Monochrome Dedicated DSLR Camera 'PENTAX K-3 Mark III Monochrome' | RICOH

Ricoh Imaging Company has announced the 'PENTAX K-3 Mark III Monochrome', a DSLR camera specialized for monochrome photography. It will be available from April 28, 2023. The price is open, with an expected retail price of around 330,000 yen (including tax).

Proposed as a derivative model of the 'PENTAX K-3 Mark III' at the 'PENTAX Meeting Online 2021' fan event held in November 2021, it was developed into a product after thorough consideration. Based on the 'PENTAX K-3 Mark III', it features a high-resolution image sensor dedicated to monochrome photography, excelling in gradation expression.

Equipped with an APS-C size monochrome dedicated CMOS image sensor. The effective pixel count is approximately 25.73 million pixels, with a low-pass filterless design.

In general digital cameras, color images are generated by performing complementary processing on light transmitted through red (R), green (G), or blue (B) color filters for each pixel. When taking monochrome photos, the color image is converted to monochrome based on complementary processing referencing surrounding images.

By adopting a monochrome dedicated design, the need for color filters is eliminated, allowing monochrome images to be generated directly from luminance information obtained for each pixel. This results in monochrome images with higher resolution and excellent gradation reproducibility.

The body of the 'PENTAX K-3 Mark III Monochrome' shares the same base model as the 'PENTAX K-3 Mark III', but differs in exterior details. It features the word 'Monochrome' printed on the upper left of the back, uses varying shades of gray for operation icons, and incorporates a white backlight on the top display panel, ensuring a design that cherishes the monochrome world even in fine details.