Pentax K-3

Pentax K-3 is Pentax's Advanced DSLR digital camera originally released on April of 2014. It uses a 24 MegaPixel, CMOS APS-C sized sensor and has a max resolution of 6016 x 4000.

Pentax brought out the updated Pentax K-3 II (Read Full Comparison) in an effort to update this model.

The K-3 is positioned #24 out of 92 in Advanced DSLR cameras & over-all #134 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our list. You should use our Advanced camera filter to find camera results based on your personal factors.

Here is a graph of specific factors used in the rating system.

The Pentax K-3 has a history of related digital cameras. Below, you can see all earlier and new models along with main specs.

You can check the K-3 from several angles in the gallery underneath.

Below is a shortlist of positives and negatives of the Pentax K-3 based on aspects which are normally considered crucial in a digital camera.

The Pentax K-3 houses the Prime III processor. The sensor size in the Pentax K-3 is 23.5mm x 15.6mm (APS-C). The 367 mm² sensor has the ability to capture 6016 x 4000 pixels and aspect ratios of 3:2. The camera comes with Image Stabilization (Sensor based). Optical stabilization is more desirable than digital stabilization as the latter can cause cropping.

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

The CMOS sensor has 24MP and supports a standard ISO range of 100 - 51200. RAW photos are supported which means that the user has wider room to maneuver in post.

Pentax opted to skip the anti aliasing filter in the Pentax K-3. This could result in more sharper images but may introduce moire in certain conditions.

The picture underneath displays the K-3's sensor dimensions when compared to other popular sizes. The K-3 sensor has a crop factor of 1.5 and is showcased in green.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

To get a sense of specific aspect ratios, you can refer to the graphic below.

Pentax K-3 weighs 1.76 pounds (800 grams / 28.22 ounces) & the measurement of the camera is 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0"). The weight of typical Advanced DSLR camera is 776 grams so the Pentax K-3 is very much the same compared with its competitors.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Here is a shot of the Pentax K-3 besides a soda to help you get a sense of its scale.

The top view under will provide the button layout on the K-3.

The K-3 works with the Pentax KAF2 mount and has 17 lenses to pick from. Below is a few of the lenses we have in our collection which will work with the K-3.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight

Venus Laowa 25mm F2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro25mmf/2.8400g

Samsung D-Xenon 18-250mm F3.5-6.318-250mmf/3.5-6.3 455g

Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Samsung D-Xenon 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 Fisheye10-17mmf/3.5-4.5 320g

Samsung D-Xenon 100mm F2.8 macro100mmf/2.8 345g

Samsung D-Xenon 35mm F2 AL35mmf/2.0 195g

Venus Laowa 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO100mmf/2.8638g

Photography Glossary

Pentax smc DA 300mm F4.0 ED IF SDM300mmf/4.0 1070g

The K-3 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes
• GPS Yes

Digital cameras that come with NFC and / or Bluetooth compatibility can easily be used wirelessly via smartphones. You are able to copy files and usually alter settings without connecting physically to the camera.

A few applications even give a Liveview and hit the shutter in case you are not near the camera. If the camera contains a HDMI port, it could be attached to an external screen. The majority of cameras enable you to recharge the battery pack through the USB port.

The max video resolution in the Pentax K-3 is 1920 x 1080 and you can shoot in MPEG-4 and H.264 file format. 1080p resolution gives you an excellent balance in video quality versus file sizes but 1080p isn't going to leave you with any room to downsample. The body does include both headphone and microphone socket making it incredibly valuable while recording audio.

Pentax K-3 has got environment proofing which makes it a very good option for use in rough locations. This is particularly beneficial in case you are uncertain about the elements you might encounter in outdoor photography.

The Pentax K-3 houses a 3.2 inch fixed display screen supporting a resolution of 1,037 thousand dots.

Sadly the display screen isn't a touch screen. The K-3 also has a builtin Top LCD screen in order to instantly checkout the camera's settings.

Body cameras now worn by bakery staff to deter stealing

The View Finder specs for Pentax K-3 are as follows:

• ViewFinder Optical (pentaprism)
• Coverage 100%
• Magnification 0.64x

For sunny outdoor situations which make the camera displays washed out and tricky to see, viewfinders are particularly helpful.

Pentax K-3 continuous shooting rate is 8.0 frames per second. The max shutter speed is 1/8000 sec.

Pentax K-3 comes with both built in flash together with external flash support. The highest flash sync is 1/180 sec.

Pentax K-3 comes with both Phase Detect AF as well as Contrast Detect AF. Phase Detection focusing is a lot quicker & accurate when compared to Contrast Detect focusing. The camera boasts Face detection which is helpful for taking portraits of people.

It boasts 27 focus points to select from. It also includes Tracking AF for moving subjects. Pentax K-3 has manual focus if needed in low light occasions or you want to have more accurate focus control.

The battery pack (D-LI90) on the Pentax K-3 is made to last for 560 photographs based on the CIPA requirements making it lesser when compared to it's competition. The usual Advanced DSLR camera battery life is 909. Nikon D780 features the maximum (2260) battery life in this category of cameras.

Below is a listing of Advanced DSLR cameras having the best battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Nikon D780
K-3 vs D7802260 yesnoyes

Nikon D850
K-3 vs D8501840 yesyesyes

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Nikon Df
K-3 vs Df1400 yesnono

Canon 90D
K-3 vs 90D1300 yesnoyes

Nikon D500
K-3 vs D5001240 yesyesyes

The following bar chart displays a outline of the Pentax K-3 for varying forms of photography. To learn more, scroll to the specific paragraph underneath.

The Pentax K-3 has a points total of 79 which is excellent, and means the camera is a outstanding fit to use for portrait photos. Shooting portrait photos leans greatly towards sensor size, RAW support together with the flexibility to utilize off-camera lighting.

With a nice rating of 69, the Pentax K-3 is a good option for street photography. A decent street photography camera gives a perfect balance of picture quality plus portability.

A tremendous sports photography score of 76 suggests the Pentax K-3 is a great pick for taking photos of sports. A camera needs great tracking plus fast shutter speeds for sports photography.

Size is super critical in getting a camera for travel. All things considered, the Pentax K-3 gets a reasonable 60 for a travelling camera which makes it reasonably suitable to take on your holidays.

If you're planning to buy a digital camera for landscape photographs, the biggest factor will be image quality. The Pentax K-3 at it's outstanding score of 78 for a landscape camera is a tremendous pick in the current marketplace.

A camera for vlogging really should come with a moving screen, microphone port and ideally IBIS. Taking everything into account, the Pentax K-3 is just not good as a vlog camera as it comes to a lousy rating of 34.

If you are searching for replacements to the K-3, here is a range of the highest ranked cameras that fall under the family of Advanced DSLR.

The diagram down below gives you an overview of the K-3 compared to it's top rated competitors mentioned above.

Here are a handful of other cameras you may look into as alternative options. To check out a detailed comparison, visit the "compare" link.