K-3 or K-3 II?

Is this question designed to cover all aspects of k3 k3ii . Ownership . No . Fun poll me thinks. K3ii in retro silver.

I'd take the mkii model.

I'll take Mike P's K3 II when he decides it's no good for airshows!
Other than that I'll just take the original since it's in my bag, the "upgrades" (I don't regard most of the so called improvements as upgrades) are not worth the £400 it would cost me to trade up, given my usual cost/benefit analysis. If I had niether, I'd still take the original as it's an absolute bargain now and I have no need of a Gps over the built in flash...
The other so called "improvements", are not worth snuff in my photography, save maybe 30 quid for the improved Sr which was already good enough anyway...

It's worth mentioning perhaps for those with older models, something I hadn't picked up originally when the K3 came out ... That is that the K3 introduced some limited manual flash exposure control WITH the built-in flash. I think its a 2 step manual option, 1/2 and 1/128 I think (please correct me any owners!) ...

This increases the versatility of flash photography with the built-in, as with earlier models we only have P-TTL (with coupled lenses, or full power only with non-coupled lenses). The manual options will give better control in stable lighting environments, and small flash exposure adjustments could be made with aperture and distance.

So, for (Pentax dedicated) flash users the K3 mk1 offers that bit extra ... And great value now!

Just looking re built in flash on manual. FULL, 1/2,1/4,1/8,1/16,1/32,1/64, 1/128th. I had no idea. Will have a play with fill in flash rather than the plus minus stop options I usually use. I have no comprehension of the 'Wireless Flash' settings either in this flimsy K3 handbook.

Some cross-over here with our ' instruction manual' thread! If people are not realising the potential of their cameras, then definitely I think the manufacturer must step up into the educator role somehow. Thanks for clarifying those manual settings.

Precisely my dilemma. I want to upgrade my K7 to a k3 variant. I cant for the life of me decide which one.!! I wanted to get a 24MP unit as I do a lot of distance telephoto work so I will benefit from better crops. I dont use the inbuilt flash much.But couldnt really see me getting a unit without one. So K3 being cheaper seemed the logical choice. But then the improved AF and shake reduction systems are a real plus. I am not interested in GPS whatsoever. But Astrotracer, Yes Id have a dabble with that. And also the K3ii will have a better market longevity... Special offers on the K3 only until the end of the month and I still cant decide....

I really think the removal of a flash to use for fill is a huge mistake. I wouldn't touch a K3 II if the original was still available.

Amen to that Nigel, I think we'd all like to see a proper guide on Flash, especially when you take into consideration the new meter on the K3 series, it's very different! Focus, well don't get me started, I've used pretty much every Nikon since, well, for a long time! So I'm pretty used to complicated Focus set ups and how to get the best from them but I'm still trying to work out the K3, the paucity of information from Ricoh, is an appalling error. They have turned what on the face of it, is a much simpler system than used by the big two into an internet free for all, just thru lack of information, they say it's ideal for sports, so show us! In my Nikon years I used to do a few sports (Motorcycle racing) workshops etc, now it used to turn out that around ninety percent of all the focus problems I encountered from participants were due to user error, where they just ignored Nikons own instructions where focus was concerned. With the K3 series and I do sincerely wish, not the FF (Still hate that term), we really do not have a baseline? It's very difficult to fathom out a focus system without a real starting point, D- Ricoh!

There's plenty of practical camera control knowledge that could be better explained, and I do think the manufacturer should take responsibility for much of that, especially when there are new features and technologies with greater control refinements (such as you've been referring to Jules).

For me there are three components to the ' educator guide ' .... 1. What are the choices and options with this particular feature ... 2. What happens exactly when you try this or that option with that feature .... and perhaps most importantly ... 3. WHY might you choose this or that option with the particular feature.

I'm not saying that every instruction manual' should become a huge guide to photography techniques and camera management .... There may still be a place for a clear layout of controls and menus and simple illustration of the camera features (this I think we do have, at least electronically as a PDF) ... But for those higher tech and more complex aspects, such as the K3 focusing system, or flash system control, then specific guides that target those areas and produce the 3 stage educative elements I outlined, are surely essential .

It would make good business sense I'd have thought ... Won't a camera maker sell more cameras if people have ready access to good help in getting the most out of the camera, right from the word go ... ?

This used to be the case, and extensively researched books like this one did the job you outline:


However, the pace of model change was very slow, and the original Spotmatic lasted from 1964 to 1971 before it even became the Spotmatic II. These books become outdated so quickly now that most I'm sure will end up as downloads on iBook or similar.
There are plenty of books on all sorts of techniques though, plus courses and internet forums to answer questions. Instruction manuals have only ever told us how to operate a function, never why we should want to.

The Pentax Way ! Now that sounds like MY kind of book

Yes, the pace of change is so much faster now, and the printed word cannot keep up as before. Oh dear ... Clearly I was born after my time

I'd be happy for the manuals to stay short and sweet .... But the manufacturers should take responsibility for describing and educating more about complex options and new technologies they introduce.

The K-3 II manual is surprisingly thin on details of the new high resolution feature. It didn't take long to work out how to use it, but some newer photographer might need some more info to help them understand what is happening.

A few decent you tube vids would do
Official ones from Ricoh to explain how when and why to use the features.
Surely they could get Kerrick James or someone for that?

I too think the manufacturer has a role in the education of how to best use their products.

I'm going to link, for fear of having the post removed, but this is something Canon does exceptionally well. They run sessions and quite awesome photo competitions where they send you a box with props for free and offer prizes etc. It's that connection with the manufacturer that Pentax just doesn't offer. We turn to forums like this because essentially the manufacturer is a company in Japan that doesn't relate to the customers much at all. There's no feedback/social media type interface to the company to make suggestions with Pentax unfortunately.

Their manuals fill the need of having to offer something, but there's no overarching sections on when you would want to use a particular feature. Lots has been written about all the possible combinations of the focus options, and how to set the camera up to try and do the focus tracking etc. There are so many choices, and very little indication of what combo would work best for a specific application etc.

3rd party books have always existed, but it would be nice to hear from the experts as to why they made the choices available in the first place, and what assumptions they made around them etc.