K3 II AF...

It would seem that the entire AF improvment on the K3II 's tracking is algorithm based? If so it could be implemented on the K3 (Original) but will they?
Not immediately but perhaps but sometime in the near future, it would seem that it is to stay in the range for a bit, well at least until stocks run out, or maybe it already has been silently implemented with the new firmware (V:1.20) but I'm not going to drop two grand on a lens to find out, as I really don't think anyone would notice the difference on any SDM lenses...
I think I'll be holding on to my K3 for a bit and wait and see what we do and don't get, mmmm Limiteds...

Much as I would like to see the new algorithm available for the original K-3, I suspect that it won't be because that would counter-productive for sales of the new version - why buy the new version if the old version would now do what most people want for the bodies that they already have?

I hope I'm wrong, but we will have to wait and see.

OTOH, maybe someone (very clever!) will unofficially reverse-engineer the new algorithm for the older body?

Broadly in agreement with you there but I do feel if there is a performance increase with AF possible that it should be across the board for the current range including the K S1 and K S2 but as you say we'll have to wait and see, the K3 II still has GPS, 4.5 stops of SR +panning SR (Vs3.5) Pixel Shifting, directional compass, which are quite a few extras, all for want of a pop up flash, not a bad trade really, Ricoh should do a kit with that new little flashgun and the 16-85 in a posh box, make a good pressie for someone (ME!)

Pentax has not been particularly proactive in pushing these sorts of improvements down the chain.
The high res mode seems an easy addition to any camera with capable hardware, which is like down to the k100d. It would be interesting to see if this eventuates as a firmware update or not.

Other brands, in a world outside the scope of this forum, are better at this post purchase support and I feel it's something Pentax/Ricoh could improve on or learn from.

I've asked this question in another thread but so far no answer. Does the K3ii have the same switch on, switch off filter system? You know the one I mean. The same filter that the K5ii has, but the K5iis doesn't have. I think it's called the AA filter. Does that all make sense?
CHEERS Vic.

I don't see how they could replicate the hi-res mode back down the line. Pentax's implementation is to move the RGBG filter separate to the sensor. If I understand it correctly, they need to shake mechanisms; one for the SR we know and the AA simulator, and a separate one just to move the filter now separated from the sensor

Not sure that's a requirement.
Probably done by moving the whole sensor 1 pixel - then each physical pixel position will be exposed to each of the colours.
Matt

In answer to Vics question above, the K5iis has no AA filter, therefore it is permanently 'off'. The k3 also has no physical filter but the sensor shake system provides a 'simulated' aa filter effect, and that can be switched on and off, as well as in two degrees of strength.

I believe the new K3ii continues with this exact same 'aa filter simulator'.

Exactly the same Vic, in fact the whole image chain appears to be the same, I was hoping for the same sensor as the new DXO King the, D7200. You never know but then again DXO kind of skews the results in favour of Nikon, not by any duplicity, just the way they score by default set up...

Ah - you're probably right Matt

And will the raw file of the co-sited RGB pixels be understood by Adobe Camera Raw? I'm not sure they've really understood the Fuji X-Trans sensor array yet.

What's not quite yet clear, well at least to me, is whether the pixel-shifted image will only emerge onto the SD card as a single 'synthesized' RAW image (or a single jpeg having been further processed normally from the synthesized RAW ) .... ???

The press release statement says that as an alternative to this the synthesizing can be carried out in the utility software (PDCU update presumably) or via in-camera ' RAW Development'. This opens up questions .... Most obviously, do we get the option to save the 4 separate RAW files individually in order to carry out this processing?

All the above leads me to think that the K3II is a work in progress for features planned for the "new" FF.

If the pixel shifted result is only available as a jpg that would be a very poor show indeed

It's interesting really ... 'processing' usually implies the conversion from the camera-captured data into either a RAW storage format, or directly in-cameras to a jpeg, or from a RAW format into a Tiff or jpeg on a computer. But here we have a new term (new in this context anyway) .... Synthesizing. So what's the difference between processing and synthesizing?

I'm not aware of any way, either in a camera or on a computer, of taking 4 sets of image data and merging then into a new single RAW .... Could this be the meaning of a new in-camera process ... 'synthesizing', and could it also apply to a new technique in computer software where the user carries out the synthesizing, presumably in an updated version of Pentax Digital Camera Utility ?