The Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome is one of the most surprising camera releases in recent memory. As a brand that’s already in rare air with its dedication to the DSLR, the choice to further isolate Pentax with a black-and-white-only DSLR is definitely intriguing―but also incredibly fun and refreshing. I had a chance to shoot with the camera for a little while; my immediate takeaways relate to nostalgia. It’s exciting to be shooting black-and-white again and it’s interesting to be working with a DSLR again. Both of these key distinguishers of the camera feel like things I used to do, and it’s great to have them once more in a camera that decidedly feels like something made for today.
I’d be lying if I said I was already familiar with the K-3 Mark III platform when I received this Monochrome model. I knew it existed, knew its specs, but had never handled one or seen one in person. In fact, it’s been years since I’ve used a DSLR at all (the last one I worked with was probably the Pentax 645Z) but returning to a DSLR platform, in general, was a breath of fresh air. To look through the lens rather than at an electronic finder is refreshing for digital shooting and makes me miss the more mechanical aspects of former camera designs. The other design elements of the camera feel intentional and very Pentax-like; there’s a deep right-hand grip, lots of buttons and dials, and a filled-up top plate that includes a settings LCD.
The viewfinder is, of course, a brilliant pentaprism optical finder with 1.05x effective magnification and 100% frame coverage, and the rear LCD is a 3.2" touchscreen that does not tilt. This lack of tilting or swiveling, in the age of the tilty-flippy screen, is a bit of an oversight, in my opinion—it’d be great for low-level shooting—but, then again, you’re using this DSLR because it has the optical finder. I didn’t find myself trying to shoot with the screen very often, and I’m certain that’s because the viewfinder is so good, not because the screen didn’t tilt.
Now, for the real reason anyone’s looking at this camera: it only shoots in black-and-white. Or, put another way, if you want to be able to shoot in color, look elsewhere because this camera can only record gray tones. Technically speaking, the sensor has been modified to record only luminance values, which leads to richer overall tonality, effectively greater dynamic range, reduced noise, and improved sensitivity.
Compared to the standard-edition K-3 Mark III, the Monochrome version lacks a color filter array (CFA) over its sensor. By removing the CFA, the entire sensor area is used to record luminance values as tones and, since there is no filtering, greater overall sharpness is a positive consequence of omitting the CFA. Additional benefits of removing the CFA include: the base of the ISO range gains a stop and now begins at ISO 200; the ability to shoot at higher ISO with more clarity; any noise that shows up at higher sensitivities has a more muted, film grain-esque appearance since it’s not color noise; increased tonal range, gradation, and contrast; no bayer interpolation; and no false color from white balance.
Beyond the unique monochrome design of the sensor, most of the rest of the specs line up with the color-enabled model: it’s a 25.7MP APS-C-format sensor, PENTAX Shake Reduction SRII 5-axis, 5.5-shutter-step camera shake compensation, and there’s a 101-point SAFOX 13 AF system. The sensor’s performance is solid, the image stabilization is a real safety net for working in less-than-ideal lighting conditions, and the AF leaves a bit to be desired, especially in comparison to the phase-detection systems in most current mirrorless cameras of today. It’s a reminder that I don’t miss the AF performance from my DSLR days and working with a MF-only lens isn’t the worst idea.
The APS-C format of the sensor is an interesting choice to me; it’s there because that’s what the K-3 Mark III is designed around, but for a camera that is black-and-white-only, I’d maybe prefer either a higher-resolution sensor or a larger sensor—specifically because I see the use-case for a Monochrome camera as being more for arts-leaning image-makers, which is the same crowd who appreciates printing and ultimate focus on image quality. The APS-C format has its own benefits, though, namely in the realms of wildlife and bird photography, due to the crop factor and the result the smaller sensor size has on effective focal lengths of lenses. I’m not sure if black-and-white wildlife shooting is tremendously popular, though, since you’ll be missing out on the colorful plumage of birds, unique camouflage of various animals, or the bright red faces of a Japanese macaque. However, it is fun to have an inherent artistic lean on shots made with longer lenses.
So, the elephant in the room… who is this camera actually for? I’m not sure, but I’m also not bothered by the fact that I can’t pinpoint who would want a black-and-white DSLR in 2024. After shooting with it, I’m comfortable saying that I would want one, but it would need to be the second or third camera in my closet. It’s a fun weekend driver, as if you have an impractical sports car in your garage next to your utilitarian four-door sedan. Except in the K-3 Mark III Monochrome’s case, it’s not exactly a sports car but more like an AMC Eagle: quirky, tough, somewhat performance-minded, a bit old fashioned, very cool, and a standout in the crowd. I love the AMC Eagle, I love the K-3 Mark III Monochrome, and I wouldn’t want to solely depend on either.
And finally, there’s an obvious comparison that needs to be talked about—the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome joins Leica’s various Monochrome camera models as being the sole readily available alternative to the German brand’s rangefinder and compact cameras. The Pentax remains a unique option within this very narrow scope because it’s the only monochrome-only commercially available SLR. Leica’s options take the rangefinder and point-and-shoot categories, and there’s also a Phase One digital back option (the IQ4 Achromatic) that’s technically part of an SLR platform, but it’s a stretch to call that a readily available model.
Even though it would lose its uniqueness, I think Ricoh (née Pentax) would benefit from releasing this Monochrome concept as a GR-series compact camera, rather than this K-series DSLR iteration. In 2024, a DSLR appeals to the stalwarts of camera consumers, those who prioritize an optical finder and ergonomics above anything else. They are a practical crowd and, in my experience, tend to have an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” attitude. The Monochrome is “fixing” something that isn’t broken in the way of adding a dose of frivolousness to a camera body that’s all about practicality and reliability.
I think it’s a camera that can be fun if you gauge your expectations properly. As with other monochrome-only cameras, there will always be those who don’t get it, and that attitude can even extend to this camera being a DSLR versus a mirrorless. But these are things that one accepts when working with a Pentax and they’re the reasons why you would be attracted to this camera in the first place. I also keep returning to the idea of “fun” with this camera, and this isn’t meant as the opposite of seriousness but rather as a mindset to be in when working with a camera that’s been deliberately designed for use in a specific way: dedicated to black-and-white photography.
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