Pentax K-3II Pentax DSLR (Body Only)

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I love Pentax cameras, and I love the fact I can plop on some 30 year old lenses or a new shiney one and its going to work with lense stabilization. If you are on the fence of buying a step above the basic DSLR, this camera is for you. Got to your local store and put your hands on all the piles of Nikons and Cannons that are under 2k, then order this camera and put it in your hands. Youll know immediatly that you made the right decision. Heavy duty magnesium body, weather sealed, built in GPS, and... the one thing hardly anyone mentions when talking about this camera, the built in Astrotracer function! The Astrotracer makes this camera the best thing ever next to the K1 if you like to take shots at night of the sky, or have any sort of interest in doing it or will ever find yourself in a dark sky location. Once it has a GPS and you go through the positioning calibration which is super quick you can take some amazing long exposure shots of the stars as the cameras sensor will track the movement of the stars. Im going off memory here, but with the typical 50mm lens you can get up to five minutes of tracking, and with a 300mm around one minute or so. You need dis. Most of the shots Ive included here were taken with a old F1.4 manual lens or a 300mm F4.5 Tair 3 lens (Soviet made from the 70s) and a standard ball mount tripod.

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I purchased this camera about a week after it was released. I previously had a D5300(dropped it) and I was unsure if I should get a D7200 or The K-3II, both being in the same price point. Ended up going for the K-3ii. No flash: I dont use the flash as much and saw myself carrying a separate flash unit even when I had the d5300. GPS: I was skeptical about the GPS on this one. The built in GPS on the D5300 would take about 10 seconds to adjust. So every time the screen turned off it would have to look for the GPS signal and it was a battery killer. The GPS in the K-3ii takes about 2 seconds and doesnt affect the battery as much. Weather Sealed: I paired it with a 18-55 mm WR lens, I havent used much the WR since California is currently in a drought but it will come in handy eventually. There arent many WR lenses available. I use a 35mm prime and would buy a 35mm WR in a heartbeat (50mm WR is available tho) Lens: Works with every pentax lens. I currently have it paired with an 18-55 WR Pentax, 35mm f/2.4 Pentax, and an old Pentax-M 50mm f/2. All works perfectly, the newer ones focus very fast. The old one doesnt have AF. Body: Sexy magnesium-alloy body. The style is different from Nikons and Canons, its more squary which I liked. Viewfinder: Pentaprism, enough said. CONS: 1. It cant toast toast.

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Camera: I Love This Camera! Upgraded from a Pentax K-x (now 6 years old)..What an UPGRADE! Its so much quieter, faster and full of amazing technology! It takes such amazing quality pictures! This is actually pushing me to go beyond and improve my understanding and knowledge of photography...how? it does not have the "pre-set scene settings"... Like "Portrait" mode, or "Landscape" mode....Which I started breaking away from on my k-x, thats how it I knew, it was time... Upgrade! Lenses: All of my lenses for my K-x fit on this camera and work just fine! Recall: About the recall, the serial number I have does fall below the "622...." number...However, I have had Zero issues with the camera. Competition: I did buy a Nikon a few weeks ago, honestly could not stand the thing! I took it right back to store for a refund!!! Seller: "Web Offers" Shipping from this company was BLAZING FAST! Tracking was fantastic too! Fast to respond to inquiries and answer questions! Thank you! 2 of my pictures using the K-3II Here are 2 pics I took in the last 2 days - 1 is a Sandhill Crane the other a Sunflower. Yes, there are areas for improvement, Im not a professional photographer (YET), just a rookie that loves....photography! Hope this is helpful!

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This review is brief, and aimed directly at those of you who are longtime Pentax users who are wondering whether its time for an upgrade...If you are on the fence, not sure if the upgrade is worth it, consider this review as a vote of "yes...absolutely...buy it". I have been using the 2013 Pentax K5-II for several years now, primarily for macro photography, and have been happy. But I kept coming back to Amazon to consider upgrading to the K3-II. In short: I am so glad I upgraded. There is nothing wrong with my K5-II, but I was attracted by the improved sensor, larger LCD screen, GPS, and dual SD-Card slots. I must say, so far so good! The improved sensor quality is impressive. Im getting noticeably more detail from my macro shots (typically, flowers, show with the Pentax 100mm macro lens paired with the Pentax 1.4x rear converter). The results have impressed me. Its early. Ive only had this for a couple weeks now, and have yet to try out many of its other touted features, but the improved image resolution has been enough to rid me of any buyers remorse. I highly recommend it.

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How about 6 stars? I have been a Pentax fan since 1973 - I grew up with (and put myself through college with) Pentax Spotmatic F. Over the years I tried some Canon, Nikon, and most recently Canon G series. But I wanted to get back to my roots with an SLR. DSLR to be precise. After significant searching, the K-3II seemed to be the best compromise of quality (image sensor) and flexibility (lens choice). This camera truly delivers. The number and placement of controls takes getting used to (after all I had Canon G series for almost 10 years) but does make sense once you get used to it. You have to remember what the front and back dials do relative to the current menu, and you have to learn where the buttons are, to get through some initial sessions. Once you get comfortable with the controls, Pentax ergonomics start to make sense. I particularly like the hand grip, for my hands it is perfect. I like the large display, very bright, on the back. It is easy to read even in daylight. Then there is image quality. The colors are very bright, to me reminiscent of original Ektachrome - not as surreal as Kodachrome, but faithful and vivid. The skin tones are pleasing, and the shadow details is superb. Highlights may be a bit washed out, but I have some experimenting to do to determine if that is the camera, or my choice of settings. The lenses I have tested so far (50mm f1.8, 18-135 f3.5-5.6) have been outstanding. The autofocus is fast and precise. It is important to make sure you are focusing on the correct area, once or twice I noticed it was getting confused by specular lighting, but that only required repositioning. I highly recommend the Pentax lenses. Battery life seems to be good so far. In shooting 350 pictures, rapid fire, at a wedding the battery was down at most 20%. Not bad at all. Two memory chips for JPG and RAW functions is a wonderful option and well thought out. There are decent camera outputs, but I frankly dont really care about hooking the camera up to the computer, Id just as soon pull the chips and plug them in directly to my laptop for faster transfers. Finally, the instruction book (yes, a paper booklet) is clear, concise, and easy to read. I look forward to many more hours learning about this camera. I am very pleased with the K-3II and consider it a fine addition to the Pentax family.

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The bad. I wish I waited another week and I could have saved $10! The good. Everything. (No tech-spec review here--get that elsewhere). This is my 5th Pentax digital camera. I recently sold off everything, thinking I was gong to take the leap into mirrorless. But after a full week of research (hands-on, videos, reviews, ratings, etc.) I realized this camera is everything I need, still. So at just over $700, the decision was simple. Very small compared to other DSLRs. Built like a tank. Fits perfect in my hands. Easy to carry for a couple hours (with hand strap) with a shorter lens. Great in low-light. Awesome 8fps for sports and wildlife. Super quiet shutter compared to the other brands. With 2 or 3 of the pancakes lenses (can be had used for cheap), a nice 2.8 mid-range zoom and maybe a longer zoom for sports/wildlife is all anyone will ever need. And WAAAY cheaper than any of the mirrorless systems out there. I priced out the top (my top ) 3 mirrorless...Fuji, Samsung, Olympus and the best I could do for any body and a fast prime lens was over $2k close and $3K if you tried to add a second prime lens!! I got this body, 3 Yongnuo flashes, a trigger, a 50mm prime, a 17-70 prime, and a new tripod for well under $2k. You do the math. For anyone that STILL, for whatever reason has any hesitation about joining the Pentax community, just do it. I completely understand it but as soon as you hold this camera, you will be in love with it. And you can take this Everywhere, All The Time! That is a huge bonus in my book. For the lazy or inexperienced there are numerous and very nice auto settings, filters, etc but this camera excels when you make it do what YOU want it to do. So save yourself hours of research and flow charts trying to figure out what camera/system is the "best". I did all that, again, and ended right back where I started. I couldnt be happier.

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I got into photography about two years ago. I had been an avid photographer when I was younger, in the Navy..back in the days of 35mm film with your choice of ISO...I think it was ASA back then-and my camera of choice was Pentax. I digress... I originally purchased a Pentax K50 and absolutely love that camera...but...when I get into something I always go overboard and want the best. The K50 had limitations and I kept looking at the K 3. The K 3 II came out, and I couldn’t resist. It is a great piece of equipment and I don’t think anyone will be disappointed if they get one. Versatile, comfortable ergonomics, and a matte black and rubberised finish. I like that it does not have a pop-up flash...I have very seldom been satisfied with the results of using a pop up flash. This also has no programmed settings such as “beach”, “portrait”, “pets”, etc... forcing you to learn how to set up your camera manually to get the best shots. It does have a “green” setting-which is quite like “auto”. Compatible with all my Pentax DSLR lenses. Love it....

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I was originally looking at a Nikon D5500. They have the same Sony sensor, and while both omit the anti-aliasing filter for better resolution, the Pentax gives you so much more with the built-in anti-aliasing option (using their pixel shifting technology), a weather sealed body (and lenses), Pixel Shift Resolution for greater color saturation, Pentaprism vs PentaMirror viewfinder (much brighter), Dual SD slots instead of one, GPS with GeoTracking (the omission of the dinky on camera flash is a non-issue for me-just get a real flash), Astrotracer, In-Camera image stabilization is much better than in the lens, and In-Camera lens focusing works fast (yes a bit noisier but too many have had their In-Lens focus motors die just after the warranty in all the major brands-and it is an expensive repair!), 7.3 fps vs 5 fps, 1/8000 vs 1/4000 shutter speed, 200,000 vs 150,000 shutter durability, and the Pentax has both headphone and Mic-In jacks for video. The menu system is great once you learn it and gives you incredible control over your pictures. I used to shoot Olympus (OM-1) and Canon (AE-1P) in the film days and getting back into serious photography I was leaning towards the Nikon but could not deny the real benefits of the extra features that Pentax throws in for the money. In addition, I can use virtually any Pentax lens made over the last 50 years on this camera including those sweet SMC/SMC-A 35mm and 50mm f1.4 and f1.7 lenses that you can buy on Ebay for less than $80! The only con so far is that Pentax uses a compression algorithm for their Video encoding that makes the video a little soft. I am hoping that Pentax is listening to the only grip on all the web reviews and fix this in a firmware update in the near future. Also note that this camera offers you the option to save your RAW files in Adobe DNG rather than the Pentax PEF formats (better in Photoshop and Lightroom). The camera is a bit larger than the Nikon D5500 but for a large guy like me it fits much better in my hands; and by the way, this camera has a well formed grip that feels good to hold (The Nikon was just too small for my hands). I just love this camera and cannot say enough about how Pentax has worked to bring this level of quality and professional control to a camera at this price-point! Sometimes we just follow the crowd, but sometimes something comes along and makes you think outside the box--and this camera is it! I like Pentax because they think outside of the box and make available what the others wont! It is a tank of a camera that will serve you well for many years and in tough environments--dont hesitate to become a Pentaxian!

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Jan 19 2017 update One of the reasons for getting the K-3II was pixel shift capability. I must say that I am amazed by the increased resolution and dynamic range. I have done recently HDR in conjunction with pixel shift. The results were just jaw dropping. Viewing at 100% on a 27" 2560X1440 monitor, it is still sharp with incredible details. This is the kind of sharpness and micro-contrast that I have only seen produced by high resolution medium format cameras. A benefit from this revelation is that my lenses are still keeping well with the sensor, no need to upgrade. Original: This is my 8th Pentax dSLR, replacing a K-5IIs and a K-S2. The out-going cameras are still fine tools, but no comparison to the K-3II. The fit-and-finish of the K-3II is the best, very solid, substantial but not heavy or too big. The shutter is incredibly soft, quiet and smooth. K-5 & K-5IIs already have excellent shutter, but K-3II again is better. AF is much improved over previous models. Some AF fine adjustments were necessary for all previous models; however, none is needed for lenses tested so far - 16-85, 50-135, Sigma 70-200 OS. AF is fast and confident on these 3 lenses. Resolution is incredible; I was not prepared when I saw the fine details. Aug 7 2016 update Just finished a long overseas vacation. Local weather was hot and humid, the camera performed flawlessly. AF with 16-85 was fast, secure and accurate. I am very familiar with the Sony 16 MP in K-5 series, but this 24 MP sensor is just stunning. There is at least one stop of highlight headroom when using RAW. Dynamic range is also excellent, with easy 3 stops shadow recovery. I never realize how useful the GPS was until now. I can easily pin point the exact location of where an image was taken. Finally, I did try the pixel shift function. It actually works quite well for static subjects. SR on this camera is definitely improved over that of K-5 series. Unless you have extra money you dont know what to do with it, this camera represents the best APS DSLR and the best value also. Highly recommended.

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Amazing APS-C camera. I have been a Pentax DSLR user for many years and upgraded to the K-3 II from a K200D and couldnt be happier. While I loved the 200D, this camera is light years ahead in every way. Very rugged, excellent build quality and fit and finish, amazing features and lots of buttons means less fumbling around in various menus. A GPS receiver replaces a built-in flash, but that is ok, I use an external flash anyway and the GPS is very helpful if you want to return to that perfect spot. Excellent camera and great price!

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