K5 vs K3

Regardless of the body you buy you will increase the lens count as you go forward. So my advice is buy the body you want straight off otherwise you will always hanker after it.

To correct the above.... the image noise is worse on the K-3 at high ISO's. 6400 and greater.

For those who regularly shoot at very high ISO's then it would be an issue in everyday use. For those who don't or very rarely shoot at such high ISOs then it's not going to be an issue.

I agree with you Smeggy. As I use the K3 I find it to be quite a step up in every other area except noise at high ISO. That doesn't impact my shooting but fully agree it's of little comfort to your needs.

You may end up hanging onto your K5's for some time as I can't see a lower noise model on the horizon and the latest input from Rice High is saying that there will NOT be a FF Pentax until after the new 645D arrives.

That is bad news if true for those who want Pentax FF but at least we can use our FF Ltd's on the Sony body if needs.

I am slowly being drawn towards a Df in silver to use alongside my K3 SE. I think they will compliment each other on a double harness.

Stay in your comfort zone Smeggy and enjoy the ride.

Best regards

It is a lovely looking camera, and class leading in high ISO performance, but probably not the best for landscape. For that other FF cameras are rated much higher, for instance the Sony A7(r) or Nikon 610/800.

To me, the Df is also bloated both in price and size. If Pentax ever go down the "digital MX" route I hope they learn rather more from the Sony A7 than they do from Nikon.

Back on topic please, K-5 vs K-3.

If true, I wonder whether Pentax have judged the market right -- in the sense that while the K3 is the linear successor to the K5 models and has a lot going for it, their R&D effort is now rumoured to be directed at the 645D II. I imagine the original 645D model is suffering somewhat from certain FF cameras having in many respects caught up with it, so there is a fair case for trying to re-establish the IQ margin to be expected of a medium-format camera. But I'm not clear the mark II will be able to outperform its smaller brethren in the way the original 645D did -- and so command the same sort of price in the market.

Meanwhile, FF ambitions for Pentax take a back seat, with the apparent assumption that APS-C will continue to be, overwhelmingly, the format of choice for DSLRs. If that is Pentax's judgement -- and none of us can know for certain -- they may turn out to be entirely right. But I have a sneaking worry that, just as they arrived late at the digital party, with all the disadvantages that then ensued, they are also going to be horribly late to tackle FF.

So, if FF is of no particular interest, embrace the K3. It seems in almost all significant respects a worthy successor to the (for its time) exceptional K5.