Pentax K-3 III vs. Leica

Trump’s lying taught me to not believe most of what I see and hear, so I find I need to investigate almost everything.  Recently I saw websites that claimed that the Pentax K-3 Mark 3 is too heavy and bulky for street use.  I also saw sites that taunted the merits of a Leica Q2 for street photography.  Those articles got me thinking about the differences in the size and weight of the two cameras.

Since I don’t have a Leica Q2 to compare directly with the K-3 Mark 3, I went to the website

https://j.mp/3vAOS05  to compare them.  Please click on the link and take a look at the relative sizes from all views.

The site shows the comparison with different views that you can choose.  It also mentions that the Leica Q2 (which has a fixed lens) weights 734 g and the K-3 III weighs 820 g (without a lens).  Adding the weight of the Pentax 40mm pancake lens to the camera, the Pentax with lens weights 835 g.  If you look at the topdown view of the two lenses you can see that the Leica with lens (91.9 mm) is deeper than the Pentax even with the pancake lens (88.7 mm).  Even adding the lens hood to the Pentax they are still about the same size.  And, having the handgrip counteracts the 14% greater weight of the Pentax over the Leica and makes it easier to hold and use.

Basically they are similar in weight and size and the Pentax is easier to hold since it has a great handgrip; but also keep in mind the vastly different capabilities and features of the two cameras as well as the cost differences.  If you prefer the 40mm focal length over the Leica’s 28mm and you want the capability of having a camera with interchangeable lenses, you might prefer the Pentax over the Leica as I do, even for no other reason than the ergonomics.

PS.  Go back to the comparison site and also compare the K-3 III to the Leica SL2.

https://j.mp/3ifNdcL

3 comments

  1. Marc R.

    Hello John, I also have a Pentax K-3 Mark 1, and I still love it. You also had the first version, can you tell if it focuses better with the Pentax 55-300mm? Not that the original K-3 was bad at this, but not exactly fast. I mainly use the Pentax K-3 in nature, birds etc. and wonder if the update to the Mark 3 could be useful.
    More pixels, Wi-Fi and other bells and whistles don’t mean much to me, faster response and better focus can mean fewer missed shots.
    But it is a reasonable investment, which is why I am asking you.
    Marc.

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    • John Holmes

      I don’t have the 55-300mm lens now so I really don’t know if it focuses faster, but I think I remember seeing where someone claimed it did.
      As far as upgrading, I think I would wait and see what others say. I find that I like the ergonomics better with the Mark 3. The other features, better OV, menu, etc. are nice but I don’t think I would suggest you upgrade for them. I had many used K-3’s and Pentax lenses over the years but I never had any overlap to do one to one comparisons since I kept selling them.
      I finally decided to go “all Pentax” and stick with it so I bought the Mark 3 version and lenses new.
      Another thing I like but haven’t used much yet is photographing through the LV. The new LCD is much better.

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