Monochrome Pentax K-3 III? NICE! | Cameras and Coffee 15 April 2023
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- Опубликовано: 14 апр 2023
- Ricoh announced the Pentax K-3 Mark II in a monochrome edition this week. The new version will have a black and white sensor with very good to great performance that replicates black and white film far better than bayer sensors. Also, with black and white sensors, as ISO increases, noise looks more like film grain instead of looking like digital artifacts. This is one of the most exciting camera announcements in years.
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"White Gold (Instrumental Version)" by Tommy Ljungberg used under active license from Epidemic Sound at the time of this video's upload.
I adore the fact that Pentax are nestling in their niche and producing beautiful and unique products. I shoot a KP and that it just a wonderful camera
Absolutely yes. Niches are a good place to be and by creating a niche presence it frees a company to not have to cater to the mainstream, which means they can be more creative and think well outside the standard mold.
I still have two Pentax film cameras plus four Pentax lenses, all stored away since digital photography made all of them including black and white film obsolete. Even though I am now on the Fuji platform, I will grab this camera any day to once again only carry a black and white camera where again I view the world only in terms of contrast, textures, lines and shadows composing dramatic scenes.
"Pentax" is gray on the Pentax K-3 III Monochrome...so there is a subtle design change on the front of the camera.
Oh good eye. That's so subtle I missed it.
The Pentax and K-3 logo are grey, the SR logo is silver instead of gold, everything that is colour on the normal K-3 is white (ie blue trash can and even the famous green button), the top LCD has white instead of green backlighting, the menus are all white and finally it says Monochrome over the rear screen. So there are quite a lot of design changes and there is no single colour on the camera anywhere to be found.
@@DavidHancock I did hear that the menus on the LCD are all B&W too!
Kind of mentioned by another poster, but ALL buttons & dials have been converted to grayscale. Even the famous "Green" button is gray. This is along with the gray PENTAX label already mentioned.
To your point though, I would have liked it to be named the K-3 M (or something) versus K-3 MKIII Monochrome.
I did not catch the buttons and dials. Thank you!
⭐️ thanks for your thoughts on this….I use my K3 ii all the time, used to shoot a lot of 35mm B&W…when it comes to upgrading I’ll most probably choose this monochrome body over a regular K3 iii ⭐️
Hi Dave I agree, a full frame monochrome camera will be fantastic. Back in the day Ricoh was releasing only APS-C bodies and I decided to go with the F mount because I got tired of waiting for Pentax full frame. Is difficult to jump aps-c to full frame or the other way around if you are invested in a lot of lenses. If I ever get another Pentax aps-c body it will be the K-mono
I also found that the FF sensors tend to have better noise control than the APS-C sensors. My now-ancient K-1 does better with noise at many ISOs than the A6400 I had for a year. This is especially true in the 640 and slower range. I like the size of an APS-C camera, especially when I set out on a 12+ mile hike, but full frame sensors seem to just perform a bit better (and this could just be down to enlargement ratios, honestly.)
We need a camera with a removable bayer filter. Probably an engineering impossibility, but would be awesome.
I'd be happy with a camera that has swappable sensors, which could be a bit easier.
Agreed, would be pulling the trigger if they had done this full frame instead of crop. Ironically if the price points K3 to K1 stayed the same there would be a minimal cost difference to get full frame. Oh well, sticking with film.
Thank you so much for talking about the K3 III. Really looking forward to your review.
I made a comment on Ted Forbes’ M11 review video the other day that I would buy a monochrome digital camera if a major Japanese manufacturer made one. Somebody left a reply that there’s K3 monochrome to consider. I didn’t know that as I didn’t pay attention to Pentax at all.
Honestly I’m seriously considering buying one. I’d love it to be a full frame but I had success when I was shooting with my Canon 40D in the past. The advantage of full frame in my eyes is that a 16mm wide angle lens doesn’t become a 24mm and you’re able to get a super wide perspective. I don’t shoot wide angle that much and in fact I hate that Apple doesn’t put a normal lens into their iPhones but I digress.
I just went back to b&w film last year. My only digital cameras right now are my iPhone and my Canon 5d ii which I’m using to digitize my negatives. I’m tired of Canon (Nikon, Sony, and Fuji too) putting so much emphasis on video capabilities that I have no interest in, not to mention the price (Canon R5 is a whopping $3700 with just the body). I think the K3 iii would be a good addition to my arsenals.
And there are a LOT of very good and highly affordable vintage Pentax lenses that will work just fine on their DSLRs. If you're happy with manual focus, the SMC-M 50mm f/1.4 is probably the sharpest fast 50 I've ever used and the color rendition is incredible. On APS-C, that lens in particular is stunning for portraits.
Hi David, thank you for the thoughts on the K-3 III Monochrome. I have a K-3 III and use it regularly, with an APS-C and fill frame lens set that matches the photography I do. I also have some Pentax 35mm film cameras. I am really pleased Pentax has produced this Monochrome camera, and like their strategy of multiple offerings of rugged camera's for DSLR users. Given I can always use software to translate photos from my K-3 III to monochrome when I want to, or use the film cameras, I am not sure I can justify the expense of a dedicated monochrome APS-C camera. I am aware of the advantages of a dedicated monochrome sensor, but you are not giving that much up by using a colour bayer sensor then translating to mono. Thanks again for the interesting discussion.
Thank you, Ross! I agree that as an add-on camera, it's a spendy thing.
Hello. Watching this video while drinking Kenyan coffee also, from my little local roaster. Haha. They are really fine coffees.
I appreciate your first impressions. The K3 monochrome will be the first relatively affordable monochrome digital camera. But on preorder, it is priced at € 2500 in my country, so it is quite expensive nonetheless. I shoot APSC Pentax cameras, essentially for price reasons. So a K1 monochrome would have been out of reach. At least I can dream of buying a K3 monochrome one day.
Someday, yes. I would expect these will hold their value on the used market fairly well given that they'll be a unique offering.
Another great review and I agree with you; Monochrome Pentax K-3 III APS ? I just wish Pentax put a full-size monochrome sensor in the K1 DSL camera.
Thank you!
When I converted a Nikon DSLR to a B&W by removing the CFA, had to figure out the needed exposure comp because the camera thinks it's exposing for color (with Nikon's color matrix metering off). Also needed to convert the raw files first to stop other software from de-mosaic-ing the raw files.
Hope Pentax will have the correct metering for the Monochrome, and provide a monochrome specific RAW converter. Probably too much to ask for built in color filters.
I would definitely expect the software to be on-point for this because with a brand as niche as Pentax any mis-step could be a significant setback. And yeah, built-in filters would be hard to implement, but the sensor ought to respond well to traditional glass filters.
I really should be more enthused by this product. It ticks so many boxes.
Six months ago i would have been standing in line to pick one up.
What gives me pause is not the apsc sensor, it is the apsc sized viewfinder.
With a viewfinder that small and my eyes having so many miles on them i really want to know how has this body been optimized for manual focus glass.
I actually have some nice af k mount glass that never gets put on the k1. I tend to use that glass on a zx5 and m42 soviet glass on the k1.
I'll just wait till more user reviews come out.
I completely understand that. What I've heard about the K-3 III viewfinder is very good -- the 1.05X magnification makes it feel sort of like a full frame viewfinder. My friends and subscribers who have the original K-3 III have all, without exception, raved about the viewfinder. But I do absolutely understand what you're saying. I have increasing difficulty using optical viewfinders as my eyes are getting older. Whatever DSLR I buy next is almost certainly going to be my last one as I find myself more and more using the screens on cameras for much of my work.
@@DavidHancock I've got one dslr left to purchase as well. Probably going to be a nikon so i can get a few more years out of my d glass.
I'm very interested in what you said about richoh switching to a small batch manufacturing. Very interesting possibilities there. It isn't a stretch to hope after a monochrome sensor they output an ir dedicated camera.
I want one. It has a lot going for it including stellar image quality. The response curves can be adapted for different lighting conditions and I would be in my element with a B+W Yellow filter. The print on the camera is grey or maybe grey and white. The exposure system should be set so that you don’t blow out the highlights. Resolution and tonality look stunning. The files are way more malleable than film and darkroom would allow. There are a few reviewers trying them out. Those that didn’t know how to handle monochrome shooting didn’t completely get it and seemed nonplussed. Those that got it started to show its potential. Black and white needs a different approach to composition and exposure and because there is no Bayer array, the tone curve and on lens filters are things that help start to create the effects that are compelling reasons for shooting in mono.
Thank you! I am incredibly optimistic that I'll get to try one of these before too long, too. Getting into the raw files in Photoshop should be a lot of fun.
Ah a K 1 Monochrome! Yes! I'd buy it asap to go side by side with my Old K 1!
The sample photos also look incredible. As a portrait camera, it has a LOT of potential.
I have one, (debayered) and yes it performs well. I like it a LOT. I think the K3III Monochrome might still outperform it. I'll know in another 2 weeks or so.
if the monochrome sensor is already available for Pentax then it will be for others, I will pull the trigger on Fuji 100M (? or whatever they call it with the amazing f2 integrated leaf shutter lens) with this sensor in a heart beat.
Maybe yes, maybe no. I don't know who makes it or for who else it would be made available.
@@DavidHancock Let's hope maybe yes… :)
I would love to get one, but finances do not allow it at the moment!!! I do love the idea of a dedicated monochrome camera that is not in the Leica price point!!! I currently use a K-70 and am pretty happy with it!!!
That K-70 is a great camera. I do hope that this camera sells well. I would love it if the sales justified Pentax selling more monochrome camera models.
The K3 III Monochrome will have word "MONOCHROME" on the back upper left. The only other monochrome camera I am aware of is the Leica M11. The Pentax will be around $2200. The Leica will be around $9200. Other cameras can be converted to monochrome for fee.
Thank you and *other camera can convert color channel data to monochrome for free, they can't record images in native monochrome strictly as values of light and dark, the latter being a fundamentally different way of recording images.
@@DavidHancock I interpret Douglas's comment to mean "for a fee". That is, with the bayer array removed. Similar to an IR conversion, but with the IR (and UV) filter preserved (or more likely, replaced, since the original was probably destroyed in the process).
Now if they did that one in a rangefinder I would get one.
I think that's the Leica. :D
Will you be reviewing Ferrania Orto film?
I would like to. Ferrania is one of two companies (the other being Bergger) that discontinued a film stock when I was pretty well down the line of making an All About Film video. Because I don't want that series to use expired or discontinued film, both of those videos (P30 and BRF 400, respectively) ended up being canned after a lot of time and investment had gone into them. Another issue is that the 2023 calendar for the All About Film series is FIXED. I have nine more that will come out this year and seven of them have firm dates. The 2024 calendar is shaping up right now, too, and Orto does not have space in there (2024 looks like it will be Popho Luminar 100, CineStill 50D, Astrum 64, Polaroid SX-70 color, Portra 400, Astrum 200, Kentmere 100, ProImage 100, RPX 25, and Tri-X 320, which is a VERY aggressive schedule -- I honestly don't know if I'll be able to do it yet.) If Orto is still on the market for 2025, I would probably include it in that year. The challenge with the All About Film series is that because the planning is SO long lead it's hard to have them be nimble and responsive to new releases. I'm even trying a new approach with the series this year with SantaColor 100 and Popho Luminar 100 to see if I can hammer out shorter-form videos with fewer rolls, which would allow me to make videos about new stocks within six or eight months of when they arrive. If it works, then there would be some videos that are like the existing ones -- long form and technical -- and some that are short form and more about the experience of the film versus the performance.
Leica M Monochrom 18 megapixels with CCD sensor
Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) 24 megapixels with CMOS sensor
Leica M10 Monochrom 41 megapixels with CMOS sensor
Leica Q2 Monochrom 47,3 megapixels
Leica M11 Monochrom 60 megapixels with BSI sensor
Tahnk you!
I don't think monochrome DSLRs are good for black and white photography. I like SLR with black and white film, because of interesting orthochromatic film stocks like the ilford ortho plus, and I like monochrome mirrorless because you could put on a color filter and the EVF still shows black and white images. But putting on a color filter on a DSLR automatically guarantees a poor shooting experience because the OVF will be super dark and the color would hinder composition. The benefit of sharpness of individual pixel is really irrelevant. Full frame and apsc cameras already offer 30MP to 61MP of resolution. People are better off shooting mirrorless cameras in black and white mode, and adjust the luminosity of colors in post, or to shoot film. Just my 2 cents.
I solidly disagree. The monochrome sensors only record light levels, no color data, so they work is a manner that's not too dissimilar from traditional black and white film. Also, monochrome sensor high-ISO performance adds image character that looks like film grain rather than digital artifacts. Using film filters on a monochrome-sensor camera will also give some great image results and allow for things like ND filters that can really lengthen exposures and improve the signal:noise ratio in ways that improve image character versus use with a bayer-sensor camera.
@@DavidHancock @David Hancock well, I actually agree with your statement on monochrome sensor, but then a mirrorless implementation would be better, because of the EVF. With an OVF you are seeing the world through the color filter. For SLR and film there's no other choice so it must be tolerated, but for digital, EVF is essential.
As for better SNR, yes, monochrome is better, I have used a modified a7RII in the past by NKIR, but the thing is sensor technology is so good nowadays that when I compared the images with the a7RII, the differences are only visible when zoomed in and inspected in detail. Losing the ability to adjust the luminosity of each color in post is a huge sacrifice. I don't think it is worth it to sacrifice pictures for pixels.
@@DavidHancock I also want to point out that on Nikon and Canon cameras, you can simulate color filters in the monochrome mode. Seeing the effects of the filters in black and white in real time through the viewfinder is very beneficial when making a composition.
In comparison, when I shoot with film SLR I often compose first and then slap on the color filters, and hopefully the image would turn out the way I wanted, because I find it very dark to see through the color filters, especially the red ones.
@@DavidHancock So, real question: what's the light sensitivity of the digital sensor? Is it the same as HP5, or, does it go up to to the inferred zone a little bit? How sensitive is it to green light? If it's sensitivity is similar to your favorite black and white film, then yeah, it might work. If on the other hand, it's not, filters might not make enough of a difference...