Pentax K-30 Weather-Sealed 16 MP CMOS Digital SLR (Black, Body Only)
- 16 MP APS-C CMOS sensor
- Full weather sealing for worry-free use in any weather condition; Rugged coldproof design for sub-freezing use (-10C, 14F)
- Full 1080p30 HD video features h.264 compression, flexible exposure control, and HDR finishing options
- Advanced SAFOX IXi+ autofocus engine features AF assist lamp, light source sensor, and improved optical components
- 3-inch LCD is wide angle viewable, and features 921,000 dots of resolution
Encased in a compact fully weather sealed body, the Pentax K-30 digital SLR comes equipped with a host of advanced photographic tools for the easy creation of great pictures in any weather condition. This compact but solid Pentax K-30 digital SLR comes equipped with a host of advanced photographic tools for the easy creation of great pictures, while delivering high standards of image quality, data processing speed and operability. ??Developed using the highly acclaimed Pentax K-7 as its bas
List Price: $ 849.95
Price: $ 814.95
Unbelievably clean images up to 12,800 ISO,
I received mine a little more than an hour ago and have not done extensive tests yet because I am waiting for the battery to charge. I already own a K5 and a KX and I have previously owned the K100 and K20 models. The K5 was the first model that I felt truly competed with the Nikon and Canon crowd. It handles noise extremely well and most reliably up to 1600 ISO and its DXO rating is tops in its class. I us it for wedding photography and it is capable for well-lit interiors but I have seen results from recent Canon and nikon models that have been making me drool over the low-light results. It is only for that reason – low-light shooting – that I took a flier on the K30.
I am blown away by the results. The low-light capability is incredible and I am very, very pleased. I shot 4 test shots starting at ISO 12,800 and going down to ISO 1600, room light only, tungsten white balance, hand-held, JPEG only (medium resolution, which was the default setting). Not only was I blown away by the noise handling, but also by the image stabiliazation. I have found my new work horse for indoor low-light photography!
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|EXTREMELY AWESOME CAMERA FOR A DSLR PROFESSIONAL OR BEGINNER!,
FIRST OFF I am not a PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER there are plenty of reviewers who can tell you the facts of this camera from a true photographers perspective. I am just an average consumer guy who likes to take QUALITY STILL PICTURES of whatever strikes my odd AUTISTIC WEREWOLF fancy’s! My problem, I’ve found the standard point and shoot camera’s lack the enhanced image quality I demand. Point and shoot cameras are designed with built in compromises to compensate for its single lens. Most point and shoot camera’s are horrible in low light conditions. Most point and shoot cameras create images with too much image noise in them for my liking.
I think the Pentax K30 is the best Digital SLR Camera you can buy. Right out of the box on automatic mode you will take pictures that will likely astonish you and make friends drool. The standard low end kit lens does a perfectly acceptable job photographing most subjects. The built in flash does a great job illuminating most close range subjects. If you just used this camera on fully automatic mode you would have at your command a photographic instrument capable of producing picture quality far superior to any mere point and shoot mongrel out there. If ever you decide to be adventurous the Pentax K30 Camera has ample button’s knobs and other controls needed to manage iso, aperture and other vital photographic settings. The full color display is large and clear. There is a rare and great optical view finder, I think goes the distance in making this a truly awesome camera. For those who love using video only to frame their shot that mode is made easily available with the change of a few settings. This camera is killer awesome in most low light situations which is much better than most other camera’s I have used. The pictures have VERY LITTLE NOISE in the final images. This camera takes pictures in RAW formats that are compatible with Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements 10 and Adobe Lightroom 4. The advantage of capturing images in RAW format is that you do not lose any video information. You see exactly what the video sensor saw without loss caused by processing images into JPEG JPG format images. More video image information contained in the RAW image format gives you greater freedom to manipulate your raw images during post production.
The Pentax K30 is a camera the average customer can grow into at their own pace. The Pentax K30 camera makes it easy for a DSLR newbie like me to experiment with light, shutter and focus settings without fear of breaking something. The Pentax K30 Camera has an optional adapter that allows it to take conventional AA Batteries which means fresh batteries are always close as the next market, pharmacy, mini mart or other full service store. You will never lose the opportunity to take that terrific shot because your special camera specific batteries lack sufficient charge. The Pentax K30 Camera uses any of the K TYPE LENSES which are numerous and made adequate for most any situation.
The Pentax K30 Camera is on a whole well made. I find the battery closure mechanism to be the cheapest most ill engineered part of The Pentax K30 Camera and its not bad just it should have been more strongly engineered. I have a Pentax K5 Camera and the Battery closure mechanism is far more secure. The Pentax K30 Camera is made out of plastic and while I like the feel and weight of a metal Pentax K5 camera more, The Qaulity Thick Plastic Pentax K30 Camera does not feel at all cheap. One of the finer things about the Pentax K30 Camera is its size and how it feels in my hands. I have small hands with unusually long fingers and the Pentax K30 Camera feels as if it was made exactly for my hands to hold. The Pentax K30 Camera is so perfectly sized for me; it is almost as if the Pentax K30 Camera is part of or an extension of my body. The camera is not heavy at all. My brother is a really BIG DUDE, 6 feet 8 inches tall and about 320 pounds, he has HUGE hands about the size of baseball mitts, with huge fingers. While my big brother can use the Pentax K30 Camera it is less comfortable for him. My MUCH larger younger brother favors my Pentax K5 which by it self is still on the small side for his BIG HANDS but becomes better suited for his HUGE GRIP with addition of its optional extra AA battery compartment. Despite its plastic Polycarbonate body the Pentax K30 Camera feels surprisingly solid in build quality. The Tripod Mounting Point is metal not cheap plastic. The Pentax K30 Camera hot shoe is covered but easily accessible. The Pentax K30 Camera has various doors and flaps that are on a whole easily accessible. The rubberized flaps used to access the USB and hot shoe take time to access until you get the “Hang of It!”
The Pentax K30 Camera’s digital view screen color is rich and true. The lettering on the menu screens can be sized to normal or LARGE for those like me with older eyes…
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|Excellent DSLR…another winner from Pentax,
DISCLAIMER: This review is from a still-shooter’s perspective. I don’t use video that often so look elsewhere if you want an in-depth review of the video functions on this camera.
The K-30 is a really great photographic tool like most of its predecessors were. Despite Pentax trying to distinguish it from its previous offerings…it performs pretty much the same as the K-5 in almost all areas.
We’ll start with image quality… it’s excellent. However, I am personally not a huge fan of the 18-135 WR lens that it’s bundled with. I like its versatility and the fact that it’s weather-sealed. But it has softness issues at the telephoto end. I will probably end up holding onto it but there are better choices in the zoom category that make the most of this camera’s excellent 16MP sensor. The DA 17-70 being one that comes to mind (but of course that is not weather-sealed). But outside of that, it has great ISO performance up through 1600 (and decent through 3200), detail capture, and dynamic range. This is especially true if you shoot RAW. The RAW files are great to work with as you can pull out extra detail out of them if you adjust the settings accordingly.
Speaking of RAW files… Pentax saves RAW files in the Adobe dng file format exclusively with this camera and does away with the .PEF format on their older cameras. This is a wonderful feature because this universal file format will open in most photo editing software (I use Apple’s Aperture and I had no problem opening the files).
The only real downsides to this camera image quality-wise that I can think of is that the camera has a tendency to underexpose a little and the colors are somewhat inaccurate (and a tad oversaturated) in its default setting. However, these are only minor demerits and are easily adjustable in the camera settings. And on the exposure issue, I would rather the camera underexpose and retain detail than overexpose which makes it harder to recover lost detail in some instances.
In other areas of performance… the AF performance is a distinct improvement over the K-x and K-r and is about on par with the K-5. In most shooting situations, it performs quite well, but it can struggle in low-light situations sometimes. One good thing about the 18-135 WR lens is that it has a built-in focusing motor so that helps AF performance overall. Shot-to-shot times are good, and the camera’s burst speed performs as advertised with a decent buffer.
The K-30, like its predecessors, offers a pretty good set of still shooting features for the enthusiast crowd. Things like Chromatic Aberration adjust as well as the highlight correction option which helps preserve detail. You can also convert JPEGS back to RAW in this camera which is something very unique. It also has a RAW button on the front of the camera like the K-5 did. The viewfinder is great, 100% coverage with a high degree of magnification.
The camera is comfortable hold and shoot with. It is not a light camera overall, but it feels very solid and well-made and of course its weather-sealed. I have yet to test its weather-sealing so I can’t vouch for how good it is, but from the reviews I’ve seen, it works as advertised (just don’t completely submerge it in water though). I especially like having dual dials which is something that isn’t terribly common on a sub-$1,000 DSLR. Overall the menu system is similar to its predecessors although the main interface has been redesigned a little to make it look more modern. The LCD on back is generally nice but has issues in direct sunlight like a lot of them do. One thing the camera does have is pretty snappy AF performance in live-view, which sets it apart from most other DSLRs. It’s not lightning-fast, but it is faster than any other DSLRs I have seen, and is only bested by Sony’s DSLT models and most Micro 4/3rds cameras as well.
The battery port is the same as the K-r. It comes with the same Lithium Ion battery pack which delivers okay battery life. However, like the K-r, AA batteries can be used with the same adaptor that was used with the K-r. So that’s one bonus if you’re thinking about upgrading from the K-r.
As for the video… it’s good from what I have seen and an improvement over its predecessors. But Pentax does not offer an external microphone jack… which is a puzzling omission at this price point. If you are equal parts stills and video enthusiast…. the Canon Rebel T4i/650D is a better choice in this class of camera.
So, overall, a great camera for still shooters who only occaisionally dabble into video. It is an excellent choice for travelers on a budget who want excellent still-shooting performance in a rugged body with a flexible powersource. From a still-shooting perspective, it’s photo quality is some of the best you are going to find from an APS-C camera. However, it’s very clear that Pentax still views video shooting as a…
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