Pentax KP vs. Pentax K-3 Mark III

Camera Comparison, Reviews and Tests

Detailed comparison and review of Pentax KP and Pentax K-3 Mark III. With our comprehensive overview, you can simply compare design, sensors, proximity characteristics, memory capacities, but also other key features of both cameras and easily decide which one is the right choice for you. Our goal is to help you identify the main differences between products and find the camera that best fits your needs and expectations.

Camera Specifications Comparison

Pentax KP vs. Pentax K-3 Mark III Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Product Type Digital camera - 1080p - SLR with Live View mode, movie recording Digital camera - 4K - SLR with Live View mode, movie recording
Lens Included Body only Body only
Height 10.1 cm 10.35 cm
Width 13.15 cm 13.45 cm
Depth 7.6 cm 7.35 cm
Weight 642 g 735 g
Weight Details Camera body only: 642 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 703 g
Camera body only: 735 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 820 g
Body Material Magnesium alloy Magnesium alloy
Enclosure Colour Black Black | Silver
Protection Weatherproof, freezeproof, dust-resistant Weatherproof, dust-resistant
Navigation - GPS receiver
SENSOR Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Sensor Resolution 24.32 Megapixel 25.73 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type CMOS CMOS
Total Pixels 24,960,000 pixels 26,780,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 24,320,000 pixels 25,730,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) APS-C (23.3 x 15.5 mm)
Frame Rate (Max Resolution) 60 fps 30 fps
Sensor Dust Reduction Yes -
Sensor Features Dust Reduction (image sensor vibration) Dust Reduction (image sensor vibration), anti-aliasing simulator function
Image Stabiliser Optical (image sensor shift mechanism) Optical SR II (5-axis image sensor shift mechanism)
Built-in Optical Image Stabiliser Yes Yes
Sensors Digital level metre Digital level metre
PROCESSOR Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Image Processor PRIME IV -
LENS Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Lens Mounting Type Pentax KAF2 Pentax K
FOCUSING Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Auto Focus TTL contrast and phase detection TTL contrast and phase detection
Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 27 101
Auto Focus Features Focus Peaking function -
AE/AF Control Face-priority AF, Subject-tracking AF Auto-area AF, Zone AF, Expanded area AF
Face Detection Face-priority AF function Yes
VIEWFINDER Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Viewfinder Type Optical - fixed eye-level pentaprism Optical - fixed eye-level pentaprism
Optical Viewfinder Field Coverage 100% 100%
Optical Viewfinder Magnification 0.95x 1.05x
Optical Viewfinder Dioptric Correction Range -2.5 to +1.5 -4 to +1
Interchangeable Focusing Screens Yes -
Features - Auto eye sensor
EXPOSURE & WHITE BALANCE Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
ISO (Max) 819200 1600000
Native ISO 100-819200 -
Light Sensitivity ISO auto, ISO 100-819200 ISO auto, ISO 100-1600000
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot, highlight-weighted
Exposure Modes Bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, ISO priority, shutter & aperture priority Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, ISO priority, shutter & aperture priority
Bracketing Modes Depth of field bracketing, motion bracketing Depth of field bracketing, motion bracketing
Special Effects Soft, Slim, Pastel, fisheye, natural, bright, Vibrant, Sketch, monochrome, Muted, Flat, landscape, portrait, Water Colour, miniature, Cross Process, Retro, Colour Extract, Toy camera, starburst, High contrast, Colour Invert, Bleach Bypass, Posterisation, Radiant, Reversal Film, Shading, Tone Expansion, Bold Monochrome, Unicolour Bold, Colour replace Soft, Slim, fisheye, natural, bright, Vibrant, monochrome, Muted, Flat, landscape, portrait, miniature, Cross Process, Retro, Colour Extract, Toy camera, High contrast, Colour Invert, Bleach Bypass, Radiant, Reversal Film, Shading, Tone Expansion, Bold Monochrome, Unicolour Bold, Colour replace, Grainy Monochrome
White Balance Custom, automatic, presets Custom, automatic, presets
White Balance Presets Cloudy, tungsten light, Flash, daylight, shade, fluorescent light (cool white), fluorescent light (warm white), Color Temperature Enhancement (CTE), fluorescent light (daylight colour), fluorescent light (daylight white) Cloudy, tungsten light, daylight, shade, fluorescent light (cool white), fluorescent light (daylight), fluorescent light (warm white), Color Temperature Enhancement (CTE), fluorescent light (daylight white)
Shutter Type Mechanical electronically-controlled Electronic, mechanical electronically-controlled
Max Shutter Speed 1/24000 sec 1/8000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 30 sec 30 sec
Exposure Compensation ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 2, 3 or 5 steps -
X-sync Speed 1/180 sec 1/200sec
Exposure Range EV -3-20 (ISO 100) EV -3-20 (ISO 100)
DISPLAY Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Type 3" LCD display 3.2" LCD display
Touch Screen - Yes
Display Format 921,000 pixels 1,620,000 pixels
Display Form Factor Folding Built-in
Display Features Display brightness control, display colour control, display saturation control Colour control, contrast control, display brightness control, night vision LCD display
FLASH Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Camera Flash Pop-up flash -
Guide Number (m / ISO 100) 6 -
Flash Modes Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction, P-TTL, slow sync -
Red-Eye Reduction Yes -
Features Flash +/- compensation, wireless off-camera control -
VIDEOGRAPHY / CAMCORDER Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Digital Video Format MJPEG, H.264 H.264, MOV
Image Recording Format JPEG, RAW + JPEG, DNG (RAW), PEF (RAW) JPEG, DNG (RAW), PEF (RAW)
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 3840 x 2160
Microphone Operation Mode Stereo Stereo
Microphone Features Sensitivity control Wind noise reduction, sensitivity control
MEMORY Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Memory Card Slot SD card Dual SD card
Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card, SDHC UHS-II Memory Card, SDXC UHS-II Memory Card
Memory Card Included No No
Image Storage JPEG 6016 x 4000
JPEG 4608 x 3072
JPEG 3072 x 2048
JPEG 1920 x 1280
RAW 6016 x 4000
RAW 6192 x 4128
JPEG 6192 x 4128
JPEG 4752 x 3168
JPEG 3648 x 2432
JPEG 1920 x 1280
Video Capture H.264 - 1920 x 1080 i - 60 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 i - 50 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 25 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 24 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 p - 60 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 p - 50 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 p - 30 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 p - 25 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 p - 24 fps
H.264 - 3840 x 2160 p - 30 fps
H.264 - 3840 x 2160 p - 24 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 60 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 24 fps
BATTERY AND CHARGING Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Battery Type Pentax D-Li109 Lithium Ion Pentax D-Li90 Lithium Ion
Details Pentax D-Li109 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included) Pentax D-Li90 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included)
Battery Life Photo shooting - 390 shots (50% flash usage)
Photo shooting - 420 shots (flash off)
Playback - 4.5 hours
Photo shooting - 800 shots
Playback - 250 minutes
CONNECTIONS Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Interface HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11b/g/n HDMI, USB-C, IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2
Connectivity Features Remote control via mobile devices, Wireless Image Transfer Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view, Wireless Image Transfer
Print Standard Exif Print support Exif Print support
Computer Connectivity Mac, Windows Mac, Windows
Flash Terminal Hot shoe Hot shoe, PC terminal
Connector Type USB 2.0
HDMI output
Microphone (mini-phone 3.5mm)
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB Type-C)
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
Microphone (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
Headphones (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
Remote control (sub-mini phone 2.5 mm)
FEATURES Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Self-Timer Delay 2sec, 12sec 2sec, 12sec
Continuous Shooting Speed 3 frames per second, 0.8 frames per second, 7 frames per second 2.5 frames per second, 12 frames per second, 7 frames per second
HDR Mode Auto HDR mode Auto HDR mode
Additional Features Digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, cropping an image, resizing an image, interval shooting mode, highlight point display, in-camera film editing, mirror lock, in-camera RAW processing, peripheral illumination correction, horizon correction, HDR image enhancement technology, Eye-Fi Card Ready, Dynamic Range Compensation, noise reduction over long exposures, Lens Distortion Correction, high ISO speed noise reduction, primary colour filter, colour moire correction, Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction, Flucard Ready, anti-aliasing filter simulator, diffraction correction, Pixel Shift Resolution technology, multiple exposure capture Audio recording, date/time stamp, digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, AE lock, AF lock, cropping an image, resizing an image, interval shooting mode, in-camera film editing, in-camera RAW processing, peripheral illumination correction, horizon correction, NR Slow Shutter, High ISO NR, Lens Distortion Correction, primary colour filter, Automatic composition correction function, colour moire correction, Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction, diffraction correction, Pixel Shift Resolution technology, colour fringe correction, multiple exposure capture, GPS stamp, D-range correction
OTHERS Pentax KP Pentax K-3 Mark III
Included Accessories Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, eyecup, shoe cap Eyepiece cover, carrying strap, battery charger, body cap, USB cable, eyecup, shoe cap, sync terminal cover
Software Drivers & Utilities Digital Camera Utility 5
Max Operating Temperature 40 °C 40 °C
Min Operating Temperature -10 °C -10 °C
Service & Support - Limited warranty - 1 year
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