What is the crop factor of the Pentax K-3 III?

The Pentax K-3 III is equipped with an APS-C sensor, whose diagonal measures 28mm. The sensor has a crop factor (or format factor, or focal length multiplier) of 1.5.

The crop factor is defined as the ratio of the 35mm full-frame film diagonal to the diagonal of a digital sensor. This number indicates how a lens behaves in relation to the size of the image sensor.

Sensor size comparison with a film slide

With a crop factor of 1.5, the sensor in the Pentax K-3 III is smaller than the receptor area of a 35mm film slide or negative. As a result, a lens that is attached to the Pentax K-3 III will offer a narrower angle of view and provide deeper depth of field than a lens of similar focal length and aperture on a film camera. The equivalent focal length is obtained by multiplying the actual focal length of the lens with the crop factor. For example, a 33mm lens on the Pentax K-3 III will provide the same angle of view and depth of field as a 50mm normal lens on a film camera (33mm * 1.5 = 50mm).

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Pentax K-3 III to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better), covering color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape), and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Pentax K-3 III	APS-C	25.6	6192	4128	4K/30p	24.2	13.7	2083	85
2.		Fujifilm X-H1	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.0	13.3	1806	82
3.		Fujifilm X-T4	APS-C	26.0	6240	4160	4K/60p	24.1	13.6	1995	84
4.		Nikon Z6 II	Full Frame	24.3	6048	4024	4K/60p	25.0	14.4	3303	94
5.		Panasonic S5	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/60p	25.1	14.5	2697	94
6.		Pentax K-3	APS-C	24.1	6016	4000	1080/60i	23.7	13.4	1216	80
7.		Pentax K-3 II	APS-C	24.1	6016	4000	1080/60i	23.6	13.6	1106	80
8.		Pentax K-5 II	APS-C	16.1	4928	3264	1080/25p	23.8	14.1	1235	82
9.		Pentax K-70	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60i	23.8	13.1	1639	80
10.		Pentax KP	APS-C	24.1	6016	4000	1080/60i	23.9	13.2	1699	81
11.		Pentax K-S2	APS-C	20.0	5472	3648	1080/30p	23.6	12.9	1514	79
Note: DXO values in italics represent estimates based on sensor size and age.

In the United States, the K-3 III was initially launched in March 2021 at a price of $1,999.

Check K-3 III price at
amazon.com

Camera to camera comparisons

In case you are interested in seeing how this camera compares to another one, just use the search menu below. There is also a set of direct links to comparison reviews that other users of the CAM-parator app explored.

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