Pentax K-30 A (with articulating screen)

Not even the dramatic price drop on the K-30 has tempted me to buy one. The reason? Lack of an articulating screen. And I know from reading various photographic forums that I am not alone in lamenting the lack of one on the K-30/K5.

So I've drawn up a case for the articulating screen and published it at

The case for articulating screens on digital cameras

Try as I may, I can't find a suitable place to send the link to Pentax-Ricoh so I hope that they may pick it up here. Could I suggest that all of you who would like to see a K-30A add your views to this thread.

I'd buy it.

Hi,

Well, you've made a great case for the articulating screen and with some great photos, well done.

Now I want one!

--
Dave's clichés

Good points.

In the past I have put on my Pentax wish list a DSLR with an articulating screen.

I prefer the screens like the one on the Canon D60 camera rather than the type Olympus uses on its newer body.

GR

--
grcolts
http://g_richardsphotography.fototime.com/welcome
http://www.blurb.com/user/store/grcolts

Yes, if you mean a flip screen, I don't want one of those. Fully articulating is the way to go.

GEEEEEEBUS .. That's one GIANT CHEEKEN !!! How would you cook that?

Also good for us with cr@ppy eyesight. It all helps a LOT.

The case for not having an articulating screen is.

1. Another complicated part on an already complicated device.

2. An articulated screen at arms length offers no advantage over a fixed screen. As it is still arms length away

3. Most of the time the screens (K5II to the contrary) are unusable in anything but dull out door conditions.

A far better solution in my opinion would be an off camera screen. As this over comes the three issues with an articulated screen. An off camera screen would offer the advantage of not being part of the camera so no added complexity, the screen can be put where ever in relation to the camera so would offer a and advantage of being readable. Finally with the screen away from the camera you can shade it easier.

I for one would have to have a very good camera with an overwhelming feature set for me to even consider purchasing a camera with an articulating screen.

--
Chris.
A weather sealed ultra wide, is that too much to ask?
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/chriside
GMT +9.5
Pentax SLR talk FAQ
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=23161072

Issues :

Harder to weather seal

Easy to break hinge if you're not careful

Will lead to other additions of unneeded gizmos.

It's not our fault you can't get near a puddle on the ground, deal with it man.

--
Angad S. aka gooseta
Amateur photographer
angadsrin.zenfolio.com
K5iis with DA 17-70/4, 35/2.4, M 50/1.7, Tamron 70-200/2.8
Sony A55 with Tamron 17-50/2.8, 200-500/5-6.3, Samyang 8/3.5

1 Is it really?

2 Haven't broken mine in over a years quite substantial usage.

3 Why should it? It's nothing new.

4 I suspect you haven't really grasped all the advantages.

name an advantage other than shooting high or low and doing cheesy self portraits?

--
Angad S. aka gooseta
Amateur photographer
angadsrin.zenfolio.com
K5iis with DA 17-70/4, 35/2.4, M 50/1.7, Tamron 70-200/2.8
Sony A55 with Tamron 17-50/2.8, 200-500/5-6.3, Samyang 8/3.5

I might have wanted one before my cameras had a "live view" feature.  But, honestly, it's not that common that I need the feature for a shot and I've found "live view" suffices just fine in a pinch.  I'd much rather have a more solid camera, with fewer moving part to break than a feature that is only slightly more convenient than "live view" already is.  If I start taking 30% of my shots at shoe-top level, then I may be more tolerant of the negative aspects of a camera with an articulating screen.  For now, I'd probably shy away from a camera with the feature.

You can fold the screen away (ie, towards the camera) to protect it from scratches, chips, spritz, and nicks when not using it.  I do this all the time with my camera.

In fact, I do this more than I use it for the odd angle shot and I think it is one of the better reasons to have an articulating screen.

--
Paul

An articulating screen is useless if barely visible outdoors.  You may as well shoot blindly by holding your camera at low or high angle.  I have a Canon A610 P&S with articulating screen and can hardly use the LCD outdoors.

Both have their uses.  The flip screen is excellent for waste level shooting (better than articulating because you don't have to open it up and then flip it up).  Obviously can't have both though, so full articulating is probably the more useful of the 2, but NEX or Olympus style are definitely better than no moving screen.

Eric

--
I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object
be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it
beautiful. - John Constable (quote)
See my Blog at: http://www.erphotoreview.com/ (bi-weekly)
Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28177041@N03/ (updated daily)

Sapphire glass

--
Beauty and folly are old companions.

An advantage is you can change the angle of the articulating screen to get it out of the sunlight.  This shot of my NX20 wouldn't have the screen in the sunlight either way, but the picture is taken from my perspective standing up.  I like having the articulated screen so I can get a better view.

I don't mind a camera without one, but when you have used one for a while it is hard to use a camera without it.  I shoot a lot of different cameras, and I now see it as a disadvantage not having one.  I used to not care until I used one for a while.  It is sort of like having a car with power door locks for a while, then switching to an older vehicle without power door locks.  You become used to the added flexibility of using a key fob to open your doors that you forget how annoying it is to have to manually unlock the doors.

Eric



--
I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object
be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it
beautiful. - John Constable (quote)
See my Blog at: http://www.erphotoreview.com/ (bi-weekly)
Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28177041@N03/ (updated daily)

I would love to have a K5 with articulating screen  and your photos make the case very well indeed.

--
Miles500

I agree. Well-written, Eric.

--
http://koti.mbnet.fi/tidis/AAikomus.jpg
- Ari Aikomus -
'Why should I feel lonely ? is not our planet in the Milky way?'

You make a great case for articulating screens, in fact its the best case I've seen for stills, but its with video that articulating screens make the biggest difference.  Most people with this class of camera (high entry) aren't using external displays, and most basic rigs (cheap shoulder rigs and steadycams) have the camera away from your face.  Moreover, video is becoming more important in people's buying decisions.

If Ricoh-Pentax cares at all about the market, I would say that the the K30-II must add an articulating screen, and an external audio jack. They should also consider adding video autofocus, and video focus peaking.

The only real negative I've seen (and I've never seen one break other than for negligence) is a little added weight, but its so insignificant that I can't believe it would actually turn away a single sale.

Well, I have a theory about LCD screens and the outdoors that goes something like this:

People open the package and configure the camera for the first time *indoors*. They notice the screen is VERY bright. The first thought that crosses their mind is to lower the unnecessarily bright screen to save battery power. This is about the only time the LCD brightness setting is ever encountered when shuffling through the menus during normal operation.

Sometime later, they take the camera outside in the bright sunlight. The LCD appears dim. The mental impression becomes, "LCD is just too dim for sunlight".

I did this with the K-01 and then later realized what I had done. the K-01 LCD on max brightness is actually quite adequate for at least composition in bright sunlight (though exacting exposure and color considerations can still be quite problematic). In fact, it is so bright it is a little annoying indoors on the max setting.