K-3 III Monochrome!

Way to go Pentax.

Fuji has dropped the ball. With Leica & their success with Monochrome Fuji should have made an X-ProM years ago.

Hope the Pentax sells well.

Can't wait to see your full review of it, @3percent!

Thanks Spencer! I didn't take to any of the Leica Monochrom cameras, sometimes all it takes is one or two big omissions or misses in a design and it sort of ruins it for me. But I have two K-3 III's already and I find them to be fantastic cameras- an all Monochrome sensor version is just icing on the cake. Have you used a K-3 III yet?

I would love to see a review of the KIII monochrome! I started out with Pentax (still have a K50 and a K5) and they're nice cameras.

They are generally I agree- fine cameras that really hold up.

Up until the K-3III came along though, Pentax was never to be taken seriously for any kind of action work. The K-3III however breaks new ground for them. So much so that the lens lineup appears very dated compared to the camera. It's just as, if not more, capable than the D500 for action and sport. I have both of them and I've seen the results and the performance first hand. As we know though, the body only isn't going to make a mediocre lens perform better. Pentax needs some serious sports and action glass, and without third party support the lineup is even more limited (no pun intended).

The 70-210mm f/4 is not consistent in CAF, the 150-600mm isn't fast enough and its expensive, and the 60-250 while the best of the three consistency wise, is now discontinued. I have the the 60-250mm f/4 on mine, its your best option for CAF and works very consistently despite the older AF tech. It's too bad that Ricoh didn't offer at least two more modern high performance zooms with the K-3 III at the same time. Supposedly a 70-300mm is in the works and to be announced soon, but Ricoh moves glacially ;).

Posted by: @3percent

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They are generally I agree- fine cameras that really hold up.

Up until the K-3III came along though, Pentax was never to be taken seriously for any kind of action work. The K-3III however breaks new ground for them. So much so that the lens lineup appears very dated compared to the camera. It's just as, if not more, capable than the D500 for action and sport. I have both of them and I've seen the results and the performance first hand. As we know though, the body only isn't going to make a mediocre lens perform better. Pentax needs some serious sports and action glass, and without third party support the lineup is even more limited (no pun intended).

 

The 70-200mm f/4 is not consistent in CAF, the 150-600mm isn't fast enough and its expensive, and the 60-250 while the best of the three consistency wise, is now discontinued. I have the the 60-250mm f/4 on mine, its your best option for CAF and works very consistently despite the older AF tech. It's too bad that Ricoh didn't offer at least two more modern high performance zooms with the K-3 III at the same time. Supposedly a 70-300mm is in the works and to be announced soon, but Ricoh moves glacially ;).

I totally agree. When it comes to the D500 vs K3 III, it really comes down to lenses. Ricoh could really use 3-4 lenses that are fast and use silent, quick focusing. Even something like a 400mm prime like Nikon's, would be amazing for them.

Again we agree completely Jason. I edited my typo too, I meant the 70-210 f/4, not the 70-200 f/4. That lens is the Tamron re-badge as you know, and I had the same issues with the Tamron version on different mounts. There is something flawed in the programming of that lens for CAF work. Otherwise that would have been a solid lens for the K-3 III. The 70-200mm f/2.8 Pentax is great, but very expensive, and so is the Pentax Telecon.

They need at least two mid priced high speed zooms, the 55-300mm PLM has the speed, but the optics could be better and I don't like the folding design. The 55-300mm HD is very decent, but screw drive. Its like they need 3-4 solid lenses that don't have one or more deal breakers.