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

2013-11-26T19:00:00

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.

Zachary B.

2013-11-06T19:00:00

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.

pasquille

2013-10-27T21:00:00

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.

NAM I.

2013-10-23T21:00:00

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

Someolddude

2013-10-22T21:00:00

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.

Jerbey

2013-10-17T21:00:00

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.)

cah

2013-10-14T21:00:00

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.

jalba

2013-10-14T21:00:00

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!)

Beetle B.

2013-10-14T21:00:00

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.

WILLIAM W.

2013-10-13T21:00:00

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.

KeithStef

2013-10-13T21:00:00

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.

Juniperus