Pentax K-30 Review
Available Weather-sealed Lenses
The current Pentax lens lineup includes a broad variety of weather-sealed lenses. Combined with the similarly weather-sealed K-30 body, these lenses allow you to shoot in pouring rain, falling snow, or blowing dust without fear of damage to your equipment. Below you'll find a brief rundown of the weather-sealed options currently available for purchase.
SMC Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR
Optically identical to the long-standing Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II kit lens, this zoom covers a very useful focal range, from moderate wide angle to moderate telephoto. Though not the best performer in the Pentax stable by a long shot, it's cheap and versatile, and very sharp on the wider end. The Pentax 18-55mm WR lens may be bundled together with the K-30 in some countries.
SMC Pentax DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED WR
Again, carrying the same optics as the traditional DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED, this lens is a cheap and lightweight telephoto option. While it's not particularly bright, doesn't have the greatest telephoto reach, and once again isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, it'll get the job done, particularly for beginners.
SMC Pentax DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR
Boasting an impressive 7.5x zoom range and the same aperture range as the 18-55mm kit lens, the 18-135mm is a slightly higher-end option that covers an extremely useful range. Weather-sealed and equipped with a built-in direct current autofocus motor, it's nearly silent in operation and can be taken anywhere. Despite its long zoom range, it's pretty lightweight and has great build quality.
You can save about $150 by getting the Pentax K-30 18-135mm kit, which we highly recommend over any of the the non-WR kits.
SMC Pentax D FA Macro 100mm f/2.8 WR
Using the same optical formula as the older FA Macro 100mm f/2.8, this lens has been updated with weather sealing, curved aperture blades, and Limited-like all-metal build quality. It's really a beautiful piece of engineering, and a beautiful performer. If you plan to do a lot of close-up work (or even portraiture) in challenging conditions, this is a lens to consider.
Pentax DA* Lenses
Part of Pentax's premium lens line, these stellar performers all feature weather sealing, top-of-the-line build quality, and SDM in-lens autofocus motors. They also claim some rather impressive optical specs and eyebrow-raising, high price tags (after the Pentax unilateral price policy came into effect). Members of this series include:
Primes:
- SMC Pentax DA* 55mm f/1.4 SDM
- SMC Pentax DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM
- SMC Pentax DA* 300mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM
Zooms:
- SMC Pentax DA* 16-50mm f/2.8 ED AL (IF) SDM
- SMC Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM
- SMC Pentax DA* 60-250mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM
You can learn more about these lenses in our lens database and in-depth reviews.
