Pentax K-3 Unboxed With Words

Cool COOL COOL! It’s here earlier than I expected. OMG I’m just glad that I was here to receive the package instead of being out to lunch or having something resembling a normal life out there in the world. And I’m sick of hitting refresh on the UPS tracking screen. Thank you Mr. UPS guy!

Quick, where’s my box opener?! Wait, should I set up the camera and record a video? Screw that, I wanna see this puppy. I guess I could just record a second unboxing later. But that would be kind of cheating, right? Whatever, let’s get this baby opened!

Cut. Cut. Cut. Ok. Outer box opened. Bunched up brown craft paper removed and given to cats. There it is-the actual box! Look at that-it says Ricoh in big letters, just like they moaned about on the Internet. Oh well. Now to the real deal...open the lid, open the inner lid, lots of bubble wrap. Ok the camera's in here somewhere...biggest slot must be it. Pull out. Unwrap....oh...it's silver and black. Yea, I know I ordered the special silver model and the box said it, but now it's on my hands and I'm like "is this what buyer's remorse feels like?"

Wait, before I judge, let's throw a lens on here...where's my FA43? While I'm up I might as well scavenge a battery from the K-5. Let me get an SD card from my drawer...Insert card, close card door…interesting…the door feels solid, thicker than K-5 the door. This whole things feels serious, heavy. I could swing this by the camera strap and really hurt somebody. Where’s the brown leather camera strap? Hmmm, this grip feels different too. Not sure if I like it...power on....damn I gotta set the date and time first...ok now that's out of the way...where are the cats?

Ten minutes later…

OMG, this grip is perfect, even better than the K-5. The camera feels like it’s welded to my hand. And the shutter sounds better than the K-5 too. Quieter, and it sounds so precise and mechanical too. Sounds…expensive. Everything feels snappier too, like the K-3 went to Lance Armstrong’s “doctor”. The rear LCD looks great, like a good iPhone. And I like the video/still switch on the back.

Lots of stuff is familiar to the K-5, but lots of it is different too. I don’t know how RICOH PENTAX did it, but the K-3 feels even more solid, more finished, and more polished than the K-5. Gotta spend more time with it and see if this initial impressions hold up.

Oh, and the silver and black? It’s growing on me.