What a delight it was to go to SRS in person and pick up the camera in person - first time I've done that since I purchased my K-7 from them ahem years ago.... Of course the shop is a bit different currently and it's not a free for all for customers to browse wherever they want. Still full of interesting stock though, and of course friendly staff; you don't get that on t'internet.

No comments on AF etc as yet, as I've not had time to use the camera at all today. And TBH AF speed is not one of my major concerns or reasons for buying so it would be better to look for reviews from others to whom this really matters.

What I can say though is that first impressions are great.

The camera feels very tightly constructed and dense in a way that will be familiar to Pentax owners, perhaps more so than any other dSLR I've used. The viewfinder is lovely; large and bright. The menu system appears to be logically laid out and it's clear to read. The shutter is very nicely damped and quiet - the reviews on the internet make it sound a lot louder than it actually is. The grip is lovely and personally I would not see a need for the additional vertical grip for my use, despite the fact that I have large hands (I'm 6'3" and not exactly dainty).

Tonight I'm going to try and set it up with a few standard user profiles - and work out what I want to assign to the smart fn button! Over the next few days I hope to try it out a bit, and perhaps compare some images with my other camera - Fuji X100V which may well use a variant of the same imaging chip - to see how it competes in terms of ISO (only up to c6400 though as I have never ever needed to go higher than that so I'm not in the slightest bit interested!).

I'll report back when I've got something to share but in the meantime, for others who are anxiously waiting for the post to arrive, I think you're going to be very happy!

Cheers,

Jon

Popping into Watford first thing tomorrow 😁

Doing my bit to subsidise later price reductions and also the development costs of the K-1iii!

Allowing myself to be a little bit excited.

First new Pentax for me since K-5ii (and actually that one wasn't new) and looking forward very much to putting a nice collection of DA Limiteds to use, plus a couple of other oldie but goodies.

I've sold two camera systems to return to Pentax, which is where I started with my dad's Spotmatic and then my cherished MX which I bought with a lot of saved pocket money and newspaper delivery earnings more years ago than I care to remember!

Can't wait, and good to hear that the initial demand has been high; hopefully if the initial reviews are good, that position may continue for a while

135/2.5 SMCK has arrived in perfect condition. It’s beautiful and I’m looking forward to putting it to use.

Given the choice I’d much prefer a tilting screen to a fully articulated one; the implementation on the Fuji X100V is a good example of how it can be done on a WR camera whilst adding almost no bulk. Nevertheless, it’s not a deal breaker for me and I anticipate it would only be irritating on a handful of occasions per year. I’m still excited about the K3iii - I think it’s going to be a fabulous camera; not perfect perhaps but then what is?

Hmmm I may be (nearly!) of a certain age but new to Herts so won’t get all the references yet! Moved here from SE London between the lockdowns and will be nice to meet some locals once that’s possible, perhaps for a photo walk. I’ll put a separate post up sometime soon to see if there are any takers.

Cheers,

Jon

Completely agree.

I would imagine the pricing strategy is set by Ricoh and not local dealers - it’s the same price across all the UK outlets. And I have only good things to say about the service I’ve had from SRS as well as other UK dealers over the years (eg Park, WEX, others).

I’m not so keen on buying a brand new product which may (but hopefully won’t) have teething troubles from a foreign dealership just in case repairs are required. And the potential consequence of going for the cheapest option on line is the eradication of local shops and centres of excellence like SRS and others. That might not matter to some but I live only a few miles from Watford and there’s little other reason to go there (certainly not the football😀!!

20-40 DA Limited arrived today and is sat impatiently awaiting a body to be mounted on..... I’m coming home 😀😉

I wonder if an update to the K-1 may be faster if they’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting with the K3iii? Would be good news if that’s the case although frankly APSC is the sweet spot for me as modern FF lenses are just so huge!

They’re about to create a void in my wallet.....

At this point I think becoming the Leica of dSLRs but without the full red dot tax might make some sense and the new camera does look exceptional.