Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome vs Pentax K-3

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and the Pentax K-3, 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 III Monochrome was introduced in April 2023 and Pentax K-3 was introduced in April 2014. 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 III Monochrome over Pentax K-3.

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

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 III Monochrome and Pentax K-3 have 3.2" Fixed screens with 1,620k dot and 1,037k dot resolutions respectively. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality 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 III Monochrome features a 25.73 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.3 x 15.5 mm and a total area of 361.2 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 1,600,000. Pentax K-3 features a 23.35 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 243.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200.

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 III Monochrome is equipped with PRIME V processor and can take pictures up to 6192 x 4128 resolution. Pentax K-3 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.

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) (5.5 stops of compensation in Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome). 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 Wi-Fi on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome 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 Monochrome

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome 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 III Monochrome has a Micro HDMI and Pentax K-3 has a Mini HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and Pentax K-3 come with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 800 shots on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and with battery life of 560 shots on Pentax K-3.

External Storage Slots

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

Shutter

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome, and up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-3. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome can shoot continuously up to 12.0 fps. Pentax K-3 can shoot continuously up to 8.3 fps.

Focusing

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has 101 (25 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax K-3 has 27 (25 cross-type) focusing points. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has detection range from -3 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome ranges from -2 to +21 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 III Monochrome and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-3.

Flash

Pentax K-3 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 13.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal or Wireless connection. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and 1/180 sec on Pentax K-3.

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

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

Pentax K-3

135 mm

104 mm

131 mm

100 mm

104 mm

100 mm

74 mm

77 mm