K3 has started to ship.......

Noise up to ISO 3200 seems pretty good. Above that I would say it's probably noisier than the K-5. To be expected I suppose.

The new Multi Auto WB on the K3 works very well indeed. I set the K3 on a tripod and a K5lls on a tripod both with same lenses and same settings and took a few images looking out across back gardens with some autumnal leaves. The K3 rendered the colours spot on, the K5lls was still good, but the k3 images just looked far better. I swapped the cards to view in each camera and the images shot with the K3 viewed on the K5lls screen still looked better. I am very impressed with the Multi Auto WB so far.

The wife is not enamoured with the level of detail from this camera.

Returning from SRS we stopped for a coffee and I was playing with the new toy and took a picture of her across the table.
I think he sharpness/detail is impressive. She is NOT impressed with the results, but on the up side, I am 90% of the way to convincing her that I need the soft portrait lens.


Early days, but I am pleased with the K3 so far:
Focus seems a significant improvement on the K5. The bounce flash problem seems fixed. IQ seems comparable, noise rather worse (but not bad). I will try it outside in daylight today.

dave k

Looking forward to seeing your results. Even though the high ISO performance is slightly worse than the K-5 I'm sure it slaughters my K-7. Oh and it focuses in low light (more important to me) and it focuses quickly (more important to me).
regards
Brian (RAC1970 on Flickr)

I would love to know how the DA55-300 performs on the K3.......anyone?

I'll let you know when I have chance to try mine.

If the noise is really worse, then that's a killer for me. Looks like when I upgrade from my K-r it will be to a version of the K5. Fast AF and low light AF aren't that important to me. I'd save some pennies too!

Depends if you use ISO 6400 and higher? I don't.

No, I don't, but I was only replying to what Dave K said, when he said that the noise was worse than the K5. If it's only worse at ISO 6400 and above, then it doesn't matter, but if it's worse at low ISOs then it does (to me).

Of course, I'll wait for a definitive comparison.....especially as I haven't the cash for either yet!

Given that you don't need to crop as much for the same view, I was hoping this would cancel out any increased noise

I haven't noticed any significant noise at ISO 3200 yet. Pleased with the few shots I've taken at that setting so far.

The comparison was at 6400 & 12800.

I myself seldom, if ever, use such high-ISO in my real-world shooting, but it's raining hard here and I was playing indoors.

Actually, although my NR software calculates a higher number for the K3 noise, the character of the noise is quite different between the K3 & K5 at these ISOs. The K5 has a larger component of colour-noise which is (to my eyes) more intrusive than that of the K3 which is more textured in appearance.

dave k

Ah, ok.

What about the difference at, say, ISO800?

My findings so far: ISO from 100 to ISO 3200 the K3 is a clear winner in terms of IQ compared to the K5 & K5lls. (My opinion)

Another thing to consider is that Lightroom 5 is very good at adjusting and controlling noise levels as are a few other specific noise programs. For those with more expertise correcting and controlling noise with Photoshop can also work well so you can push the K3 beyond ISO 3200 with some extra processing work.

you can use higher ISO depending on your needs in relation to capture and final output, but if you really need to go beyond ISO 3200 and keep images really clean, then I guess current generation full frame cameras is the way to go.

The magic of the K3 for me is:

Anti moire function that i can turn off and on when required

The AF is a big step forward from the K5 & K5ll, 27 selectable focus points provides ample control in relation to a specific focus point. The AF-C so far has impressed me, and by a big improvement.

The center sensor and two sensors just above and below that can detect the light flux of an F2.8 lens. This is a big improvement for me!

The 86,000 pixel RGB light-metering sensor and improved algorithm that works well and so far has delivered good results.

The Duel SD cards slots, absolute heaven for my requirements and being able to assign duel shooting back up, or shoot RAW, JPEG or video to either card.

If I had known the K3 was coming, I think I would have skipped the K5lls although its still a very capable camera the K3 just ticks all the boxes APS-C camera wise its second to none.

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This is one of the key points for the wildlife snappers amongst us who can be heavy croppers! The AF is looking promising but even a K5 shows noise at ISO 400 at a 100% crop. As long as the K3 is no worse for the same size cropped image say up to ISO 1600 I think we would be happy.
Dave