Pentax K-3 lens kit w/18-135mm WR 24MP SLR Camera with 3.2-Inch TFT LCD and 18-135mm WR f 3.5-5.6 (Black)

Comment

I got caught by a Bait-N-Switch here on Amazon. I had made a search for a Pentax K-3II on Amazon and this camera-lens kit showed up. I saw the K-3II body for $800+, and this lens for $400+, and then I saw this camera/lens kit. I evidently clicked on it without fully reading what I was ordering. When I opened the box, I hit the roof and was about to send it back to Amazon. I already have a K-3 and various lenses, but not this lens. The reason that I ordered it was because I had dropped and broke my favorite camera and lens last week. A 2nd camera is always needed. This is a good camera. After cooling off, I have decided to keep it. Edited August 19, 2016 One thing has caught my attention. The 1st K-3 that I bought with 18-55mm lens and Battery Grip cost me about $700 from B&H Photo-Video. That was about a year and a half ago. Instead of gradually going down in price the way things normally work, this camera has gone up in price. This camera with a battery grip and 50 mm lens is now over $900 on B&H Photo. B&H does not seem to be carrying this lens, but this lens is selling on Amazon for over $400. With this deal, this lens is coming out to about $200. So, this is not a bad deal. (While I should have read the details closer, I still consider this a Bait-N-Switch.) Update Aug. 20, 2016 Apparently the only warranty on this camera body comes from Amazon and the vendor. I could not register the purchase of a K-3 with the U.S. Ricoh-Pentax website. In the drop-down list of cameras that could be registered, the K-3 was not there. This lens was there. The K-3II body was there. But not the K-3 body. So I suspect that the only warranty on this camera body comes from Amazon and the vendor.

Show more

Comment

Great camera with more bells and whistles than I understand. I upgraded from K-20 and before that a *ist. Still have K-1000 and LX bodies in an old gadget bag. Learned on a Speed graphic and taught photography in college in the old days. I had a personal color darkroom before Photoshop. Im impressed and very happy with the K-3 in every way, including the kit lens. this camera is more advanced and will make better exposures than all the others Ive used combined and therein is the problem. It is so capable and sophisticated that I want something I can hold and read at my leisure and to have in the camera bag for reference when needed. I want an instruction manual and this came without one. I first bought a body only and when I could not find a manual in the box, I assumed it was a mistake. The vendor responded there was no manual and they could not get one but referred me to a web page with a PDF of the manual. I returned the body and ordered another K-3 with kit lens after reading Amazon member reviews which said a printed manual was included. It also arrived without the a manual. The vendor responded that it was included as a PDF on the enclosed CD. It was not. I now have two aftermarket manuals. One is a bound version of the web site PDF and adequate. The other is privately done, well illustrated and excellent.but is available only in electronic PDF. I am a mossback curmudgeon but reasonably proficient with my smartphone and similar substitutes for the printed word. But I want and this camera deserves a printed manual. I give it five stars anyway. It is that good, if you can figure out how to use it without turning pages.

Show more

Comment

I really love this camera! Previously I had owned the Pentax *ist DL, I had bought that when it first came out and was rather happy with it. Eventually though, I wanted something I could shoot video on as well. I had contemplated getting one of the many Canons but I just hated the idea that I would have to buy new lenses. But then I saw the K-3. I wont go into all of the features but, for me, I liked the idea that (with the right lens) the camera is weather resistant and I could still use my old lenses... plus since its a Pentax I can use any K-mount lens. So I got it along with a old Pentax manual 50mm 1.7 lens. I dont know why I had waited so long... this camera makes me want to take pictures! Everything I liked about the *ist DL, I love on the K-3! When I use it with my autofocus lenses it responds so much faster than my older camera. Plus flash pictures seem to be better balanced with the available light and not washed out. I am very happy with this purchase!

Show more

Comment

The Pentax K3 has received so many superlative reviews that it isnt worth repeating minutia. Simply do a web search for K3 reviews and youll have hours of reading material and virtually all positive. Since Ricoh purchased Pentax and got them out of the awful Hoya ownership, the brand has come alive again. Best of all the camera is designed for serious photographers with unique features that still are lacking in other DSLRs and mirror less designs from SONY, Nikon, Canon and all the others. Examples include a programmable anti-aliasing filter ranging in three steps from off to full on, optional GPS hot shoe gadget that controls the movement of the sensor to track the night sky for night photography, 7fps, extremely quiet shutter, weather sealed, allow body, and arguably the smallest size and weight of any professional grade APS body. Both Nikon and Pentax use SONY sensors and the 24 meg sensor in the K3 is exceptionally well implemented by Pentax. If you shoot RAW format instead of JPG, you can use software such as Adobe Light Room to process the files and achieve incredibly good dynamic range and recovery of shadow detail under low light conditions. The K3 is an exceptional camera for still photography. Its weakness is its video capability which is just OK, at best. But Pentax isnt alone in this area. Pentax, Canon, Nikon, all trail Panasonic and to a lesser degree SONY at this point in terms of video implementation. If you have a need for extremely high performance video in a still camera, the Panasonic GH4 trumps anything presently available from Pentax, SONY, Nikon or Canon, enabling everything from Ultra HD/Cine 4K to 720P. But if you prefer looking through a viewfinder and seeing 100% of what youre framing, and want an APS format camera that is simply as good as it gets, the K3 should be seriously considered.

Show more

Comment

I could go for a lengthy review about this camera, but at large I would be repeating a lot of things from previous reviews. But here is my take after working with this camera for about a week now, and I took about 500-600 shots with it in different scenes lights and surroundings. I have shot Pentax cameras for the last 30+ years, going from ME Super to SF10 to K100D and my most recent was the Kr 2 years ago. I have to say that this K3 is a significant step up from the Kr in the following respect: Going from 12 to 24 MP, the sharpness is amazing, and the JPEG photos look a lot better than with the Kr The layout of the buttons and controls is in my eyes a lot more logical on the K3, and the buttons on the camera that control menu items are indeed the ones I use most, AF settings for instance. The camera is quite a lot heavier than the Kr (especially with the battery grip) but it feels super solid and even rugged. For the first time I bought a sling strap, which I love, just had to get used to have this thing hanging up side down.... AF is fast and quiet, I did see some cases where it had a hard time, but overall I think the AF too is an improvement compared to older models. Also I am impressed with the way the shutter operates so quietly and smoothly, and 8 frames a second!! I dont miss all the shooting modes from the Kr, it works great in P mode and I even catch myself not using the green Auto mode anymore. I set my 3 user mode (right now) for Continuous, 5 shot bracketing and 3 shot bracketing. The 2 SD cards are set for JPEG on one and RAW on the other which I find convenient for quick viewing of the jpegs on my laptop when I am on the road, and when I come home I dont have to separate the files. One reviewer was complaining about how cumbersome it was to turn off the display while shooting. But once you turn it off thru the info button, it is easy to turn on with "info" for a quick adjustment and off again with "menu" All together the K3 is new, but I love what I see so far! The camera has a professional feel to it for sure, and may not be for the beginner. I personally am impressed with the design and the way the controls and menus are set up! I have added some photos and I worked with the 18 - 135 mm WR lens.

Show more

Comment

I did a lot of research before I bought this camera. Like most people Im not rich, so I want to get the best bang for my buck. The result is that I research EVERYTHING before I buy it. Without a doubt the Pentax K3 is the best camera out there for the price. With more features that the Canon EOS 5ii, for which you can still pay over $1,200 just for the body, you get a really nice camera. I also LOVE the fact that the body and lens is weather resistant!

Show more

Comment

I bought this Pentax K-3 as a replacement for my old Pentax K-10D. The new K-3s noise performance is light years ahead of the older model. I can now get good wildlife pictures at dusk and dawn (low light) using a 300mm telephoto lens with a fairly fast shutter speed by using up to ISO 6400. The higher 12800 and 25600 do contain visual noise though which is expected. The old K-10D showed unacceptable noise at ISO 1600. So Ive gained 3 more stops. Of course all of my old lenses work with this camera too. Also the old wireless remote control works with it. I would recommend this reasonably priced DLSR to any one.

Show more

Comment

Awesome camera. Totally awesome I have been shooting Pentax cameras for years now and do not intend to stop any time soon. My K20d is getting a little old so I decided to spring for the K-3 and wow is it a step in the right direction. A HUGE step. Flawless ergonomics, two card slots, HUGE range of lens options, good high ISO performance and range, resolution is great, Shake Reduction on every lens. I could go on and on about why this camera is awesome but the specs speak for themselves. It delivers on every single point they advertise it on and then some. You wont regret this purchase.

Show more

Comment

Ive been a Pentax user for a few years. My previous cameras were the K-7 and K-01. The K-3 is leaps and bounds ahead of both. The autofocus is always spot-on. Ive taken about 200 shots so far; the AF hasnt missed one. Many of these were in low-light. I havent tried the continuous AF on moving subjects, yet. The detail capture is stellar. Kudos to Pentax/Ricoh for removing the AA filter. High ISO and noise: I was impressed. The amount of noise with extreme ISO levels (12,800 - 25,600) at 100% is about the same as the last generation of APS-C cameras. But heres the catch: you have way more pixels to work with, so the noise performance is actually great. If you were to downsize a high-ISO image from the K-3 and compare it to a high-ISO image from last generation, the K-3 would look significantly better. (Though it already looks really good before you even clean it up.) Body: I havent really tested this camera yet, but it seems to be built as tough as the previous top-end Pentax DSLRs. I put my K-7 through all kinds of abuse: rain, snow, the tropics, and a minor chemical accident. 20,000 shots and a few years later - still works like the day I got it (the 18-55 WR kit lens, too). The ergonomics have not changed a lot, but the K-3 seems slightly more comfortable to hold and easy to operate (thanks to a couple of button layout changes) than the K-7. YMMV. -----The 18-135 lens---- The bundled lens is a mixed bag. The build quality and autofocus are excellent. The zoom range is very useful. The sharpness in the center of the image is good. But the border sharpness is a huge letdown. I believe the trusty (and cheaper) old 18-55 WR has better border sharpness, which makes a difference in landscape photography (at least if you are pixel-peeper or plan on printing big poster-size prints). If youre after excellent image quality with weather-sealing, better look to the DA* 16-50. Or save yourself some money and buy the DA 18-55 WR if you only need good image quality. I would only recommend the 18-135 bundle if you want the versatility of a wide-to-telephoto zoom and youre willing to give up image quality around the edges of the frame.

Show more

Comment

Okay....so Ive always had Pentax Cameras, so I may be a bit biased. This is my third Pentax DLSR and I had 2 SLRs and a film Point and Shoot before this. After buying my last one (a D200), I had thought about moving to a different brand... When the K3s came out and the price for the K3 dropped, I decided that I didnt need to make the move. The K3 has everything that I need from a camera, and the flash and lenses that I already own will work on it and it was a no brainier. With all of that said, this camera is a joy to use. Menu system is good, and the amount of the controls available outside of that are great. It fits my hand well and its weather sealing, along with the weather sealed lenses, make it great to take out on the boat, or for those moody pictures in drizzle, lighter rain, or fog. Color accuracy seems great to me and the low noise levels allow me to take pictures of my son playing college hockey. Overall, I really like this camera and am overjoyed that I could get it at a great cost. I just hope that I dont get lured in by their new full-frame camera.

Show more