Pentax K-3 vs Pentax K-3 II — Which Is Better?

The Pentax K-3 and the Pentax K-3 II are both APS-C DSLRs, announced in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Both measure 131 x 100 x 77 mm and weigh 800 g, so size and weight favour neither body. The useful differences lie elsewhere, in features and battery life.

Cropping room is effectively the same, because the pixel counts sit within 1.5 percent of each other, 24 MP on the K-3 against 24.35 MP on the K-3 II. Both use APS-C CMOS sensors, so neither body offers a resolution advantage for prints or distant subjects.

The shooting package is shared too, so action and handheld work rely on the same tools. Both offer 8.3 fps bursts with 27 autofocus points, and both stabilise the sensor in-body for handheld frames. Each pairs a 1/8000 second top shutter speed with an optical pentaprism viewfinder.

Family clips and simple motion work turn out the same, because both cameras cap video at Full HD resolution and support up to 60 fps. A built-in timelapse function on both covers interval shooting without extra gear.

The practical difference is the file format, which shapes the editing workflow. The K-3 records MPEG-4 files, while the K-3 II records MOV or AVI, so pick the body whose files your editing software imports smoothly.

For travel and landscape photographers who want location data embedded in every frame, the K-3 II is the better pick because it has built-in GPS. The original K-3 offers no GPS, so geotagging a hiking or road-trip set means recording positions separately.

The difference runs the other way for light. The K-3 has a pop-up flash for quick fill on portraits or indoor snapshots, while the K-3 II drops it and relies on an external flashgun, which both bodies support.

Daily-use features match. Both carry weather sealing for shooting in rain or dust, and both use a fixed 3.2-inch LCD with 1,037,000 dots and live view. Neither offers touch input, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

The K-3 II is the stronger choice for a long day of landscape shooting, because its battery is rated at 720 shots against 560 for the K-3, a 28.6 percent higher rating. Both take the same D-LI90 battery, so spares and chargers transfer between the bodies.

Storage is shared rather than split. Both bodies take SD, SDHC and SDXC cards across dual slots, so two cards can ride in the camera at once, and neither charges over USB.