Photography News issue 21

Preview

FIRST LOOK PentaxK-3 II The K-3 II is Pentax’s flagship APS-C DSLR and it shows tremendous promise with an impressive specification at a very competitive price

SPECS

PRICE Body only £770, £849.99 with DA 18-55mm f/3.5- 5.6 AL WR. HD Pentax- DA 18-50mm f/4-5.6 DC WR RE £230 CONTACT www.ricoh-imaging. co.uk SENSOR CMOS with no AA filter, 24.3 megapixels, APS-C 23.5x15.6mm with Shake and Dust reduction system ISORANGE 100-51,200, auto SHUTTER RANGE 30secs to 1/8000sec, Bulb, flash sync at 1/180sec DRIVEMODES 8.3fps on continuous high, M 4.5fps, L 3fps METERING SYSTEM Multi-segment using 86k pixel RGB sensor EXPOSUREMODES PASM, green mode, hyper program, sensitivity-priority, shutter- and aperture- priority EXPOSURE COMPENSATION +/-5EV MONITOR 3.2in LCD, 1037k dots FOCUSING SAFOX 11 – spot, selected, expanded area, zone select and auto (27 AF points) modes FOCUS POINTS 27, 25 cross-type focus points VIDEO Full HD 1920x1080 CONNECTIVITY USB3.0, HDMI STORAGEMEDIA 2x SD, SDHC, SDXC. Image copy between the two possible. Save to both, separate Raw and JPEG, and sequential modes possible DIMENSIONS (WXHXD) 131.5x102.5x77.5mm WEIGHT 785g body with battery

the camera’s in-body shake reduction to move the sensor four times, one pixel at a time. Four shots are taken very quickly using an electronic shutter and merged together to give a higher definition image with superior colour reduction. A similar feature is on the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, although on that model the sensor is moved eight times, 0.5 pixel at a time. For more details on this mode as well as other key aspects of the K-3 II, see the interview with Ricoh Imaging’s Adrian Uden on page 14.

At the camera’s heart is a CMOS sensor with a resolution of 24.3 megapixels. The sensor maximises image resolution by doing away with an anti-alias (AA) mirror, but there is an AA filter simulator to reduce false colours or any moiré effect. With the AA simulator on, the camera applies a microscopic amount of vibration and two levels are available. The AA simulator has a bracketing option too. When shooting on a tripod with static subjects, the K-3 II has Pixel Shift Resolution mode, which uses

Pentax, now under the Ricoh Imaging banner, has been making significant introductions of late, notably the medium-format Pentax 645Z and there is the promise of a full-frame DSLR later in the year. The K-3 II sits at the top of its APS-C DSLR collection, replacing the current incumbent the K-3, and sells for £770 body only. The current Pentax line-up includes the K-50, K-S1 and K-S2, which are available in various colours and finishes to appeal to younger or more fashion conscious users. The K-3 II comes in any colour you like so long as it’s black. As befits a flagship model it is very highly featured. Starting from the ground up the stainless steel chassis and magnesium alloy body features 92 protection seals at key points resulting in a dust- and weather-resistant body. Our pre-production sample certainly felt solidly made and comfortable to hold. The K-3 II AF’s system uses 27 points, 25 of which are cross-type, and an updated algorithm to give swift AF and better AF tracking. The supplied DA 18- 50mm f/4-5.6 lens wasn’t ideal for testing AF speed on moving subjects, but the combination did snap into focus very quickly and its responsiveness in a wide variety of different lighting conditions was good. Overall, at this early stage, we can say the AF is accurate, decisive and responsive, but we will be trying the K-3 II with a wider selection of lenses to get a more accurate assessment when we do a full test With continuous shooting at 8.3fps, you can rattle through frames pretty rapidly and while this shooting rate is modest by comparison with some models, it’s good enough for most users and the camera’s low noise and vibration levels mean it isn’t too loud. In fact with the damped reflex mirror action and the low pitch of the shutter noise, the K-3 II is commendably quiet.

ABOVE Shot on a pre-production sample Pentax K-3 II with a DA 18-50mm f/4-5.6 at 18mm. No compensation was applied nor has the DNG Raw been adjusted in any way, ie. no highlights or shadows have been recovered in Lightroom, and as you can see despite the full-on backlighting the K-3 II delivered a file with plenty of shadow detail.

Photography News | Issue 21