About Pentax K-3
PENTAX K-3 DSLR CAMERA PRESTIGE EDITION
What makes PENTAX K-3 DSLR CAMERA PRESTIGE EDITION, well, prestigious? The short answer is: technology. Everything from high-quality HD video capturing to weather sealing to multi-pattern white balance helps ensure that every shot you achieve with the Pentax K-3 is on a higher level than your run-of-the-mill camera.
Product Highlights
- The toggling anti-aliasing filter means you can choose whether or not it runs—a major innovation that really makes the Pentax K-3 stand out from the competition.
- Wireless capabilities abound here, featuring two SC card porsts, including one for an optional 16GB FLU card (designed by Ricoh specifically for the Pentax K-3). Oh, and if you want to control your camera remotely, like a scientist from the future? Go ahead and do that, too.
- High speed, high accuracy with focus, shutter, and mirrors mean that your photographs will turn out fantastic no matter what the situation.
What more could you want from a camera?
Learn about the PENTAX K-3 DSLR CAMERA PRESTIGE EDITION
Adorama welcomes you to the 21st century. You might have expected flying cars and hovering skateboards by now, but you don’t need any of that tomfoolery when you have the PENTAX K-3 DSLR CAMERA PRESTIGE EDITION in your repertoire. The Pentax K-3 prestige edition is a thing of beauty precisely because it is among the most advanced DSLRs on the market. With its high-resolution APS-sensor DSLR, this camera is highly innovative, featuring a number of technological “mini-breakthroughs” that would make this prestige a tantalizing choice for anyone in photography—period.
If it sounds like we at Adorama are bragging, let’s simply run through some of the most popular features of the Pentax K-3:
- Image processing. Where else to start? The 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor and a selectable anti-aliasing filter are first-rate, allowing you a high degree of image quality control that you simply can’t get from other less sophisticated cameras. The Pentax K-3’s ISO range of 80-51,200 is something you see only “expandable” in other camera choices, which should be indicative of the kind of technology we’re talking about here. And what about accessories like the HDMI port and a built-in electronic level? Yeah, they’re pretty handy too.
- Anti-alias filter. Notice we didn’t say whether or not the Pentax K-3 actually has one. The truth is, both. It’s a selectable anti-aliasing filter, which is the first of its kind, offering easy toggling between the anti-aliasing functionalities. This gives you no limitations and more control than ever before possible, allowing you to customize the level of details in your camera and in every single shot you take. Only basketball stars have this much control over their shots.
- Wireless. It wouldn’t quite be a 21st century camera if it didn’t have a healthy dose of wireless capabilities. So let’s run through them: there are two SC card ports (one intended for an optional 16GB FLU card), designed by Ricoh exclusively to be used with the Pentax K-3. And that’s just getting started. You can remotely control a number of things through the wireless features, from the auto-focus focus point to the “check live view” option. Yes, this essentially makes the Pentax K-3 a photography robot.
- Real-time scene analysis is no joke, not with an 86,000-pixel sensor. The Real Time Scene Analysis System features a light-metering sensor that reads the scene, makes the adjustments, and generally leaves you looking like a very quick photographer.
- And how could we not mention video? Here, the Pentax K-3 will capture HD movies in the H.264 format, supporting 60p/50p/30p/24p. And the dedicated switch ensures that when the moment arrives, you can simply move from still photography to video without missing a single beat. This is perfect for those live events where precious moments seem to come out of nowhere.
Can you do better than the PENTAX K-3 DSLR CAMERA PRESTIGE EDITION? For that, we suggest contacting a space agency. Otherwise, this sophisticated instrument is perfect for photography enthusiasts who are serious about their craft.
From the Manufacturer
The Pentax K-3 is Pentax's most advanced DSLR. A rugged, high-resolution APS-sensor DSLR, the K-3 boasts several technological firsts. Designed for photography enthusiasts with previous picture-taking experience, the camera promises near pro level performance and image quality improvements.
The Pentax K-3 has a new 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor and the world's first selectable anti-aliasing filter (more about that soon). Autofocus is achieved via 27 AF sensors with an impressive range of -3 to +18 EV; in other words, this camera should be able to focus in near-darkness. Pentax is also introducing a proprietary FLU wireless SDHC technology that will allow users to operate all of the camera's controls from their smart phone or tablet. The camera's body is magnesium alloy and it is water-sealed, and offers dual SD card slots.
Optional OFC-1 16GB Flucard WiFi SD Card Available (IPxOFC1) - Benefits:
Mirror live-view on your Smart devices or PC in real time
Change various settings on the camera remotely (Aperture, Shutter speed, ISO setting, Exposure)
Change focus point and release the shutter via touch control if it's available.
Browse the images stored in the card from browser on Smart devices or PC.
Download the image data from card to Smart devices or PC.
Key features:
• 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor
• Selectable anti-aliasing filter
• SAFOx11 AF engine; 27 AF sensors includes 25 cross sensors and 3 sensors d edicated to low-light focusing
• Optional FLU wireless contr ol
• ISO range 80-51,200
• 1080/60p HD video in H.264 format
• Body-based Shake Reduction
• Dual SD Card Slots
• Pentaprism Optical Viewfinder with 100% coverage
• Built-in electronic level
• Weather sealed
• Multi-pattern white balance
• JPEG, Pentax PEF and Adobe DNG 14-bit RAW files
• HDMI Port
• HDR Image Capture
Let's take a closer look at this new camera's most important features.
24MP sensor: The Pentax K-3 features 24MP, APS-C-sized CMOS sensor, providing a 1.5x crop factor. It is coupled with a newly developed PRIME III imaging engine with what Pentax describes as high-efficiency noise and image processing capacities and an anti-aliasing filter-less design.
Selectable Anti-Aliasing Filter: The K-3's most significant innovation is a first-ever Selectable Anti-Aliasing filter, giving the user the ability to easily toggle anti-aliasing functionality on or off, for supreme resolution and zero limitations. THere is no physical filter; instead, using the same technology that powers the camera's sensor-based Shake Reduction technology, when the anti-aliasing simulator is turned on, microscopic vibrations are applied to the image sensor unit at the subpixel level during image exposure, generating the same level of moire-reduction effect as an optical anti-aliasing filter. The image is then computationally fine-tuned to remove any aliasing artifacts.
Since there's no filter to cut down light during this process, the effective light sensitivity of the sensor is greater. The downside? Anti-aliasing simulation is most effective with a shutter speed of 1/1000 second or slower.
Wireless capabilities: The K-3 has two SC card ports, and one of them is intended for an optional 16GB FLU card, designed by Ricoh exclusively for use with the Pentax K-3. Using this card's unique wireless capabilities, , the photographer can remotely change any camera settings such as aperture, shutter speed and ISO, shift the AF focus point, release the camera shutter, check Liveview image and more via a wireless device. Users can also download images to mobile devises and PC. Eye-fi Wireless and standard SDX Memory cards are also compatible.
Class-leading burst rate: At 8.3 FPS burst rate, the Pentax K-3 is very well-suited for extreme action capture and demanding high performance shooting. A maximum 1/8000 second shutter speed freezes even the fastest action without subject movement blur, and is rated for 200,000 cycles. The K-3 continuously records as many as 22 images in the RAW format or 60 images in the JPEG format in a single sequence.
Pentax has employed several innovative technologies to boost the camera's performance, including a high-speed, high-accuracy control mechanism that regulates the shutter, mirror and diaphragm independently; a damper mechanism that effectively minimizes mirror shock; and a high-speed data transmission system incorporated in the PRIME III imaging engine.
SAFOx11 Autofocus Module: The newly designed SAFOx11 autofocus module maximizes 27 AF sensors and a vast light sensitivity range of -3EV to +18EV. The new focus module includes 25 cross sensors and three AF sensors dedicated to low light focusing.
Real Time Scene Analysis with 86,000 pixel sensor: The new Real Time Scene Analysis System features an 86,000 pixel RGB light-metering sensor and improved algorithms that further enhance accuracy of exposure, white balance and autofocusing.
H.264 video: The Pentax K-3 captures HD movie capture in the H.264 format (60p/50p/30p/24p), also including the ability to switch from still image to video recording with the flip of a dedicated switch. Equipped with a headphone terminal and stereo microphone terminal for external microphone connection. The user can also adjust the audio recording level manually and monitor sound levels during recording.
Fully weather sealed: As with most advanced Pentax cameras introduced recently, the K-3 boasts a rugged all-weather design. With 92 special seals, the K-3 boasts a fully weather and cold proof design to resist water, fog, snow, sand, and dust, for top performance in extreme field conditions as well as in the studio.
Multi-pattern white balance: When shooting scenes that include multiple light sources, such as sunlight and shade or flash, light sources are recognized automatically and the image is separated into different areas. White balance is adjusted separately in each area according to the different light sources to achieve optimal color reproduction.
Conclusion and Recommendation
The tradition of Pentax innovation not only continues under Ricoh, but it seems to have been ratcheted up several notches with the K-3, a very intelligently designed DSLR. This camera has the potential to be an instant classic.