Thanks to the combination of a newly developed mirror and shutter driving unit and the high-speed, high-performance PRIME V imaging engine, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III provides a high-speed drive system with a maximum speed of approximately
12 images per second in the AF.S mode, or approximately 11 images per second in the AF.C mode.
This system lets you capture a momentary expression of the subject, which couldn’t otherwise have been captured by previous models.
To improve driving speed during continuous shooting and upgrade the performance of AF and AE systems, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III features a new mirror and shutter driving unit to greatly reduce the time needed to drive the mirror and shutter mechanisms.
By minimizing the effect of mirror bounce, it also helps increase the camera’s driving speed, while securing sufficient time for distance and light measurements.
As the result, the operation time required to capture
a single image has been reduced to about two-thirds of the PENTAX K-3 II.
Approach 1:
Highly dependable, responsive coreless motors are installed to drive the mirror and shutter mechanisms. Light sensors monitor the position of the cam gears driven by these motors with great precision, assuring more accurate control of the drive and stop points of these mechanisms during high-speed continuous shooting.
Approach 2:
The weight of the entire main mirror unit has been reduced to minimize collision energy, while a new damper mechanism instantly stops the mirror action to reduce mirror bounce.
The sub-mirror’s drive and stop mechanism also features a new design to optimize mirror action and reduce mirror bounce.
The number of focus points in the PENTAX K-3 Mark III have been increased to 101, from 27 in the PENTAX K-3 II. The AF area also has been greatly expanded. Of 41 user-selectable points,* 25 are cross-type sensors. This high-density AF system enhances the flexibility of image composition, while optimizing focusing accuracy on the subject. Since its middle focus point is designed to detect an F2.8 luminance flux, the camera assures super-high-precision focusing when using a bright lens with an open aperture of F2.8 or larger.
AF area selection
The PENTAX K-3 Mark III provides a choice of the AF area from Auto Area, Zone Select, Select, Expanded Select Area (S, M or L), Select (S) and Spot. A newly installed AF point selector lever makes it easier to intuitively select the optimum focus point. Since the camera displays the selected AF coverage area and the selected AF focus point in the viewfinder window,
you can adjust the image composition and select the focus point simultaneously.
High-precision AF operation at -4EV illumination
Since the camera’s F2.8-sensitive light sensor operates even at -4EV illumination, it assures remarkable imaging power for dimly lit subjects when using a lens with an F2.8 luminance flux.
Outstanding image tracking performance
The camera features a new, high-capacity RGBIr image sensor with approximately 307,000 pixels, to provide more accurate tracking of subjects in motion or slight movement than previous models. It assures outstanding image tracking performance by correlating and assessing the data delivered by the tightly positioned AF focus points.
The camera’s continuous autofocus (AF.C) mode allows you to maintain sharp focus on a subject, regardless of direction of motion. An improved motion prediction algorism accurately detects the subject’s complex movement, which was rather difficult to predict with previous models. It also reduces the effect of the unstable motion speed and irregular stops and restarts, as well as the effect of obstacles.
The camera’s in-body SR II mechanism provides an independent Panning mode. Thanks to the SR II's improved operation, you can move the camera in a slow panning motion to capture distant, slow-moving subjects, whose motion was difficult to detect with conventional cameras. Since the camera allows you to switch the SR II’s mode between OFF and AUTO with
a single push of the SR button, you can react quickly and effortlessly to a change of scene or subject.