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K30 name plate - why does it lean forward?

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maimou

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Is there a functional reason why the Pentax name plate leans forward on the K-30?

Aesthetically, it is kind of ugly (especially when it sits beside the uber-handsome K-5), but maybe there is a funtional advantage?

From a marketing perspective, sitting on a low shelf in the store and looking at it from above, the Pentax name is harder to read when the name plate leans forward.
Wouldn't a vertical name plate have been better looking and more practical?

Am I missing something?
 
maimou said:
Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Some details on the K30 look better than on K5, to me at least. But those cameras are also aimed at different audiences, K30 being more oriented towards young(er) hipster-minded ones; funky, sporty looks for low bucks.

K5 is more 'classical', neutral, it appeals more to audiences and editors on DPR, which are more conservative, old school types who 'know everything about how cameras should look like'.

--
Zvonimir Tosic

"I want to be the tripod, the light meter, the motor drive."
— Eve Arnold
 
Its the fast look adds to the Ferrari fins on the side.
--
Regards Dean - Capturing Creation
N.B. All my Images are Protected by Copyright
 
Zvonimir Tosic said:
maimou said:
Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Some details on the K30 look better than on K5, to me at least. But those cameras are also aimed at different audiences, K30 being more oriented towards young(er) hipster-minded ones; funky, sporty looks for low bucks.

K5 is more 'classical', neutral, it appeals more to audiences and editors on DPR, which are more conservative, old school types who 'know everything about how cameras should look like'.
Click to expand...
Low bucks? It's priced higher than at least 95% of all cameras sold.
 
it is much more aerodynamic, just cuts through the air.
when i run with it, whooooosh........just like that!
excellent camera indeed
 
I don't know how you all tell good looking from bad on dslr bodies. The only difference is one slight protrusion one way vs. another sticking out among a bunch of other protrusions. I can't tell the difference until I am a few feet away as to even the brand, unless I catch something in the lens, or that red swoosh of Nikon.
 
After a hot days photographing, Pentax decided you need a cold beverage and what better way to feel at one with your camera, which can go anywhere, but give you a built in bottle opener...................
 
I've had mine for a week and never noticed it.

I think it might be a spoiler (just like autos) to keep the camera from wanting to rise in the air when high speed shooting.

--
Brian
 
I read somewhere on the net that it is done to allow easier work with bellows.

But i do not own K-30 nor tried to use bellows with K-5 so really could not say if this is true.
 
Actually, for bellows, better if that section leaned back. The modern DSLRs were clearly not designed by folks who use bellows. My Pentax K-mount bellows barely clears to attach to my K100D Super.

I think the design is "contemporary." Reminds me of today's running shoes, low cut walkers with so many different patches, layers and strips of material, different textures that don't make sense, overdo any functional considerations. They gave the K-01 to Newson? They borrowed a Adidas designer for the K-30.
 
I believe there is no functional reason for this, just styling design.

Dave
maimou said:
Is there a functional reason why the Pentax name plate leans forward on the K-30?

Aesthetically, it is kind of ugly (especially when it sits beside the uber-handsome K-5), but maybe there is a funtional advantage?

From a marketing perspective, sitting on a low shelf in the store and looking at it from above, the Pentax name is harder to read when the name plate leans forward.
Wouldn't a vertical name plate have been better looking and more practical?

Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
--

 
The prism housing design was made so that the built-in flash would sit high above the lens, so red-eye wouldn't be so typical atrocious as it normally is with the internal flash.

It's clear that this was not simply a design choice for aesthetics. But the protruding front of the prism allows the flash unit to be really long and therefore as far away from the lens as possible when raised.

I don't have time to photograph mine K-30, but if you look at the photo of this K-30 you see the flash raises really high above the lens.

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,3253,l%253D299488%2526a%253D299521%2526po%253D1,00.asp?p=n

The K-30 flash is actually quite useful for fill-flash and has a handy Flash EV comp on the display so you can get the amount of fill just right. Personally I love the design of the K-30. It has a sporty, modern look with a nice deep grip. Cheers, Markus
 
Do I win a prize? Pentax Q or something? :-)

No it didn't occur to me until I took out my K-30 and I actually needed some fill flash and it hit me. Man that flash raises high up from the prism.
 
marike6 said:
Do I win a prize? Pentax Q or something? :-)

No it didn't occur to me until I took out my K-30 and I actually needed some fill flash and it hit me. Man that flash raises high up from the prism.
Click to expand...
Yep, well noticed. I saw it yesterday too, in that Canadian camera store video review, when the flash was raised — gosh, that thing indeed goes high! And for a good reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RMfSRpEASg

Similarly, I love the flash design of the Pentax Q — smart indeed! They do think about details.

--
Zvonimir Tosic

"I want to be the tripod, the light meter, the motor drive."
— Eve Arnold
 
If you are talking about the protruding horn over the lens, I think it is useless, ugly and stops the camera sliding out of your big pockets when fitted with the 40mm f2.8 XS lens. Maybe the K30 can be de-horned and the hole filled with coloured bog?
 
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