K-3 unwrapped

In the slipstream of Amazon France's generous discount, I became a K-3 owner on Saturday afternoon and sloped out yesterday to give it a whirl. Having charged a battery and attached a strap, I arrived at Kelsey Park, Beckenham, to discover that quite a few functions weren't where I thought they'd be (I'm not one for reading instruction manuals, but soon found my way around). I wasn't expecting a giant leap over what the K-5 IIs can do, but faster focusing and the twin card slots are useful features and so far I'm pleased with what I've seen. Did I need a K-3? Not really, but the price was too attractive and both my K-5s (the original, in particular) are quite battle-scarred, largely as a result of being used as working tools at motorsport events all year long (more than 50 per annum in recent seasons).

Here, in no particular order, are some results (with DA 300mm f4 unless indicated).
1 - I know somebody who can look at a large, juvenile gull and point out that, "The 14th feather from the left has three speckles, so it's clearly a second-winter herring gull." I'm OK at identifying birds, but with young gulls I struggle beyond knowing which bit is the beak. I'm not sure whether this is a herring, lesser black-backed or something else entirely


2 - Blackbird contemplates berry raid


3 - Ring-necked parakeet mimics blackbird


4 - Lazy family Sunday


5 - Robin finally clocks that I'm using a DA 300. It flew back and forth several times, more or less landing on my shoulder at one point, before finally settling far enough away that I could take a shot. Most of the time, it was standing by my left boot, anticipating a snack


6 - London's Christmas rush, Regent Street (with Sigma 10-20)


7 - We have lift-off


8 - Walking on water

A very nice set, look forward to seeing how you get on with the k3 at your Motorsport events.

A nice set. I lived near Kelsey Park until I was 22 and we didn't have parakeets there then!

A great start with the K3 Simon! My favourites are the colourful birds (whatever they are ) nestling in the trees ... So colourful and bright, but exposures are very good, no bright highlights. The metering was touted as being an improvement .. It's clear from these shots that you certainly didn't have any trouble with it! ..... Now you really should go and read the manual now .. And then you can produce a checklist of input and output controls for us all

Looks like a good partnership.

I have some family down in Margate every time i go down there always see parakeets the story goes that they escaped from a zoo thirty years ago and adapted to the wild here

Regards Dave

Some great images there Simon..as you say great value on the K3 at the moment.

Karlo

A great set of photos. Really like the Robin and Regent Street shots. And boy is that DA 300 sharp.

Simon, not your usual fare - not a race car in sight.

2, 3, 5 and 8 are the ones that really work for me. You do realise that now you have the K-3, you'll really get taken to task should any of your motorsport be even the tiniest bit 'soft'!

Phil

Simon, I really like the regent Street image.

Thanks, all, for the positive feedback.

I came within an ace of buying another K-5 IIs when B&H was all but giving them away a couple of weeks ago, but by the time I decided to commit they'd all gone: that would have been a better option for my bank balance, but it's nice to have a new toy with fresh features.

@Phil: motorsport is largely in hibernation in the Northern Hemisphere at present, but I hope to give the K-3 a whirl at Mallory Park on Boxing Day. There's a stock car meeting in Stoke on the 28th, too, plus a sporting trial that same day in Sussex...

For those who commented favourably on the Regent Street shot, here's another from a few minutes later (although it might be a little extreme for some tastes).

These are looking great Simon, you've obviously hit it off with the K-3 straight away! I really like the bird shots, but that last Regent's Street one has to be the pick for me. Looking forward to see what you can do, I think the K-3, DA*300 and Simon Arron will be a formidable combination.

Regards
David

Very nice

The k3 certainly appears to work well

Regent Street v2 has trumped the others IMHO.

Looking forward to seeing some images from Mallory

Phil