We've added a hands-on video describing the features of the Pentax K-30 and explaining how it fits in alongside the K-01 and K-5. As it's a pre-production camera, we've not been able to demostrate the autofocus speed but we have included an example of the shutter sound when continuous shooting. Click here to see our Pentax K-30 preview video.
I'm shocked that the video never mentions the second wheel on the K-30. Is there a body with a second wheel from any other manufacturer at this price point?
Two control wheels, TAv mode. User modes, S-mode, some useful buttons and switches... the K-30 responsiveness blows the price competition out of the water.
As good if not better than k-5 and cheaper! What not to like! And the double duty lithium/AA compartment for battery is awesome! I like the lil futuristic design but not over the top like k01. After the k01 I had my doubts about pentax, but they are still in the game.
If DPR suggested better glass than the 18-55 kit lens for the K7 would this not be even more relevant for the K30. So what would be a "matching" walk-about lens for this camera?
Nice review, however, I still like actively reading way more than being passively force-fed a video because I can flip back and forth. Text wins, video loses.
Just checked out Pentax's lens line up and I cannot find a single fast normal prime. The cheapest "50mm" is 35mm f/2.4 at $180 while the fastest is 31mm f/1.8 at $1,000. Where is the cheap f/1.4~f/1.8?
why dont you check keh.com they have a good collection of used pentax lenses. Pentax made some of the best small sized fast prime lenses. I own 5 prime lenses for Pentax K-Mount including f1.2 lens.
The 50mm f1.4 is still considered a normal lens isn't it?
Infact I remember a few years back when the Pentax 50mm f1.4 was selling new for around $200 at B&H...people were complaining that there was no "cheap" 50mm f1.7. Can't please everyone.
The Pentax-FA 50mm 1.4 is generally available for around $300 new in box. Don't think it's still in production, though. A cheap 50mm 1.8 is also about to go into production under the Pentax-DA line at a MSRP of $250. The DA* 40mm 2.8 pancake is quite nice but is definitely a step up in the price bracket.
There are also tons of old k-mount fast primes, both manual and auto focus, and since Pentax is one of the few manufacturers that has committed to legacy compatibility, using them is quite painless.
Peiasdf - The 35 f/2.4 give quite similar exposures as the Nikkor 35 f/1.8 when used at the same shutter speed - both around t stop 2.0. If you have found any other company that sells a "cheap 35mm f/1.4", I'd like to know, because such a thing does not exist.
@ Chaitanya S Five prime lenses with the fastest 70 f/2.4
That 50 f/1.2 looks great however.
@ sir_bazz I am talking about normal on Pentax bodies which are all APS-C. 75 is a bit too telephoto for indoor but I am sure it make great portrait lens.
@ dcshooter No idea what 40 f/2.8 is for. Too slow and long for indoor and too short and slow for outdoor.
there is 55mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.4 if you need fast normal lenses. you can get them at b&h or adorama. the new cheap 50mm f1.8 (exclusively designed for aps-c, so it is really normal lens for aps-c) will hit the shelf next month.
Odd that people consider 50mm to be "normal" on APS-C, it wasn't entirely normal on 35mil. To answer the OPs question you have to look to some of the older lenses which are still readily available on the used market. There's the FA 35mm f/2 or if you don't mind manual focus the A 28mm f/2 Any lens can be "fast" if you bump up the ISO a bit, and since the K30 will use the same sensor as the K5, there's virtually no consequence below 1600.
Considering the class-leading high ISO capabilities of the K-5/K-30, 2.4 is more than fast enough for indoor shooting. The 35mm 2.4 is an excellent lens for the price, sharp across the frame even wide open.
It also happens to work just fine on full frame cameras, which is a nice bonus.
Nikon and Sony are to be commended for offering fast normal-on-a-crop primes for fairly cheap, but it's not the only strategy out there. Love it or hate it, Pentax has instead adopted the strategy of making small, light lenses that are sharp wide open, as opposed to larger, faster lenses that are softer at their widest apertures.
I have to admit, the K-30 has got me very, very, curious to see what the successor to the K-5 is going to look like. I'm in the crowd that thinks it would take a lot from Pentax to make a K-5 user feel a real desire to upgrade, but given that the K-30 is practically on par with the K-5, I'm beginning to think that they might figure that out...
Also, I like the look of the camera, so put me in the positive crowd. I'd still only buy it in black though.
It might be the best strategy for Pentax to not one-up the K-5 at this point in time. Camera nerds already know that the K-5 is a dynamite value in its niche, and it will remain to be a great value even after the 7D2 rolls around.
The K-30 looks to be the right direction for the company to take. Pentax has no business playing in the entry-level fields for now, so the "advanced amateur" niche is where to strike next. The weather-sealing is an excellent feature from a marketing point of view. It readily distinguishes the K-30 from its competitors, in a way that's easy to express in a simple image: the K-30 soaring in a trail of water.
Thanks, Richard for answering my question about the shutter sound. Interestingly, in your video presentation, your subjective statement that the shutter sound "is about average" is the most valuable piece of information for me.
Going by the video and my use of the A65 I'd say the A57 with electronic first curtain shutter is considerably quieter. Sort of makes a quiet zip type sound, rather than a click type sound.
Tested a A57 demo at Henry's with my A65, shutter sound is the same least as far as I can tell. Then again they both use the same shutter box assembly so not to surpising. I only wish Sony could put out a SLT with weather sealing at the Pentax K-30 price point. Big kudos to Pentax, a weather sealed camera at a bargain price point. Thats got hurt, eh, Canon/Nikon?
That was short and sweet. I like the idea of DPR adding more video content to their site and I bet that shirt is a real lady killer at the nightclubs Richo. :)
Pentax has a long tradition of making very photographer-focused DSLRs, often eschewing the latest fashions to concentrate on providing cameras with well-sorted ergonomics and a focus on core photographic features such as good viewfinders. This trend appeared to reach its peak with the K-5 - arguably one of the best APS-C DSLR currently on the market. With the mid-range K-30, it looks like the company, now owned by Ricoh, is aiming to bring this capability to a wider audience.
Just Posted: Resolution and dynamic range test samples and analysis of the Pentax K-30. Our full review of Pentax's K-30 mid-level DSLR is well underway and we will be posting content as it becomes available. This time we are adding our standard resolution and dynamic range test pages with analysis. As usual this means the dynamic range samples are accessible from other reviews and can be used for comparison our dynamic range widget.
We've prepared a quick samples gallery using the Pentax K-30 - Pentax' latest mid-level DSLR with a 16.3MP CMOS sensor. We're working on a review but recently technical writer Lars Rehm had the chance to take the camera and the 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 lens on a road trip down the coast on Highway 101 and to Crater Lake in Oregon, taking a lot of pictures along the way. The review is in the pipeline, but in the meantime we hope you enjoy these pictures, which should give you a taste of what the camera can do.
Pentax has officially announced the K-30 weather-sealed mid-level DSLR. It's built around the same updated 16MP sensor and processor as the K-01, so should offer impressive image quality and borrows many of the features from the more expensive K-5. It can shoot continuously at up to 6 frames per second, has a maximum shutter speed of 1/6000th of a second and can capture video at 1080p30. We've had a pre-production K-30 in the office for a couple of days and have prepared a preview looking at what it offers.
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