Pentax K-3 Mark II vs Pentax K-3 Mark III

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax K-3 Mark II and the Pentax K-3 Mark III, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Pentax K-3 Mark II was introduced in April 2015 and Pentax K-3 Mark III was introduced in March 2021. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-3 Mark II over Pentax K-3 Mark III.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-3 Mark III over Pentax K-3 Mark II.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Pentax K-3 Mark II and Pentax K-3 Mark III have 3.2" Fixed screens with 1,037k dot and 1,620k dot resolutions respectively. Pentax K-3 Mark III also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Pentax K-3 Mark III) allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Cameras have built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinders. They both have 100% coverage.

Pentax K-3 Mark II features a 24.35 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 366.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200. Pentax K-3 Mark III features a 25.73 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.3 x 15.5 mm and a total area of 240.3 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 1,600,000.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Pentax K-3 Mark II is equipped with PRIME III processor and can take pictures up to 6016 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 3072, 3072 x 2048, 1920 x 1080 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Pentax K-3 Mark III is equipped with PRIME V processor and can take pictures up to 6192 x 4128 resolution.

Lens Mount

Cameras have Pentax K_AF2 lens mount. Due to their APS-C sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 1.5x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

No Low-Pass Filter

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on either of the cameras. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (4.5 stops of compensation in Pentax K-3 Mark II and 5.5 stops of compensation in Pentax K-3 Mark III). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in GPS on Pentax K-3 Mark II

Pentax K-3 Mark II has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which allows you to automatically tag the location where you took your photos. You can later categorize, organize, and search for photos based on location. This is very useful for travel and outdoor photographers for documenting the locations where images were captured.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in GPS.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Pentax K-3 Mark III

Pentax K-3 Mark III has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Pentax K-3 Mark III

Pentax K-3 Mark III has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (5 GBit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Pentax K-3 Mark II has a Mini HDMI and Pentax K-3 Mark III has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax K-3 Mark II and Pentax K-3 Mark III come with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 720 shots on Pentax K-3 Mark II and with battery life of 800 shots on Pentax K-3 Mark III.

External Storage Slots

Pentax K-3 Mark II has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slots. Pentax K-3 Mark III has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I).

Shutter

Pentax K-3 Mark III has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-3 Mark II, and up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-3 Mark III. Pentax K-3 Mark II can shoot continuously up to 8.3 fps. Pentax K-3 Mark III can shoot continuously up to 12.0 fps.

Focusing

Pentax K-3 Mark II has 27 (25 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax K-3 Mark III has 101 (25 cross-type) focusing points. Pentax K-3 Mark III has detection range from -4 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Both cameras' exposure metering ranges from -3 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-3 Mark II and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-3 Mark III.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on Pentax K-3 Mark II and 1/200 sec on Pentax K-3 Mark III.

Pentax K-3 Mark II body has dimensions of 131 x 100 x 77 mm (5.16 x 3.94 x 3.03") and Pentax K-3 Mark III body has dimensions of 135 x 104 x 74 mm (5.31 x 4.09 x 2.91"). Pentax K-3 Mark II weighs 800 g (1.76 lb / 28.22 oz) and Pentax K-3 Mark III weighs 820 g (1.81 lb / 28.92 oz).

Pentax K-3 Mark II

Pentax K-3 Mark III

131 mm

100 mm

135 mm

104 mm

100 mm

104 mm

77 mm

74 mm