Back in May, Ricoh revealed a few details about a new flagship DSLR, which was unnamed at that time. Now the company has officially named the camera the Pentax K-3 Mark III and filled in the specs blanks.
Ricoh first unveiled its plans for the release of a then unnamed APS-C DSLR camera by revealing a product prototype at an event celebrating 100 years of Pentax last year.
The company was due to showcase the flagship at Japan's CP+ 2020 camera and imaging show in February, but this event was canceled due to the emerging novel coronavirus pandemic. Now we know that the model will be the successor to 2015's Pentax K-3 II.
Ricoh reports that the Mark III is currently in the final stage of development, but says that its original estimate of availability by the end of 2020 has been revised to somewhere near the 2021 edition of CP+, which is due to be held from February 25.
Within the 134.5 x 103.5 x 73.5-mm (5.3 x 4 x 2.9-in) body is a newly developed 26-megapixel (23.3 x 15.5-mm) CMOS image sensor. The camera features sensor-shift stabilization of up to 5.5 steps, continuous shooting at up to 12 frames per second, and standard light sensitivity of ISO100 to 1,600,000. And the phase-matching autofocus system is powered by a Safox 13 sensor with 101 focus points (25 cross-type).
For movie-makers, the Mark II can record 4K (3,840 x 2,160) video at up to 30p, or Full HD at 60p, and includes a built-in stereo microphone.
As we reported in May, the optical viewfinder offers 1.05x magnification, with 100 percent frame coverage and overlays for AF points, electronic level, crop and more. Also around back is a 3.2-inch LCD touch panel with a resolution of 1.62 million dots.
Elsewhere, Bluetooth 4.2 and 802.11n Wi-Fi are included for wireless data transfer and remote operation possibilities, there are dual SD card slots (with one of those supporting the UHS-II standard), the Li-ion battery is reported good for about 800 still images per charge, and the camera has a KAF2 lens mount, making it compatible with KAF 1, 2, 3 and KA glass.
Availability and pricing information will follow closer to the release date, but the video below reveals that Ricoh expects the K-3 Mark III to be priced in the upper 200,000 yen range (likely making it around the US$2,500 mark).
Source: Ricoh
