Pentax K-3 vs. Pentax K-3 Mark III

Camera Comparison, Reviews and Tests

Detailed comparison and review of Pentax K-3 and Pentax K-3 Mark III. With our comprehensive overview, you can simply compare design, sensors, proximity characteristics, memory capacities, but also other key features of both cameras and easily decide which one is the right choice for you. Our goal is to help you identify the main differences between products and find the camera that best fits your needs and expectations.

Camera Specifications Comparison

Pentax K-3 vs. Pentax K-3 Mark III Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Product Type Digital camera - SLR with movie recording Digital camera - 4K - SLR with Live View mode, movie recording
Lens Included Body only Body only
Height 10 cm 10.35 cm
Width 13.15 cm 13.45 cm
Depth 7.75 cm 7.35 cm
Weight 715 g 735 g
Weight Details - Camera body only: 735 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 820 g
Body Material Magnesium alloy Magnesium alloy
Enclosure Colour Black Black | Silver
Protection Weatherproof, freezeproof, dust-resistant Weatherproof, dust-resistant
Navigation - GPS receiver
SENSOR Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Sensor Resolution 23.35 Megapixel 25.73 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type CMOS CMOS
Total Pixels 24,710,000 pixels 26,780,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 23,350,000 pixels 25,730,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) APS-C (23.3 x 15.5 mm)
Frame Rate (Max Resolution) - 30 fps
Sensor Features Dust Reduction (image sensor vibration), anti-aliasing simulator function Dust Reduction (image sensor vibration), anti-aliasing simulator function
Image Stabiliser Optical (image sensor shift mechanism) Optical SR II (5-axis image sensor shift mechanism)
Built-in Optical Image Stabiliser Yes Yes
Sensors Dust alert sensor, digital level metre Digital level metre
PROCESSOR Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Image Processor PRIME III -
LENS Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Lens Mounting Type Pentax K Pentax K
FOCUSING Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Auto Focus TTL phase detection TTL contrast and phase detection
Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 27 101
AE/AF Control - Auto-area AF, Zone AF, Expanded area AF
Face Detection Yes Yes
VIEWFINDER Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Viewfinder Type Optical - fixed eye-level pentaprism Optical - fixed eye-level pentaprism
Optical Viewfinder Field Coverage 100% 100%
Optical Viewfinder Magnification 0.95x 1.05x
Optical Viewfinder Dioptric Correction Range -2.5 to +1.5 -4 to +1
Interchangeable Focusing Screens Yes -
Features - Auto eye sensor
EXPOSURE & WHITE BALANCE Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
ISO (Max) 51200 1600000
Native ISO 100-51200 -
Light Sensitivity ISO 100-51200, ISO auto (100-51200) ISO auto, ISO 100-1600000
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot, highlight-weighted
Exposure Modes Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, ISO priority, shutter & aperture priority Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, ISO priority, shutter & aperture priority
Bracketing Modes - Depth of field bracketing, motion bracketing
Special Effects Soft, Slim, Pastel, fisheye, natural, bright, Vibrant, Sketch, monochrome, Muted, landscape, portrait, Water Colour, miniature, Cross Process, Retro, Colour Extract, Toy camera, starburst, High contrast, Colour Invert, Bleach Bypass, Posterisation, Radiant, Reversal Film, Shading, Tone Expansion, Bold Monochrome, Unicolour Bold Soft, Slim, fisheye, natural, bright, Vibrant, monochrome, Muted, Flat, landscape, portrait, miniature, Cross Process, Retro, Colour Extract, Toy camera, High contrast, Colour Invert, Bleach Bypass, Radiant, Reversal Film, Shading, Tone Expansion, Bold Monochrome, Unicolour Bold, Colour replace, Grainy Monochrome
White Balance Custom, automatic, presets Custom, automatic, presets
White Balance Presets Cloudy, tungsten light, Flash, daylight, shade, fluorescent light (cool white), fluorescent light (daylight), fluorescent light (warm white), Color Temperature Enhancement (CTE), fluorescent light (daylight white) Cloudy, tungsten light, daylight, shade, fluorescent light (cool white), fluorescent light (daylight), fluorescent light (warm white), Color Temperature Enhancement (CTE), fluorescent light (daylight white)
Shutter Type Mechanical electronically-controlled Electronic, mechanical electronically-controlled
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000 sec 1/8000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 30 sec 30 sec
Exposure Compensation ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 2, 3 or 5 steps -
X-sync Speed 1/180 sec 1/200sec
Exposure Range EV -3-20 (ISO 100) EV -3-20 (ISO 100)
DISPLAY Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Type 3.2" LCD display 3.2" LCD display
Touch Screen - Yes
Display Format 1,037,000 pixels 1,620,000 pixels
Display Form Factor Built-in Built-in
Display Features Colour control Colour control, contrast control, display brightness control, night vision LCD display
FLASH Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Camera Flash Pop-up flash -
Guide Number (m / ISO 100) 13 -
Flash Modes Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, slow synchro, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction -
Red-Eye Reduction Yes -
Features AF illuminator, flash +/- compensation, wireless off-camera control -
VIDEOGRAPHY / CAMCORDER Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Digital Video Format AVI, MJPEG, H.264 H.264, MOV
Image Recording Format JPEG, DNG (RAW) + JPEG, DNG (RAW) JPEG, DNG (RAW), PEF (RAW)
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 3840 x 2160
Microphone Operation Mode Mono Stereo
Microphone Features Sensitivity control Wind noise reduction, sensitivity control
MEMORY Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Memory Card Slot Dual SD card Dual SD card
Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card, SDHC UHS-II Memory Card, SDXC UHS-II Memory Card
Memory Card Included - No
Image Storage RAW 6016 x 4000
JPEG 6016 x 4000
JPEG 4608 x 3072
JPEG 3072 x 2048
JPEG 1920 x 1280
RAW 6192 x 4128
JPEG 6192 x 4128
JPEG 4752 x 3168
JPEG 3648 x 2432
JPEG 1920 x 1280
Video Capture H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 30 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 25 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 24 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 60 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 50 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 25 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 24 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 60 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 50 fps
H.264 - 3840 x 2160 p - 30 fps
H.264 - 3840 x 2160 p - 24 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 60 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 24 fps
BATTERY AND CHARGING Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Battery Type Pentax D-Li90 Lithium Ion Pentax D-Li90 Lithium Ion
Details Pentax D-Li90 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included) Pentax D-Li90 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included)
Battery Life Photo shooting - 560 shots (50% flash usage)
Photo shooting - 720 shots (flash off)
Playback - 6.2 hours
Photo shooting - 800 shots
Playback - 250 minutes
CONNECTIONS Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Interface HDMI, USB 3.0 HDMI, USB-C, IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2
Connectivity Features - Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view, Wireless Image Transfer
Print Standard Exif Print support Exif Print support
Computer Connectivity - Mac, Windows
Flash Terminal Hot shoe Hot shoe, PC terminal
Connector Type USB 2.0
HDMI output
Microphone
Headphones
Remote control
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB Type-C)
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
Microphone (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
Headphones (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
Remote control (sub-mini phone 2.5 mm)
FEATURES Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Self-Timer Delay 2sec, 12sec 2sec, 12sec
Continuous Shooting Speed 8.3 frames per second 2.5 frames per second, 12 frames per second, 7 frames per second
HDR Mode Auto HDR mode Auto HDR mode
Additional Features Audio recording, digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, AE lock, AF lock, cropping an image, resizing an image, saturation control, GPS ready, interval shooting mode, mirror lock, in-camera RAW processing, peripheral illumination correction, HDR image enhancement technology, Shade Correction, Eye-Fi Card Ready, NR Slow Shutter, High ISO NR, Dynamic Range Compensation, no anti-aliasing filter, Lens Distortion Correction, primary colour filter, Interval Movie Record, Automatic composition correction function, colour moire correction, Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction, Flucard Ready Audio recording, date/time stamp, digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, AE lock, AF lock, cropping an image, resizing an image, interval shooting mode, in-camera film editing, in-camera RAW processing, peripheral illumination correction, horizon correction, NR Slow Shutter, High ISO NR, Lens Distortion Correction, primary colour filter, Automatic composition correction function, colour moire correction, Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction, diffraction correction, Pixel Shift Resolution technology, colour fringe correction, multiple exposure capture, GPS stamp, D-range correction
OTHERS Pentax K-3 Pentax K-3 Mark III
Included Accessories Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, USB cable, eyecup, shoe cap, battery grip terminal cover, sync terminal cover Eyepiece cover, carrying strap, battery charger, body cap, USB cable, eyecup, shoe cap, sync terminal cover
Software Drivers & Utilities Digital Camera Utility 5
Max Operating Temperature 40 °C 40 °C
Min Operating Temperature -10 °C -10 °C
Service & Support - Limited warranty - 1 year
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