K3 lll problems

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A beautiful car, from the decade the pentaprism and its flipping mirror were invented!

Sure, placing snow chains on the partially-obscured rear wheel is a real pain (fingers with frost-bite), but it's a real shame that no company is courageous enough to build cars like that any more.

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Miles Green
Pentaxian since 1997!
Corfu, Greece
N.B. All my images are protected by Copyright
 
However, what I don't get is why this is a big deal, or a deal of any size. The Pentax K3III is designed and intended to be primarily an APSC wildlife/action orientated camera. Not many of its intended userbase are going to be doing much static studio work at 1/60 sec at low ISO.

Granted I haven't taken many photos with it yet, but I don't think I've taken many slower than about 1/360 sec. But you never know. I may one day want to take pin sharp photos of a pack of cards and a paint brush. So now I guess I'm armed with the knowledge to avoid 1/60 sec at low ISO. :)
Hmmmm I'm a methodical photographer, years and years of commercial photography has done it to me!

Set exposure, frame in the viewfinder, focus and press the shutter. I don't require super fast auto focus as I don't photograph wildlife or sports.. I do use low ISO as I understand that this gives better image quality as in the days of film.

I don't even look at the back of the camera after I take an exposure because I already have seen what I am photographing through the viewfinder, just get it correct first.

So if I am using low ISO I am likely to get shutter shock ? Keep in mind that I used most of the time PENTAX 6X7 so I am familiar with shutter shock although I used 'mirror up' feature as part of my rhythm.

I like the idea of this K3 lll mainly for it's huge viewfinder and it's robust build plus my K5 ll is getting a little long in the tooth. It's starting to get that shutter action without even pressing the shutter release.
 
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My theory to this problem:

The softness was found at low ISO values and certain exposure times. The first thought was, that there is shutter shock at those exposure times. However, this is just one theory and it was not tested properly.

To me the situation is this:

Pentax K3iii does some processing on the RAW files - there was a lot of discussion about it. The processing reducing noise and improving sharpness starts at ISO > 200 - and I do believe that the missing processing leads to the problems.

However, these problems are not caused by the camera but by a lens that was build as portrait lens and thus, renders softly. The softness of this lens becomes visible where there is no sharpening by K3iii. Take a lens made for high reolsution like a macro lens or the newer DFA 50 mm and you won't find any problem at all. Maybe the photos taken at ISO 100 or 200 would be better than at higher ISO as the true optical resultion of a prefectly performing lens would outperform the results from in-camera sharpening. However this is my theory and we have to check if it is true.
 
I have no doubt that DPR found in their test that there was some slight blurring that may or may be caused by shutter shock at 1/60 sec at low ISO. And, I have no issue at all with DPR pointing it out in a test of a static studio scene. Presumably that is a point of doing such tests.

However, what I don't get is why this is a big deal, or a deal of any size. The Pentax K3III is designed and intended to be primarily an APSC wildlife/action orientated camera. Not many of its intended userbase are going to be doing much static studio work at 1/60 sec at low ISO.

Granted I haven't taken many photos with it yet, but I don't think I've taken many slower than about 1/360 sec. But you never know. I may one day want to take pin sharp photos of a pack of cards and a paint brush. So now I guess I'm armed with the knowledge to avoid 1/60 sec at low ISO. :)
But from time to time ones need to do 1/60 or less for paning for instance.
 
An Edsel, the other day outside a liquor store in nearby Sierra Vista. The owner older like his car, but both of them still running fine. The Edsel had a huge motor just when people started wanting smaller cars. And then, say the psychosexual car design experts, it had a female-shaped grill when people wanted male-shaped extrusions. In any case, not sure if it's a good analogy for the K-3 faux issue? Maybe Teslas, not the self-driving headlines but the repeated small maintenance problems that aren't solvable...

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News tip here. This rumored to be mock up of upcoming K3mk4



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No, the Edsel was a good solid car. Lemon laws really picked up in the '70s when GM and Ford made some really terrible cars, like the exploding Chevy pickup trucks and Ford Pintos.
 
OMG! So high tech, so trendy with those sensuous salacious curves hinting at promising sleepless nights editing the massive dominating 200 MB RAW images!
 
My theory to this problem:

The softness was found at low ISO values and certain exposure times. The first thought was, that there is shutter shock at those exposure times. However, this is just one theory and it was not tested properly.

To me the situation is this:

Pentax K3iii does some processing on the RAW files - there was a lot of discussion about it. The processing reducing noise and improving sharpness starts at ISO > 200 - and I do believe that the missing processing leads to the problems.

However, these problems are not caused by the camera but by a lens that was build as portrait lens and thus, renders softly. The softness of this lens becomes visible where there is no sharpening by K3iii. Take a lens made for high reolsution like a macro lens or the newer DFA 50 mm and you won't find any problem at all. Maybe the photos taken at ISO 100 or 200 would be better than at higher ISO as the true optical resultion of a prefectly performing lens would outperform the results from in-camera sharpening. However this is my theory and we have to check if it is true.
From exif they used the DA* 55 f1.4 at f5.6.

I doubt this lens at this aperture would have any resolution issue, unless they have a really bad copy. Even if it's a (somehow) portrait lens on APS-C, in the center it's supposed to be very sharp, f5.6 being the sharpest for most Pentax lenses, and the samples at low ISO are soft corner to corner.
 
My theory to this problem:

The softness was found at low ISO values and certain exposure times. The first thought was, that there is shutter shock at those exposure times. However, this is just one theory and it was not tested properly.
It was tested quite well and it is well established that this is indeed what is happening. ES shot is sharp. Different exposure times are OK too.
To me the situation is this:

Pentax K3iii does some processing on the RAW files - there was a lot of discussion about it. The processing reducing noise and improving sharpness starts at ISO > 200 - and I do believe that the missing processing leads to the problems.
This makes no sense. There are sharp photos at ISO 100/200 (switch to the other lighting). The blur has NOTHING to do with ISO, only exposure time.
However, these problems are not caused by the camera but by a lens that was build as portrait lens and thus, renders softly. The softness of this lens becomes visible where there is no sharpening by K3iii. Take a lens made for high reolsution like a macro lens or the newer DFA 50 mm and you won't find any problem at all. Maybe the photos taken at ISO 100 or 200 would be better than at higher ISO as the true optical resultion of a prefectly performing lens would outperform the results from in-camera sharpening. However this is my theory and we have to check if it is true.
The lens is NOT the problem. Yes, it is soft at corners but the center should be perfectly sharp.
 
My theory to this problem:

The softness was found at low ISO values and certain exposure times. The first thought was, that there is shutter shock at those exposure times. However, this is just one theory and it was not tested properly.

To me the situation is this:

Pentax K3iii does some processing on the RAW files - there was a lot of discussion about it. The processing reducing noise and improving sharpness starts at ISO > 200 - and I do believe that the missing processing leads to the problems.

However, these problems are not caused by the camera but by a lens that was build as portrait lens and thus, renders softly. The softness of this lens becomes visible where there is no sharpening by K3iii. Take a lens made for high reolsution like a macro lens or the newer DFA 50 mm and you won't find any problem at all. Maybe the photos taken at ISO 100 or 200 would be better than at higher ISO as the true optical resultion of a prefectly performing lens would outperform the results from in-camera sharpening. However this is my theory and we have to check if it is true.
From exif they used the DA* 55 f1.4 at f5.6.

I doubt this lens at this aperture would have any resolution issue, unless they have a really bad copy. Even if it's a (somehow) portrait lens on APS-C, in the center it's supposed to be very sharp, f5.6 being the sharpest for most Pentax lenses, and the samples at low ISO are soft corner to corner.
Plus .. the same lens was OK in other images. It is NOT the lens. Yes, it is somewhat poor in the corners but not bad overall.
 
I was skeptical at first but after testing it happens to me strongest at 1/60 sec in low iso quite a mystery really, I'm not 100% convinced it is just shutter shock it seems intermittent?
At 1/60 of a second, depending what focal length you are using, you're not really guaranteed a sharp image every time. It is my impression that in the old days before image stabilisation, many used 1/100 or even 1/200 at normal focal lengths to be sure their pictures would be sharp.

And they probably had standards not comparable with pixel peeping a 26 megapixel APS-C image at 100% (equivalent to pixel-peeping around 60 megapixels full frame at the same actual FL).
 
I was skeptical at first but after testing it happens to me strongest at 1/60 sec in low iso quite a mystery really, I'm not 100% convinced it is just shutter shock it seems intermittent?
I have what I believe is shutter shock on a K5-IIs between 1/60 and 1/180, and it also seems intermittent. It happens more often than not, but some shots are perfectly sharp at those same shutter speeds.
 
I was skeptical at first but after testing it happens to me strongest at 1/60 sec in low iso quite a mystery really, I'm not 100% convinced it is just shutter shock it seems intermittent?
I have what I believe is shutter shock on a K5-IIs between 1/60 and 1/180, and it also seems intermittent. It happens more often than not, but some shots are perfectly sharp at those same shutter speeds.
Is that on a tripod or hand held?

I very rarely use a tripod, but I have never noticed shutter shock with my K5-II. However, it is also possible that I am a kak photographer ;)
 
I was skeptical at first but after testing it happens to me strongest at 1/60 sec in low iso quite a mystery really, I'm not 100% convinced it is just shutter shock it seems intermittent?
I have what I believe is shutter shock on a K5-IIs between 1/60 and 1/180, and it also seems intermittent. It happens more often than not, but some shots are perfectly sharp at those same shutter speeds.
Is that on a tripod or hand held?

I very rarely use a tripod, but I have never noticed shutter shock with my K5-II. However, it is also possible that I am a kak photographer ;)
Mostly hand held, which is why I'm not positive that is the issue, but the blur has a very distinct look and direction to it. It also goes away at 1/45 and lower, and 1/250 and higher shutter speeds. Sometimes it's just images that are a little softer than I'd expect, others there an odd vertical doubling.

I was puzzled by it for a long time. All of the talk about shutter-shock got me looking a little closer and it seems like that would match the symptoms. I still have to do some testing on a tripod.
 
My theory to this problem:

The softness was found at low ISO values and certain exposure times. The first thought was, that there is shutter shock at those exposure times. However, this is just one theory and it was not tested properly.

To me the situation is this:

Pentax K3iii does some processing on the RAW files - there was a lot of discussion about it. The processing reducing noise and improving sharpness starts at ISO > 200 - and I do believe that the missing processing leads to the problems.

However, these problems are not caused by the camera but by a lens that was build as portrait lens and thus, renders softly. The softness of this lens becomes visible where there is no sharpening by K3iii. Take a lens made for high reolsution like a macro lens or the newer DFA 50 mm and you won't find any problem at all. Maybe the photos taken at ISO 100 or 200 would be better than at higher ISO as the true optical resultion of a prefectly performing lens would outperform the results from in-camera sharpening. However this is my theory and we have to check if it is true.
From exif they used the DA* 55 f1.4 at f5.6.

I doubt this lens at this aperture would have any resolution issue, unless they have a really bad copy. Even if it's a (somehow) portrait lens on APS-C, in the center it's supposed to be very sharp, f5.6 being the sharpest for most Pentax lenses, and the samples at low ISO are soft corner to corner.
Plus .. the same lens was OK in other images. It is NOT the lens. Yes, it is somewhat poor in the corners but not bad overall.
Do we have photos taken with that lens at resolutions K3iii delivers?
 
My theory to this problem:

The softness was found at low ISO values and certain exposure times. The first thought was, that there is shutter shock at those exposure times. However, this is just one theory and it was not tested properly.

To me the situation is this:

Pentax K3iii does some processing on the RAW files - there was a lot of discussion about it. The processing reducing noise and improving sharpness starts at ISO > 200 - and I do believe that the missing processing leads to the problems.

However, these problems are not caused by the camera but by a lens that was build as portrait lens and thus, renders softly. The softness of this lens becomes visible where there is no sharpening by K3iii. Take a lens made for high reolsution like a macro lens or the newer DFA 50 mm and you won't find any problem at all. Maybe the photos taken at ISO 100 or 200 would be better than at higher ISO as the true optical resultion of a prefectly performing lens would outperform the results from in-camera sharpening. However this is my theory and we have to check if it is true.
From exif they used the DA* 55 f1.4 at f5.6.

I doubt this lens at this aperture would have any resolution issue, unless they have a really bad copy. Even if it's a (somehow) portrait lens on APS-C, in the center it's supposed to be very sharp, f5.6 being the sharpest for most Pentax lenses, and the samples at low ISO are soft corner to corner.
Plus .. the same lens was OK in other images. It is NOT the lens. Yes, it is somewhat poor in the corners but not bad overall.
Do we have photos taken with that lens at resolutions K3iii delivers?
Why would this lens be OK with one exposure time and not the other? Aperture matters, yes, exposure time, no. That is why the reason for this softness .. the blur .. is not the lens but camera shake.
 
My theory to this problem:

The softness was found at low ISO values and certain exposure times. The first thought was, that there is shutter shock at those exposure times. However, this is just one theory and it was not tested properly.

To me the situation is this:

Pentax K3iii does some processing on the RAW files - there was a lot of discussion about it. The processing reducing noise and improving sharpness starts at ISO > 200 - and I do believe that the missing processing leads to the problems.

However, these problems are not caused by the camera but by a lens that was build as portrait lens and thus, renders softly. The softness of this lens becomes visible where there is no sharpening by K3iii. Take a lens made for high reolsution like a macro lens or the newer DFA 50 mm and you won't find any problem at all. Maybe the photos taken at ISO 100 or 200 would be better than at higher ISO as the true optical resultion of a prefectly performing lens would outperform the results from in-camera sharpening. However this is my theory and we have to check if it is true.
From exif they used the DA* 55 f1.4 at f5.6.

I doubt this lens at this aperture would have any resolution issue, unless they have a really bad copy. Even if it's a (somehow) portrait lens on APS-C, in the center it's supposed to be very sharp, f5.6 being the sharpest for most Pentax lenses, and the samples at low ISO are soft corner to corner.
Plus .. the same lens was OK in other images. It is NOT the lens. Yes, it is somewhat poor in the corners but not bad overall.
Do we have photos taken with that lens at resolutions K3iii delivers?
As a suggestion if you want to pursue this... there isn't much in resolution terms between the KP/K-70 and the K-3 III. There are samples in the lab scene widget, and probably lots elsewhere on the web. EXIF info should tell you whether DPR has used the exact same copy of the lens for the other bodies.

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https://breakfastographer.wordpress.com
 
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My theory to this problem:

The softness was found at low ISO values and certain exposure times. The first thought was, that there is shutter shock at those exposure times. However, this is just one theory and it was not tested properly.

To me the situation is this:

Pentax K3iii does some processing on the RAW files - there was a lot of discussion about it. The processing reducing noise and improving sharpness starts at ISO > 200 - and I do believe that the missing processing leads to the problems.

However, these problems are not caused by the camera but by a lens that was build as portrait lens and thus, renders softly. The softness of this lens becomes visible where there is no sharpening by K3iii. Take a lens made for high reolsution like a macro lens or the newer DFA 50 mm and you won't find any problem at all. Maybe the photos taken at ISO 100 or 200 would be better than at higher ISO as the true optical resultion of a prefectly performing lens would outperform the results from in-camera sharpening. However this is my theory and we have to check if it is true.
From exif they used the DA* 55 f1.4 at f5.6.

I doubt this lens at this aperture would have any resolution issue, unless they have a really bad copy. Even if it's a (somehow) portrait lens on APS-C, in the center it's supposed to be very sharp, f5.6 being the sharpest for most Pentax lenses, and the samples at low ISO are soft corner to corner.
Plus .. the same lens was OK in other images. It is NOT the lens. Yes, it is somewhat poor in the corners but not bad overall.
Do we have photos taken with that lens at resolutions K3iii delivers?
Why would this lens be OK with one exposure time and not the other? Aperture matters, yes, exposure time, no. That is why the reason for this softness .. the blur .. is not the lens but camera shake.
Different ways of processing by the camera due to different settings ...
 

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