PHOTO QUALITY. This 24-megapixel SLR camera captured images with very good quality. Pictures were very sharp, which means you can see even tiny details and very subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations without a flash, pictures were sharp. We judged this model very good for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; very good for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym. And very good for low-light performance without a flash, such as capturing a birthday party. Photos taken in our low-light performance tests displayed little image noise; subjects retained most of their correct detail and color.
FLASH. This model has no flash.
LENS. This camera includes a 7.5x zoom lens, a bit more zoom than a standard 3x. The lens also has wide-angle (27mm) capability that's useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance.
IMAGE STABILIZATION. This is an important feature; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. Shooting zoom set at 4x in well-lit scenes, this model did an excellent job of minimizing the effects of camera shake. In low-light settings, it performed excellently and almost never produced blurry photos. Overall, the shake reduction results from our tests were excellent.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Pentax K-3 II w/ SMC DA 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 ED AL (IF) DC WR powers up very quickly. It has a short interval between shots, which can be important when shooting fast-moving or unpredictable subjects.
VIDEO. The Pentax K-3 II w/ SMC DA 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 ED AL (IF) DC WR takes good video. It captures full HD video at 1920 x 1080 60p. As for sound, it captures very good audio in mono.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. Like all SLRs, it also includes a through-the-lens viewfinder, helpful when composing in bright light; this viewfinder has excellent quality.
