choose from which card to view images and movies. In Record mode, the same button is used to toggle the Four-way controller between its primary and secondary functions -- either the functions marked on each of the four arrow buttons, or autofocus point selection. (If you"re using 27-point autofocus, the button doesn"t do anything in Record mode.)

Once again, there are also a number of more subtle changes. To accommodate a slightly larger, higher-resolution 3.2-inch LCD monitor, the controls to its right are a little tighter-spaced, especially the Info and Menu buttons. The change isn"t huge, though, and I didn"t find them any harder to identify by touch. The Four-way controller with its central OK button has also been tuned somewhat. For one thing, the Up Arrow button, which doubles as a Drive mode selector, is now also labeled as a Self-timer button. And all four Arrow buttons now have raised triangular bevels at both ends, making it easier to tell when your finger is centered on the button, and letting you press the corners of adjacent buttons together. That lets you make a diagonal selection, so that for example you can scroll diagonally in an image when using playback zoom.

The new LCD, incidentally, is a gapless type as used in the K-5 II and K-5 IIs. I don"t have access to either of those cameras at the moment, but compared to the display on my K-5, it"s a little brighter and richer. It also has noticeably better contrast and less glare. It"s no more or less prone to fingerprints than it was, though -- which is to say, not terribly so. I found it perfectly fine for outdoor viewing under even fairly bright light, although like any LCD it will wash out under direct sunlight.

Finally for the rear panel, Pentax has moved the IR port downwards slightly, and closer to the Four-way controller, while the card access lamp has moved upwards a bit. There"s also now a slight bevel at the rightmost edge of the LCD display, so the controls stand proud from the screen just slightly. And of course, since Pentax is now a Ricoh brand, the logo beneath the LCD monitor acknowledges this fact. (But the Pentax name still gets prime billing on the front of the camera.)

A couple of other changes on the left side include a new headphone jack, as alluded to earlier, plus a rearrangement of the connectivity options. The USB port -- now a SuperSpeed or USB 3.0 Micro B type -- sits at the top, above the HDMI and DC Inputs. The HDMI port is now a Type-D Micro connector, and the 8.3 volt DC Input is unchanged.

And finally, the bottom of the camera looks nearly identical. There"s still a locking battery compartment door, unlocked by pulling out the metal lock hasp out with a fingernail, and then rotating it 90 degrees. You may notice a subtle change in the size of several screw holes on the Pentax K-3"s base, though. This change prevents use of the existing portrait grip -- doubtless because it doesn"t quite fit the redesigned body. It"s a bit of a shame to lose compatibility with the existing grip, but in fairness, it"s lasted us through three generations since the original K-7, so I can"t gripe too much.

Pentax revolutionizes low-pass filtering. In a truly revolutionary move, Pentax has developed a solution for variable, on-demand low-pass (anti-aliasing) filtering in digital cameras, the first implementation being in their new K-3 DSLR. This is such an important development that we"re going to devote a little time to explaining how they do it, and why it"s so significant.

Low-pass filters, aka anti-aliasing (AA) filters are an important part of digital imaging of which most people have little understanding. Recently, there"s been a move afoot in the photo industry to eliminate them, which we at IR consider ill-advised. They"re very necessary in some situations, yet in others needlessly reduce resolution and sharpness. Clearly, what"s needed is a way to have a low-pass filter when you need it, and do away with it when you don"t. That"s exactly what Pentax has just made possible for the first time, in their new K-3 SLR.

Sensor. The Pentax K-3 is now based around a 24.35-megapixel image sensor, up from the 16.3-megapixel chip used in the K-5, K-5 II, and K-5 IIs. With 50% more pixels, the new chip theoretically yields around a 22% increase in linear resolution. Maximum image size is 6016 x 4000 pixels.

As in the Pentax K-5 IIs, the Pentax K-3 doesn"t include an optical low-pass filter. It does, however, add an on-demand mechanical antialiasing function. More on that in a moment. (Or read the "Geek"s Guide to On-Demand Low-Pass Filtering" by IR publisher Dave Etchells, for the full story.)

Before I get down to my thoughts on the Pentax K-3, a little background would probably be appropriate. When I"m reviewing cameras, I"m pretty brand-agnostic: What the camera can do for me is far more important than the badge on the front. I can"t afford to own everything I get to review, though, or to keep changing allegiance to a new lens mount. For the last few years, I"ve used Pentax"s flagship DSLRs as my daily shooters, after the original Pentax K-7 brought me into the fold back in 2009. A couple of years later, I upgraded to the K-5, but I skipped the subsequent K-5 II, as it was a fairly modest update.

When I first heard news of the Pentax K-3, I was thrilled. There"s a lot I love about my K-5, but there are areas in which I wanted to see the company make some improvements -- especially autofocus -- and with the K-3, it seems to have done so. As well as the new AF system, I also found the prospect of better metering, dual flash card slots, a better and wider-aspect LCD monitor, and a brighter viewfinder to be particularly appealing. And the promise of greater all-around performance doesn"t hurt, either.

In the first part of my Pentax K-3 Field Test, I shot exclusively with the 18-135mm kit lens that can be purchased in a bundle with the camera body. In part, I did so because that"s the one lens K-3 shooters are most likely to own, and we always try to ensure we cover kit lenses for that reason -- even if they"re not the most exciting optics available. It also didn"t hurt that I happened to own a copy of the same lens myself, meaning I could shoot side-by-side with my K-5, with no fussing and changing lenses back and forth.

With a consumer camera, the kit lens might very well be the only lens you"ll shoot with, but that"s almost certainly not the case with an enthusiast SLR like the Pentax K-3, though. For that reason, I was keen to get out and shoot with some of my nicer lenses. Sadly, I didn"t have duplicates of these, so shooting side by side with these meant an exceptional amount of switching lenses between bodies.

And finally,we come to the last section of my Field Test -- and my decision whether to buy the Pentax K-3 for myself. This section has been a while coming, for which I apologize -- every time I"ve gone to return to shooting and writing, something else has come up. Just one example: The subject I"d chosen for my planned autofocus and burst performance testing didn"t cooperate. I"d been intending to shoot with the K-3 and K-5 side by side at a local drag racing strip to get a good sense for how the two cameras" performance compared. Come the day, heavy rains had flooded the pit lane and the track day was canceled.

Stepping up to a 24MP sensor, the Pentax K-3 sets a much higher resolution benchmark than the K-5 II and IIs at 16MP, and the results show in the print quality department at ISOs 100-400, allowing a full print size higher at each setting. The results from ISO 800 and up however tell a different story, as there is virtually no discernible difference in print quality between the K-3 and its lower-resolution siblings. So if you are considering the K-3 and will be making sizable prints from the fruits of your labors, it will be at the lower ISOs that you will see the biggest difference in image quality as compared to the K-5 II and IIs.

Inside and out, new is the name of the game for Ricoh"s flagship APS-C DSLR, the Pentax K-3. The weather-sealed, magnesium alloy body is brand-new, and so is the high-res 24.3-megapixel image sensor, paired to a speedy new PRIME III image processor that"s capable of 8.3 frames-per-second burst shooting. There"s also a much finer-grained metering sensor, and the K-3 brings the first major overhaul of Pentax"s phase-detect autofocus system in a decade. Pentax has also gifted the K-3 with dual high-speed SD card slots, swift USB 3.0 transfer, an overhauled movie mode complete with levels monitoring, and even -- via an optional accessory -- support for wireless live view shooting.

The most exciting new feature, though, is the Pentax K-3"s impressively-clever on-demand optical low-pass filtering system. In the quest for ultimate resolution, Pentax"s rivals have simply removed the low-pass filter altogether, unleashing finer details at the risk of moiré and aliasing artifacts. The Pentax K-3 gives you the best of both worlds, instead. It forgoes the low-pass filter for maximum detail when shooting subjects like portraits or landscapes, but cleverly uses the camera"s Shake Reduction system to emulate a low-pass filter for moiré-prone subjects like fabric, bricks or mesh.

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 mi