| Author: | | New Member Registered: June, 2017 Posts: 15
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 3, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $13.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Bright big viewfinder, Depth of Field Control | | Cons: | None at the price | |
The Pentax P30 is often "unloved" and seen as a cheap, plastic coda at the end of the era of manual film cameras. Yet the P30 embodies all that you need for "slow photography" with film; the viewfinder is big and bright, the focus aid works very well for all lenses of F4 or faster, the exposure meter works down to low light levels in churches, temples, markets and at dusk, crucially it has a depth of field preview (no amateur model Nikon since the Nikkormat had that facility), it has a self timer for tripod shots and when shooting with exposure tolerant negative film it has very good aperture priority auto exposure - finally it has the K-mount in metal, with access to an amazing range of lenses even today.
P30s sold in their millions. Today they sell for the price of a Starbucks for two in the UK. Many were used for only 4 films a year and stored lovingly away between summer holidays and Christmas in their boxes and are pristine still. They use cheap silver oxide batteries and are voltage independent with a bridge circuit so tolerate pretty much any battery that fits.
In the last 2 years I have bought three P30s or its variant the P30n or P30T to future proof my film shooting (1 of each), along with a great range of lenses 24, 28, 50, 135, 200mm. No P30 cost me more than £10 (UK, about $13 on eBay), and often they came with a SMC Pentax lens. No lens cost me more than £20 / $30.
A P30 with film does 2 things that no digital can give me:
- 36 exposures are expensive to buy and develop and print - so they slow me down such that each picture is more considered in composition and execution
- film still manages the roll-off into highlights in a way that even the best fun frame sensor cannot accomplish as it always hits a "clipping limit". Try kodak 200asa negative film for a back lit portrait to see what I mean; you can "expose to the right" in a way you would never do with digital
A few hints buying secondhand today:
- watch for rust on the screws - this is the external sign that it has been in damp storage conditions and so often means fungus in the pentaprism / viewfinder for which there is no fix
- Leaks in the battery compartment - the leak just carries on into the camera and destroys the insides; just don't buy them.
- wait a bit - there is always a P30 or a P30n/t variant on eBay every day; wait for a good one at a good price and it won't be long.
- It was sold with the 28-80mm pentax A zoom as a "kit". This is actualy quite a good lens...but .......this is big and heavy and detracts from the small, light and portable nature of the P30s. Instead add a 28mm and a 135mm pair of primes to the 50mm "standard" lens and you have the classic creative film camera kit for much the same weight. Even if you cannot start with a Pentax smc version of every lens - there were dozens of generic lens makers who made excellent 28 and 135's with K-mounts to pair up with this camera and get you started with "back to film" (check out the lens reviews here to size up all those "no-name" offerrings. Just always fit a lens hood - remember, by cutting sidelight and internal reflections this is the best single thing to do to increase image quality with near every lens ever made !
| | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: March, 2015 Posts: 6,381
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 24, 2015 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Compact, light, simple to use. | | Cons: | Grip feels awkward at first if you're used to DSLRs. | |
Edits made Oct 20 2015
This camera is all the beginner needs to get a basic grounding in film photography. It is capable of fully manual operation and has the standard 1 through 1/1000th of a second shutter speeds of the older film bodies, plus the opportunity to convert to fully automatic metering by switching to the A setting on appropriately equipped Pentax mounts if one so desires or one needs to concentrate on focus and composition for fast-moving or fleetingly visible subjects.
The split-prism viewfinder makes use of manual-focus lenses a breeze compared with digital SLRs (as factory fitted). Here's hoping Ricoh have made retrofit of such a screen to the full-frame DSLR easy.
The viewfinder displays both actual shutter speed (constant) and desired shutter speed (blinking); just turn the aperture or shutter speed dial until they match. It will warn you with orange numbers when your shutter speed puts you at risk of camera shake with a standard prime (below 1/60s).
There is an exposure lock button on the left hand side, and a self-timer is also fitted.
ISO is set by DX coding on the film cannister, and unfortunately no override is possible. If DX coding fails or is absent, the camera defaults to 100 ISO, so pick and sort your cannisters carefully if you reload them from bulk film.
Depth of preview is available on compatible lenses (I have tried it with DA lenses and it does not seem to work with them).
There is a setting for 1/100s flash sync and a hot shoe.
The grip takes some getting used to if one has grown up accustomed to the prominent right-hand grip on the more power-hungry film SLRs and most digitals. Users of compact point-and-shoot cameras may actually find it a step up, whereas micro 4/3 shooters who step down to film on this camera will probably feel most at home.
I have established by experiment that the camera appears to successfully default to program mode when DA-class lenses are fitted. Vignetting is a problem with some lenses and the effect is variable and unpredictable - a Sigma 18-50mm kit lens I tried stopped vignetting (in the viewfinder) above 24mm, whereas the Pentax DA 18-250 f3.5-6.3 stayed vignetted right throughout the focal range but the 40mm DA Limited Pancake showed no evidence through the viewfinder of any such. This is something of a pity, as the 18-250's MF ring is nicely damped and manual focus is in itself not a problem with the split prism to help, nor does its hood make the vignetting visibly worse.
In Program mode, the shutter speed chosen (though not the aperture) is displayed in the viewfinder to give the user warning of potential camera-shake issues.
It seems to have been designed as a compromise between those brought up on manual who wanted to stay that way and those who were considering a cross-over from point-and-shoot but weren't ready to handle both manual focus AND manual exposure all at once. It could almost be considered a K-1000 with training wheels - the price paid for this, however, is a shutter which, although it appears to be mechanically cocked, will not fire unless the camera has battery power. If the electronics die, everything else does too. That being said, the fact that the camera in question is still functioning well in 2015 is something of a testament to its inherent reliability. My *ist-DL did not last nearly as long!
For what it is, this camera is 10/10 and I would recommend it to anyone wishing to dabble in (or get back into) film at the most basic level.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: November, 2014 Posts: 56 | | Review Date: January 7, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | size, simplicity, quality | | Cons: | dx iso only | |
EDIT: I decided to update this review based on few more years of experience.
I rate P30 a solid 7,5/10. Could not make it 8 though. Here is why.
P30 is a fun camera to start with. It's what it was for me anyway. It's simple and reliable tool. When used with manual lenses from K and M era it's a great camera for learning photography. It has the right set of features for that. First there is manual exposure mode. It's very simple to understand. LEDs in the viewfinder indicates two speeds. One chosen by the photographer and the other suggested by the camera. The latter is flashing. Apart from the letters M and P that indicate which exposure mode is used the shutter speed is the only thing displayed in the viewfinder. There are no distractions and you can concentrate on composition. Then there is DOF preview. A feature that is very useful for an inexperienced user. For all those not comfortable with manual exposure P30 has the Programmed mode available with A and newer lenses. But as time passes and you shot more and more rolls you notice that the only other features P30 offers are exposure lock and self timer and 1/100s sync speed. And that is where things are starting to look grim for P30 users (such as I). There is no DX override. When using cartridges without DX code camera sets ISO to 100 which is limiting. Especially when there is no exposure compensation. Pentax did not address it in upgraded models like P30t and P30n.
In my first review I wrote that for what it is, it has to be a 9/10. And I stand by my words. It's a great camera for learning photography. It's relatively compact body with good but somewhat dim viewfinder. It's easy to load and easy to use. It's also completely battery dependent, but as LR44 batteries are easily obtainable and cheap I don't consider it as a flaw. Quartz watches are not so bad either you know.
I highly recommend this camera, but rating P30 9/10 would be a huge injustice for many other, more advanced cameras.
̶F̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶9̶/̶1̶0̶.̶ ̶A̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶g̶r̶e̶a̶t̶ ̶l̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ ̶c̶a̶m̶e̶r̶a̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶.̶
̶I̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶l̶a̶c̶k̶s̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶f̶u̶n̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶n̶t̶i̶o̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶f̶o̶r̶e̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶s̶t̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶c̶a̶m̶e̶r̶a̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶.̶ ̶W̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶I̶ ̶f̶e̶l̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶b̶o̶u̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶m̶y̶s̶e̶l̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶S̶F̶X̶n̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶u̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶P̶3̶0̶.̶ ̶I̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶r̶d̶i̶n̶e̶s̶s̶,̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶i̶c̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶d̶o̶f̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶v̶i̶e̶w̶.̶ | | | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2011 Location: Berlin Posts: 197 | | Review Date: September 16, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | lightweight, robust, FF | | Cons: | no so far | |
Very good, lightweight camera, can work with most of my lenses. It is simple, it just works as long as you don't expect any automatic features  It's very cheap full-frame and you don't have to wait for Pentax/Ricoh.
Some pictures taken by this camera, using Fuji Superia-Xtra iso 400 film (Sunset, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saïgon)
 | | | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: January, 2012 Location: Klaipeda Posts: 3 | | Review Date: April 19, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | DOF preview, small size, Exposure memory lock | | Cons: | none | |
It was my second film camera. Due to its small size and small grip it feels good in hand. I do not miss ISO selection as all my films are with DX coding. It took me a while to get used to LED metering as it isn't needle metering like on my KM camera.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: April, 2009 Location: Sterling, VA Posts: 70 | | Review Date: June 27, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 4 |
| Pros: | Easy to use | | Cons: | Few really good features | |
This is an okay camera. Has few really nice redeeming qualities, but if all yiou want is a good backup to a high end Pentax this camera will do. Lack of useful exposure modes doesn't help either (along with no depth of field preview, DX code override, etc). Basically this is a big point and shoot that can allow change of lenses.
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2011 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 13 | | Review Date: January 25, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Light and easy to use
| | Cons: | none really
| |
| Pros | Light and easy to use | | Cons | none really | | Rating | 8 | | Price (U.S. Dollars) | £110 with lenses not sure in $ | | Years Owned | 20 |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
It is a little bigger than the ME super i own but still feels nice in the hands. Performance wise it does everything you need if ou want to be more hands on than just point and click.
Camera Review
I used to have a Minolts xg2 before selling it to pay the bond down on a flat along with all the other equipment I had at the time. But When I saw the Pentax P30 at a car boot sale I decided to take the risk and buy it for £110 which included a 50mm f2 lens and a vivitar 70-200mm A zoom and dedicated flash. AFter that I bought a wide angle lens and took up photography again. Going out quite often just on my own. An excuse to get away from the wife and kids. Thw P30 did everything i wanted and I usually used it in manual mode rather than aperature priority. I took it with me everytime we went off for the day or on summer holidays and even took the wedding photos at a friends wedding. They were delighted with them even though it cant be called a professional camera. But the photos were still good enough. I did stop using it for quite a while when i got too busy with work but have found time again and have even bought another camera. A pentax P30n. I havent used it much yet but hope it will be as good as the P30 I still have. I've also invested in a few new lenses so looking forward to the better weather to get out.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: January, 2011 Location: Detroit suburbs Posts: 259 | | Review Date: January 23, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Simple to operate
| | Cons: | None that I remember
| |
| Pros | Simple to operate | | Cons | None that I remember | | Rating | 8 | | Price (U.S. Dollars) | Gift | | Years Owned | 1989-1992 |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
Great Value, easy to use, simple metering display through the viewfinder.
Camera Review
This was the very first Pentax that I owned myself. I was able to take very good pictures with this camera without a lot of oversight from my Dad.
I wish that my current K-x had the easy to use metering that this camera has. I preferred it to the meter on my Dad's K1000.
I still regret putting this in my checked bag and having the airline gorilla's ruin it. (There was a crack in the plastic around where the film door closes that would make the back fly open unexpectedly)
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: Maine, USA Posts: 424 | | Review Date: May 25, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | It's like a modern K1000 | | Cons: | None !!! | |
| Pros | It's like a modern K1000 | | Cons | None !!! | | Rating | 10 | | Price | 20 USD | | Years Owned | 0.25 |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
See review
Camera Review
It has many names :
Pentax P3n
Pentax P30n
Pentax P30t
Hello from Maine 
Sometimes I find a camera that really clicks with me - the first Pentax camera I liked a lot was "K1000 SE" with it's split prism and subtle "needle metering" - I loved it.
With the popularity of the K1000 I sold it on eBay for crazy bucks and tried the P3 from 1985, it's super nice! I like it better than the K1000 SE.
And it was only like $20 USD !!!
The meter is nice and modern, silicon photocell equivalent (apparently) like our modern dSLR's. It really made great exposures for me even in high contrast situations.
Like these two pics of a white lighthouse and granite stones. The exposure meter wasn't fooled by that. It was so bright I was shooting f/16 at 1/500 (ISO 400 film).
It can shoot in "auto mode" when using an "auto aperture lens"
It can shoot in "aperture priority mode" with any lens
It can shoot in "metered manual mode" with any lens (like the K1000)
That's plenty of control if you want it, or auto mode if you don't.
And being a Pentax it can use a huge array of K-mount lenses and M42 lenses - attached in the first pic, and also used to take the two sample photos, is an M42 lens - Russian pancake lens Industar 55-2.
On the P3 camera M42 lenses are shot in "aperture priority mode" or "metered manual mode". M42 lenses don't have auto aperture on a P3 so you have to open the aperture to focus, then close it down to desired number to meter and shoot. It's kind of slow going but I like the M42 lenses on such a cool camera body.
The body itself is sleek and light weight, it looks plastic-y but it feel robust. It's much nicer than the K1000 body.
Like the K1000 SE it has a wonderful split prism focus screen that makes manual focus easy and enjoyable. The shutter speeds are displayed in the viewfinder on the left so you know what the camera is doing.
The film is manual wind and manual rewind, I like that. No noisy motors draining the batteries.
It's plentiful and unknown, meaning they are cheap to buy on eBay.
So if you are in the mood to try a nice modern manual camera, check out a P3n (or any of it's other names) I bet you'll like using it and I bet you're film will be well exposed
Here are some relevant links :
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-manual-focus-film-slr-camera-revie...ax-p3-p30.html
Matt's Classic Cameras: Pentax P30t
Pentax P3/P30 Reviews
have fun!
Craig
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: January, 2008 Location: Paris, TN Posts: 3,349 | | Review Date: June 4, 2009 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: N/A |
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For all practical uses this is a P3n without the selectable Manual mode. Otherwise, everything said about the P3n is applicable. Actually not a bad P&S body. You can sometimes pick one of these up with an interesting non-AF lens for less than $45 US. (Well, maybe not so often today.)
I've had three of 'em and have given them to people that wanted to carry something other than a plain-vanilla P&S camera (after swapping out some more interesting lenses for generic 50/2.0's, of course).
Simplicity is the key word here. The ancestor of the plastic , non-AF body cameras. I suspect Pentax marketing learned a lot from this series. A more exciting word than 'plastic' might have made a big difference as the lighter weight body was certainly appreciated.
If I was given a choice between an M-, P- or Spotmatic film body as a travelin' camera today, I'd choose a P-body. Only 5% larger but 15% lighter than the M-'s and no contest with the Spotmatic/K1000's, to me they were more comfortable to hold and carry. I used various used P-bodies (mostly P3n's) from 1993 to 2004 with no mechanical failures or faults - a good system camera that was overtaken by the new AF (M-body) market. I did a LOT of shop/lab work with P3-series bodies and never had a failure of this design.
If you want to collect Pentax bodies, the P3-series deserves a place on the shelf. It never got acclaim in the press but it served well in the trenches until it was overcome by the AF bodies and their necessary marketing.
H2
Some criticize the P-bodies -- but there was never an image I needed I couldn't take with a P-bodies, and that included accident investigation scenes and close-ups.
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