[borish]

My father bought me in Canada for 720 CAD including 40$ instant rebate. Black Body.
In Israel the price is about 1100$US

Excellent camera.

[psibian]

Black k30, 18-55 std DAL (wanting to upgrade to WR). Sigma 100-300. Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm f1.8 m42.

[altopiet]

Ordered mine today, black with 18-55WR lens for about $1150, should have by Saturday.

[bibz]

My friend recently got a 650d and I was super impressed by all the new tech. Was unsure about what to upgrade my kx too, so went to the local camera store. Comparing the k30 (the cheapest btw) to the Canon 650d/60d/7d and Sony 57 I knew what I had to do. So it's here with me now and my kx may have to find a new home soon.

[John279]

OK, after lurking on this site for nearly 12 months before joining in December 2011, I've finally given up on my dream to own a FF Pentax DSLR. Today I placed my order for a K30 with the kit 18-135mm to upgrade (suppliment) my trusty *istDS I've had from May 2005. Now have to wait patiently for B&H to deliver (fingers crossed they are above water and can ship out over the GW Bridge...)

Nov 1st update - reading the PF News today, saw the $50 price drop, so got back to B&H and they immediately credited me with the new price. Fantastic customer service!!

Nov 12 - finally the sun broke through for the first time in a week! Less favorable impressions compared to the *istDS - battery cover, on/off switch and e-dials feel cheap. SD card difficult to remove. Polycarbonate body is OK but not yet as comfortable as the *istDS. IQ is not noticably better lens for lens when viewed on my computer screen - now I have justification for a large format Espson printer

Positives: Shutter sound is "buttery" and I love it! AF is quick and positive with hardly any misses. VF information is complete and I'm thinking to shut off the LCD dislay, once I learn ALL the functions. Love the large LCD after squinting at the *istDS display for way too long. Couple of quick shots for comparison... *istDS then K-30 and then a K-30 action shot which the *ist DS cannot manage...

[JustinK10D]

Picked up my new K30 to replace my faithful K10D last weekend. Great camera. traded my Sigma 18-120, got the 18-135 K30 kit.
Getting used to the new one, & not missing the top lcd one bit

[clawhammer]

Picked up my new K30 to replace my faithful K10D last weekend. Great camera. traded my Sigma 18-120, got the 18-135 K30 kit.
Getting used to the new one, & not missing the top lcd one bit

I'm curious what you (and anyone else who's moved from the k10 to the k30) think of the k30 in regards to the k10. The build seems like it's got the same inner metal structure as the k10- is it as "solid"? How's the AF compare? I'm eventually looking to replace my k10, and the k30 is definitely cheaper than the k5-II (but not the k5... but I digress). How would you compare the K10 to the K30?

[elfer]

I'm curious what you (and anyone else who's moved from the k10 to the k30) think of the k30 in regards to the k10. The build seems like it's got the same inner metal structure as the k10- is it as "solid"? How's the AF compare? I'm eventually looking to replace my k10, and the k30 is definitely cheaper than the k5-II (but not the k5... but I digress). How would you compare the K10 to the K30?

I went from a K10 to a K30 last week.

Initial impressions were not good. It's smaller and lighter but feels very plasticky. Many of the dedicated buttons are gone, as is the top LCD. Even the shutter sounds cheap.

But then I went out and used it. The improvement to AF is immense. As is the high ISO performance. And there's also a noticeable improvement in dynamic range.

Personally I could live without the scene modes, hdr mode, filter modes and assorted junk cluttering up the menus, but then it is an entry-level camera designed to appeal to point&shoot converts as much as to experienced users. On the plus side, AF micro adjust is now available in the menus, which is a huge bonus.

In summary, after a K10D it's not as nice to handle, and can be a little frustrating to use, but it produces better images more of the time. Which is what matters at the end of the day.

NB If you buy one from the UK you might not get the £50 cashback, but you should get the included 20% sales tax removed. So it would only cost around £310 + shipping. What's that, $500 odd?

[lwz89]

I was comtemplating between an upgrade from kr to either k30 or k5, due to the AF of k30 and 14-bit raw of k5. until last week when I saw a used K30 going for 470 on amazon. Just received it yesterday and the condition was like new. it was definitely a great buy

[SteveB]

I just picked up my K-30 from Jessops. £369.99.

I've just been checking it out on a half charged battery using a Sigma 17-70 2.8-4.5. Seems all OK. Perfect focus accuracy, still a bit hesitant in low light but fine really. I shall get a Pentax 35/2.4 soon. My old Sigma EF-500 flash doesn't even fire (OK on K100D still), but I was expecting problems there, never mind, my ancient faithful auto flash, a Nissin 360TW seems to work very well in Auto mode, camera in M mode and fixed iso400 and choose an aperture to suit one of the flash's 3 aperture settings.

Still getting used to the insistent K-30 LCD, once I'm used to the camera I shall keep it off when shooting.

Edit : I've now thoroughly checked focus using 6yr old Sigma 17-70 and it's absolutely spot on at every FL wide open, close and infinity, so that's nice. I tried adjustments but it only ever made it worse. I've just sent for a 35/2.4 for the smallness, price and AF speed combined with optics beyond its price level. Don't fancy the 18-135 apart from the quiet AF which would be nice.

I'm not sure how people are getting the screen off with 2 INFO button presses. That just gets me to the screen that allows it to be turned off, so more arrow and OK presses are needed after that.

EDIT:
After a couple of evenings and a good few hundred shots playing around AND getting a 35/2.4 in the post, I've a few things to add. AF is good and fast on the 35/2.4, image quality is undecided really due to all low light shots, but it's good. My copy of Sigma 17-70 is really good, prime quality from 24-70mm at f4.5 but it's heavy, big and not as bright as the 35/2.4 which will be my main indoor and possibly outdoor lens when I don't need telephoto FL - it looks to be very usable at f2.8 but as I say I haven't seen any daylight action yet, even indoors. AF accuracy seems fine, I'll check it properly in daylight later.

I've bought a £3.99 IR remote that works fine (iChoose on Amazon UK) even though the K-30 wasn't listed as compatible. There's rubbish remotes around, this tiny thing seems good so far.

Not sure yet, but I think in very low light with assist light I think AF is a little better with the new Expanded Area AF off. Emphasis on little though.

As posted elsewhere, Sigma say they can update the firmware of my 5yr+ old EF-500 flash to work with the K-30. I've just posted it off to them.

I'm managing to work mostly with the LCD off now when shooting (just messing around for now). I think this ability is essential with this camera - practice, practice.

The grip is very good. My K100D left one joint in my middle finger hurting after a while shooting as the weight just seemed to stress that one joint, this baby doesn't - the load seems spread out more evenly.

EDIT 2:
I just received an AA battery adapter from Hong Kong off the bay, cost £2.69 including post, seller estores2010. It works fine. I may never use it despite having loads of Eneloops and Hybrios, but if it ever gets hard to buy the Li-Ion I'm still good to go. I've been adjusting my 35/2.4 lens in daylight at distance and +2 has got it spot on, and it's also on the money close up.

[CP140]

Add me to the K-30 owner's list. Picked up the 18-135mm kit today. Not sure what to do about the K-r.... retain as a backup or flog on EBay/Craig's list?

[antzutd]

k-30 black, body only, doing it for 290 gbp in england (50 cashback and 8% off giftcard) not bad indeed!

[Helbent]

Hi I have just been given my first DSLR and its a K30 . I'm very excited but have a huge amount to learn as I know nothing about photography. Any suggestions for a good online training course are welcome.

[Flinty]

Congratulations! This is a useful site: Cambridge in Colour - Photography Tutorials & Learning Community .

[Helbent]

Thanks it's very daunting, but I'm excited to learn. I just have to get out and practice, practice, practice. I will definitely look at the link you suggested!