Pentax k-30 announced

[Arthur Dent]

It's been a bit quiet in this section of the forum for a while, so here's some (good) news......

Looks like Pentax have announced their next model , the k-30, due out at the end of June and aimed at the "mid-level", one assumes between the k-r and the k-5.

Not sure what to make of it yet, some good things, but I think possibly missing some things (I would have liked an articulated screen), although, the specs do not seem to be complete.

What do you lot make of it?

[MrCliff]

Good stuff from the Pentax mother ship here.

[Transit]

I handled a K-30 the other day. Felt very solid and fast.
Seems well loaded with goodies, weather resistant, pentaprism, focus peaking etc etc.
Moving the specs closer to the K-5 at that price is a bargain.
Next we will see the K-3 presumably...
Pete

[oldwarbler]

Pete - As Arthur says, pretty quiet here, lately...

I've just picked up my pre-ordered black K30. It's the first DSLR I've owned, after a series of Bridge P&S devices - last two being a Canon SX10 and a Fuji HS10.

My only DSLR experience has been occasional days with a borrowed K200D. When I unpacked the K30 and first held it - the "instant feel" reaction was - "Hey....! The K200 reborn!" - it has that smallish, nicely shaped, very easy to hold, friendly feel of the K200. It might not have the K5's all-metal body, but with very solid polycarbonate over metal frame, it's 'built like a brick dunny'...

I've never used a camera with 2 e-dials before - takes a little getting used to. But it makes using full Manual mode amazingly "intuitive-easy" - nice, for the M42, K and M series lenses my budget tends to suit. Also, over the K-X / K-R - gains pentaprism over pentamirror - better for that purpose.

After the HS10, the K30's AF is astoundingly fast - supposedly faster than the 'top-end' K5 - though Reviewers are saying it isn't as fast as the 'popular' Canons and Nikons. I haven't used those - I can only say that "almost-instant", even in low light, feels very quick to me.

Even with the kit 18-55mm DAL, the 3-way focus switch is nifty - and the MF is incredibly easy to use - I was expecting that to "need expert abilities" - nope - even I can do it!

I clearly have a vast learning curve with this camera, but it will be a lot of fun, I'm sure...

And - using about 0.1% of the K30's abilities - a JPEG-only snap... Things can only get better...


By exwintech at 2012-09-03

Regards, Dave.

[spodeworld]

I have one. It's a terrific little camera. I also have a Nikon D5100, but the Pentax K30 is much more feature rich and has a number of high end features not found in the D5100. It seems to sit somewhere between the D5100 and the D7000.