Name: Pentax K-30 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55 DA Lens, 16.3MP, 1080p HD Video, 3.0" LCD, Black
Brand: Pentax
SKU: IPXK30BK1
Price: 619.00 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4.65 (34 reviews)

Pentax K-30 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55 DA Lens, 16.3MP, 1080p HD Video, 3.0" LCD, Black

Pentax K-30

Pentax

Pentax K-30 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55 DA Lens, Black

Adorama

Photography

Cameras

Digital SLR Cameras

Pentax Digital SLR Cameras

Pentax K-30 

Top Rated Gear: Pentax K-30 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55 DA Lens, 16.3MP, 1080p HD Video, 3.0" LCD, Black Lens Included: 18-55mm, Resolution: 16MP

Using it to record various activities in groups I am associated with, as well as other activities and events.
Usually take a lot of pictures of the events, and then edit them down and provide the group with a CD slide show of the event.
In a couple of cases I put an entire years activities on the disk as chapters in a DVD show that can be used by the group as a history review/retainer.
I might add that I had several Pentax lenses from a filme K1000 which fit this body and provide me with ability to shoot in very low light situations.
Also like the fact that it uses 64GB HDSC cards!

A very good value.

I am a semi-professional portrait photographer.  This camera has a more advanced Autofocus system than the K5.  It also is very sleek and easy to hold.  It retains the smaller design of the previous K-R and K-X, but it is significantly more advanced.  I enjoy its high end picture qualities.  The K30 does not often need adjustment on white balance like other brands do.  Straight out of the box it is ready to go.  Can't complain about that!  Only negative for me (with normal expectations) its color rendering isn't as good as the K5.

Excellence in pricing and performance

I have bought this camera in May 2013 and I'm very satisfacted. Easy to use, long life battery, many accessory and high quality picture made this camera unbeatible also for his reasonable price.

Great camera, high value, easy to use

However its made from plastic, its still strong and nothing goes wrong with the sealing.
There was only a few software problems at the beginning, but everything seems to be good after fw upgrade to latest version.

K-30 after one year using

The pentax K30 may masquerade as a budget D.S.L.R but includes many sophisticated features more commonly available on high end cameras, not the least the use of two scroll wheels for speedy adjustments which can be customised but what really stands out to me is its low level light performance, even when I am using a 200mm zoom. I have not explored all its features as yet but rate it highly. Sophisticated weather sealing make this a camera for the British climate

Pentax K30 a winner!

This is my first time owning my own DSLR, but not the first one I've ever used. It's an awesome camera for the money and one that seems to beg to be pressed more and more (well, in my mind. lol). I've only been using it since last May and there have been no problems whatsoever! Photos tend to come out nice and crisp when using a decent lense.

Pros:
-Great ergonomics for the hand grip
-has some weight to it (does not feel cheap)
-good battery life; I've went on a 3.5 hours stint of non-stop shooting at a car event. Accumulated about 1900 photos altogether, ended with approximately 1/3 life left.
-Works well with legacy prime lenses
-Great IQ
-Easy to navigate menus

Cons:
-Auto-focus seems to be a bit slow to me compared to others, but I don't really care for it much, as I love using my Manual prime lenses EVERYTIME.

Freakin' awesome!

Price per feature it's the best deal.
Just be carefull buying "New" cameras from dealers not as reputable as Adorama.

good deal

Pentax k-30 is a wonderful camera for its not so expensive price.
- Great for outdoor photography: weatherproof
- Image stabilization is a nice feature
- Good lowlight performance.

Excellent camera

Attractive & convenient design (pleasantly lies in hands). Traditionally amazing colors, good transfer of skin tones. Almost all necessary functions and settings for beginners and the advanced photographers.
Probably professionals won't have enough buttons of fast control. Video auto-focus - not its strength side (but it is possible to be accustomed with old manual lens).
I can recommend this camera for all Pentax users, who doesn't want to be spent on K-5

Good advanced DSLR with maximum function

Pentax k30 is an excellent entry level DSLR with features of a mid level DSLR. I love the colours and picture quality it produces

Pentax K 30

Weather resistance and in-body image stabilization at a great price. Auto-focus performance lags a bit behind some other brands, but has backwards compatibility with a large variety of lenses. (And I tend to manual focus anyway.)

Good features, Great price

The K-30 is a wonderful advanced DSLR that is great for most outdoor situations. I got it with the 18-135 lens. That is a great lens to use from moderate wide to telephoto. I am happy with most features, including HDR and bracketing. I wish it had a battery grip and the ability to do tethering. Overall, highly recommended!

Great camera, great value

This was my first DSLR upgrade from years of film/point and shoot cameras.  I couldn't be more pleased.  The  learning curve is easy and continues at a steady pace.  The build is solid and quality of the images is like none I've experience personally before.  The weather sealing, low temperature ability, and internal options put me over the top from the Canon T4i I had been saving for.  It's nice that my old Pentax manual lenses can be used, and the K-30 has internal stabilization as well.  Video is good, but not the greatest even though it's full HD.

Glad I chose Pentax

This camera can't be beat.  Image quality, features, build quality, it has it all!

K-30 is amazing!

Pentax K30 allows me to take good pictures at the beach even when it rains. Weather sealing gives me peace of mind. The 18-135 mm lens allows me to take wide angle shots and zoom in without changing lens.

Great pictures in the rain

I upgraded from an Olympus E-500. Compared to that, the benefits of this camera are:

1. Shake Reduction
2. Fantastic low noise at high ISO!
3. Larger choice of lenses (can use any old Pentax film lens!)

Great Camera

I actually have the black WR kit version of this, but the review applies to this kit as well. Pentax has a winner with the K-30. It is weatherproof, fast, excellent low light focus and imaging. Low noise in ISO 1600 shots makes it very usable. Excellent viewfinder with pentaprism is better than most in this price segment. The battery arrangement is probably the only complaint I have. It is setup in a 4-AA shape, but needs an adapter to utilize AAs (not-included). The Li rechargeable that comes with the kit is not as large as the competitors (or the K5) and doesn't last as  long. 
However, extra Li rechargeable batteries are quite affordable. 
Overall, I love the fact that I'm getting near K-5 performance in a nice compact unit, at nearly half the price. A great walk around camera.

Excellent camera for the price

I use k-30 mostly for my portrait work and macro work, 

The dual dial is extremely helpful to adjust when shooting M mode. Further shooting macro in rough weather condition is a piece of cake with WR.

Focus peaking helps a lot when you use M42 or K mount legacy Pentax lenses.

It may not a great camera for videos, but then again i never shoot videos with the DSLR :)

I would recommend the camera to anybody any day.

Best Pentax DSLR I've used todate!

My first Pentax. My first non-Canon (D)SLR (since I was knee high to a grasshopper 30+ years ago)!!!

In terms of its "feel" the Pentax K-30 is second to none. I love it. It sits in my hands (5'9") and all the buttons and dials are in the right place. The build quality is also amazing. You could throw it at the flimsy prosumer DSLRs that Canon produces for the prosumer market and it would still work long after it had physically pulverised the Canon competition.

In terms of point-and-shoot I find that it's not quite as easy to use as the competition, but, that's not why you buy a DSLR anyway. Don't get me wrong: it's not complicated but it's also not as super easy as a point-and-shoot.

The fact that it can take old lenses is great. I've picked up a few vintage 1980s lenses (50 mm F2 & 200 mm F4) and shooting with them is a breeze and image quality outstanding. I'm finding that the extra thought required to focus manually has really re-ignited my love for photography (that was ground to dust by my most recent point-and-shoot Sony).

The fact that the BODY (unlike nearly all the competition at the same price point) provides the image stabilization is a gods-send. This means that those old manual focus lenses benefit from the exact same IS as the latest-greatest weather resistant lenses. And, you can tell. I'm able to shoot hand-held shots that I would NEVER have dreamed of doing in the good-old days of ISO 400 film.

My only real (though minor) beefs are that Pentax wasted space making it compatible with AA batteries and that the shutter is fairly loud. I don't get why someone dropping more than half a grand on a camera would be so cheap as not to buy (or afford) an extra battery. That unfortunately means that Pentax provides only enough room for an undersized battery that needs to be recharged regularly (or you need to keep a second battery around).

All in all I'd DEFINITELY buy this camera again given the competition from Nikon and (lack of) competition from Canon and Sony.

Decent camera for the enthusiast

The k-30 is one of the best DSLRs I've used. The in-camera stabilization is awesome because it lets you use any type of lens. It may have a problem with the aperture, but it can be fixed.

A really cool camera

I just moved from a K-x to the K-30 as well. Some initial impressions after 3 weeks and 600+ shots:

    The K-30 does feel a bit larger and looks larger, but still quite manageable and small compared to others.
    The grip is different. Maybe it's a balance of the camera in the hand issue. It's fine.
    I love the improved viewfinder and LCD!
    Focus does seem to be noticeably faster.
    The picture quality is definitely a step up. The K-x was always very good, but the K-30 is better. 16MP is indeed better than the 12MP of the K-x.
    I can indeed let the ISO sneak up higher. I was fine going up to 800 w/ the K-x, but I can at least go to 1600 w/ the K-30 and little to no noise.
    The shutter noise is a bit quieter (more a thud sound) on the K-30.
    TAV is very nice! The two wheels are especially handy here.
    The two wheels are also great for setting the max and min of the ISO. (This is very helpful. On the K-x, if you wanted auto ISO, you can only set a max. This means it would try to choose lowest ISO possible which somethimes meant slower shutter speeds than I wanted.)
    Using LiveView and focus peaking works well for me, especially for doing close-up, macro work.
    The AF assist light is a definite aid. (But I'll have to remember to turn it off in some dark settings where I don't want it shining...)
    Yay for the electronic level!
    I'm glad they moved the LiveView button. I was always accidentally hitting it.
    I'm glad they moved the flash popup button. If I was wearing sunglasses, they would sometimes bump it on the K-x.
    Yay for WR!!!! And my 18-135 WR lens!
    A big complaint about the K-x was the lack of focus confirmation in the viewfinder, but I had just set mine to center spot, and it worked fine 95% of the time. I've ended up using center spot on the K-30 as well, but it is nice to have the visual confirmation in the viewfinder.
    I had used the debug mode workaround on the K-x to do the focus micro-adjust. My K-x seemed to back focus in varying degrees depending on the lense, but on the K-x, you can only make a universal adjustment. On the K-30, I set up the adjustments for a few of my lenses, and it remembers each of them. Great!
    I'm happy w/ the battery life of the K-30. I've not run it down, but I was getting 300+ before the indicator turned orange. (I did buy a spare and the AA holder.)

Some negatives:

    That front wheel is great, BUT I'm constantly turning it when I'm trying to turn the camera OFF/ON. Something to get used to...
    Why in the world did they switch the location of the ISO, WB, flash, and Shutter settings buttons on the back? I'm always hitting the wrong button now...
    One feature I used all the time on the K-x is the image comparison. Why was that removed from the K-30? This is probably my biggest complaint.
    LiveView with focus peaking is great, BUT on the K-x, I could zoom the view to 10x. On the K-30, it only does 6x. Further, on the K-x, when using autofocus, I could zoom the LV (hitting the INFO button), and it would stay at that zoom level. On the K-30 when using autofocus, you have to depress the shutter halfway, wait for it to zoom, hold the shutter and use the rear wheel to change zoom, but as soon as you release the shutter, it goes back to 1x zoom.

All in all, I'm very pleased with the step up from the K-x to the K-30, especially getting it at the discounted price from B&H. I don't see a significant advantage to wait for the K-50 to come down in price.

Great camera, outstanding value

I had K-20D before it was stolen and I am really happy with K-30 and the 18-135 WR lenses.  Before I was juggling with lenses, exchanging them all the time and now I just can use the same lense for almost all photos.

Good lenses if you don't want to juggle

This is my first DSLR and I've been very happy with the K-30 thus far (6 months). Do a comparison with Nikon and Canon DSLRs in the same price range and I think you'll see the Pentax is the better choice!

Best entry-level DSLR

I loved my Pentax K2 film SLR (1980) for many years until recently stolen. Wanted a DSLR to replace it that would allow me to everything that could do. Pentax always made great lenses, and they made a wise decision when they introduced DSLRs, to make them all adaptable for use with any lens Pentax ever made. Having learned on a manual camera with a fast (low f-stop) lens, I like being able to do my own adjustments to get the pictures I want, without relying on slow, semi-accurate automatic gizmos. 

DSLRs cost a lot more and have to perform somewhat laborious workarounds to do basic procedures we took for granted with top mechanical SLRs (light metering, DOF preview, focus w/no split screen, etc.). But a camera like the K-30 is relatively small and relatively inexpensive (note the operative word "relatively"…as the old K2 was light and much smaller, and is no more than $150 for a mint model) for a DSLR with its array of quality features. And of course, a DSLR can also do stuff they never dreamed of in '80.

The K-30 is easy to set up to work with older fully manual Pentax M-Series lenses, and the old A-series lenses can even do all the automatic stuff (except of course, you focus it manually). If you buy good used older manual lenses, you can outfit yourself with a full array of every lens you'll ever need for about the cost of one medium-quality new automatic Pentax lens—and get faster aperture settings too! Plus many of them are solid metal and built like a tank (good for folks like me who drop things).

Great camera for Pentax manual lenses

Bought it for a recent trip to North Carolina, camera is awesome, great pictures, the best part I was able to take pictures of a water fall in the middle of the rain with no problem, this camera exceeded my expectation. the wheels in back and front of the camera makes it easy to adjust shutter and aperture. the battery last about 400 shots so just buy a spare. the grip is a litter deep so it's perfect to use with one hand. IQ is awesome, good bokeh with the 18-55, overall I'm happy with my purchase.

Awesome

I've been looking to get a digital SLR for years and finally took the plunge about a month ago.  I'm incredibly happy with the Pentax K30, and here's why.

I did maybe a dozen hours of research before my purchase, and ultimately decided the K30 gave the best bang for your buck in this price range.  Between the weatherproofing, stellar high ISO performance, and intuitive menus and controls, this camera makes an excellent choice for beginners and current enthusiasts alike.

It rewards increasing photographic skill with better quality and a versatile range of settings.

With a Pentax K-mount camera, you've got a slew of excellent film-era lenses available - essentially 40 years of legacy glass at your fingertips for far less than you'd pay for modern, new condition glass.  I picked up an SMC-A 50mm f/1.4 on eBay.  Superior bokeh and no flare with a proper hood, and at a cost maybe a third of what I'd pay for a comparable modern lens.  Shooting in manual or AV mode is a breeze on this camera thanks to the two adjustment dials.

The 18-135mm WR zoom this bundle comes with is a stellar lens as well.  Easy to zoom, easy to focus, and takes solid shots all along the focal range.  The weather resistant seals and coating makes it a great walk-around lens that you don't have to worry about in rain.

The 'Best Uses' I listed for this camera are only the ones I've used it for.  With a 'fast 50' like the one I picked up and an APS-C sensor like this camera has, you get an effective 75mm focal length - ideal for portraits.  So by implication, this camera would probably be great for all purposes other than 'underwater'.  Get a GoPro if that's your speed.

If you're looking at the "typical" beginner cameras (Canon Rebel Series, Nikon D3xxx/D5xxx), I'd strongly urge you to compare the K30 to them.  If you want room to grow on a camera that's easy to use from the moment you pick it up - if you want a camera where you don't have to sacrifice image quality or feature set for this price range - this is it.  It's a prosumer / enthusiast camera at a beginner DSLR price.

Love this camera

The Pentax K-30 has proven to be a great purchase. It has tons of features and can do a lot which makes it a bit difficult to learn how to do everything. However, having said that it also has an auto feature that does it all and makes this camera useable right out of the box. Great, sharp, bright and super in focus pictures are the result when using this camera. Love the package offered with the different lenses.  Looking forward to learning and using all its available features.......and there are many.  Good value for the money.  The multi shutter feature is awesome and will allow you to take multiple shots in seconds.

As a beginning photographer, I wanted a camera that I could use out of the box and still have plenty of advanced features to help me learn.  This camera fit the bill.  I love that I can take this camera out in the rain and not worry about getting it wet.  Having a small hand, the grip is perfect for me.  So far, I haven't taken a lot of photos - still getting accustomed to the features, but the photos I have taken have been very good. I haven't been disappointed! The blue color is striking and I won't regret not purchasing a black camera.
I've purchased two camera systems from Adorama.  I was extremely satisfied with both products and the support from Adorama.

Love this camera!

I am a true beginner and have found that useing the K30 to be everything I have heard... Easy to shoot out of the box on auto but as I use some of the other settings and how they interact I am learming the difference in each and still getting good pictures.

Great Camera - even for a beginner

After much research I decided to go with the Pentax K30 mostly due to its feature set like weather sealing and faster shutter speed (1/6000) compared to models in the same bracket like the Nikon D5100, D3200 and Canon 4i. I have only had the camera for a short time but so far it has a sturdy feel to it, deep inset grip feels nice and secure, picture quality has been excellent.

Pentax K-30 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55 DA Lens, 16.3MP, 1080p HD Video, 3.0" LCD, Black

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