[1] At its introduction, it was in the middle of Pentax's DSLR range, above the now-discontinued entry-level K-r, and below the semi-pro K-5 and successor K-5 II.

It has a stainless steel chassis,[2] and unlike most DSLRs of its class, is fully weather sealed.

Like all current and recent Pentax dSLRs it features in-body shake reduction, removing the need for each lens to have image stabilisation.

The Pentax K mount allows use of legacy lenses dating back to the 1970s, or even earlier with an M42-mount adapter, for which the K-mount is fully compatible.

The autofocus system (SAFOX IXi+) is an advance over the K-5 and features 11 AF points, 9 of which are cross-type (i.e. sensitive to vertical as well as horizontal edges).