[derekkite]

It sounds like a pretty nice camera. Almost all the goodies of the K-5, plus a good working movie mode. There are some things missing, but all in all it really does make it a tough decision whether to get a K-5 or K30.

So the question arises.

What are they going to come out with that is better and worth another $600 to $800? I mean if that is their entry level dslr, what is their semi pro body going to look like? It would take more than adding another 3 user modes, some more exposure flexibility and another frame or two a second. And the hdmi port.

So they up the megapixels. Faster processing engine, better af with more and smaller points. Then what? This is going to be interesting.

[Docrwm]

Absolutely. I'm anxiously awaiting the leak.

[wed7]

After the k-30's release, it is really interesting what's going to be the K-5 replacement.

[fuent104]

I'm really waiting for it. It is looking more and more like I am going to have to switch to Canon because of their video capabililtes. Like immediately.

[LeDave]

I already said this somewhere before; If the K-30 is extremely close to the specifications of the K-5 with more and improved technology features in such as better AF & AF in video; Then the K-3 if this is the name of the K-5's replacement, will surely be a HUGE improvement over the K-5 and I expect the price-tag to be about 1700 just seeing that the K-5 was 1600 upon it's release about 2 years ago. Not only is the K-30 close to the K-5's specifications, it is ONLY a mid-range DSLR that boasts top of the line ergonomics for any entry-level/mid-level camera such as weather-sealing and twin dials which no other Canikon or Sony has for a camera of this price.

Comparing the T4i to the K-30, both are at 850 USD for body only; the K-30 just blows the T4i away in every ergonomical way and image quality-wise. After the start of the K-5 and K-r, it seems like Pentax cameras are in the road to GOOD and if not SUPER in quality and price. I had a K-2000 as my first Pentax and oh boy was it a CRAPPY camera (in my opinion), and the K-7 was a huge upgrade in ergonomics but everything else just didn't look good enough for me. Upgrading to the K-5 was like absolute heaven for an APS-C shooter. Glad my friend who was a Nikon D5000 shooter chose to upgrade to the K-30 over similar-priced Canikons, he's only entering Pentax just now which right now can not be a better time to enter Pentax. For someone who's just entering Pentax from either getting their first DSLR or upgrading from another entry-level, the K-30 is one hell of a camera that ONLY people who do not know about it will overlook past it to buy a Canikon or Sony. Like I said, no other entry-level or mid-level SLR will have the caliber of things the K-30 has which makes me feel EMPHATICALLY SAD for the blind folks who bought a Canikon/Sony at the K-30's price since the K-30's release.

[luftfluss]

24mp
dual SD slots
articulating LCD
battery grip option
stereo mic w/port
better build

$1399

[Chaos_Realm]

There are plenty of points to improve that would convince me to splash even upto an extra $1000. Not to say the k-30 isn't brilliant, I really want to get one. But this is kind of a (wishful thinking for some points) wish list.

• More AF points/Smaller AF points (30-40 would be interesting)
• magnesium alloy body
• Higher frame rate i think 8-9fps would be a good target
• Dual Prime M Processors
• 16-Bit colour depth
• Battery grip compatible
• larger buffer
• higher GN on board flash
• larger sensor (Mp count not physical size)
• Dual card slot
• better viewfinder
• 1080p up to 60fps recording (this one would really excite me for filming sports so you have some room for slowing it down a bit)
• Higher flash sync 1/500 would be awesome but even 1/250 to 1/300 would do
• External Mic input
• HDMI out
• Tethering capable
• UBS 3.0 Connectivity (why the k-30 only got USB 2.0 is beyond me)
• Front and rear Infrared receivers
• Better Battery performance
• File numbering system that allows over 9999 shots
• Faster Max shutter

[Chaos_Realm]

makes me feel EMPHATICALLY SAD for the blind folks who bought a Canikon/Sony at the K-30's price since the K-30's release.

Overall yes the K-30 tops the Canikons at this point. But ( here is me playing devils advocate).... Canikon have a more complete lens line up (both OEM and 3rd party), have more presence in the market so you can get lenses from most shops without ordering them, you have more upgrade options through to professional FF, Faster AF at least from nikon. Different ergonomics which may be preferred. There is probably others but just a couple off the top of my head.

Edit: Oh and better flash systems.

[luftfluss]

I already said this somewhere before; If the K-30 is extremely close to the specifications of the K-5 with more and improved technology features in such as better AF & AF in video; Then the K-3 if this is the name of the K-5's replacement, will surely be a HUGE improvement over the K-5 and I expect the price-tag to be about 1700 just seeing that the K-5 was 1600 upon it's release about 2 years ago. Not only is the K-30 close to the K-5's specifications, it is ONLY a mid-range DSLR that boasts top of the line ergonomics for any entry-level/mid-level camera such as weather-sealing and twin dials which no other Canikon or Sony has for a camera of this price.

Comparing the T4i to the K-30, both are at 850 USD for body only; the K-30 just blows the T4i away in every ergonomical way and image quality-wise. After the start of the K-5 and K-r, it seems like Pentax cameras are in the road to GOOD and if not SUPER in quality and price. I had a K-2000 as my first Pentax and oh boy was it a CRAPPY camera (in my opinion), and the K-7 was a huge upgrade in ergonomics but everything else just didn't look good enough for me. Upgrading to the K-5 was like absolute heaven for an APS-C shooter. Glad my friend who was a Nikon D5000 shooter chose to upgrade to the K-30 over similar-priced Canikons, he's only entering Pentax just now which right now can not be a better time to enter Pentax. For someone who's just entering Pentax from either getting their first DSLR or upgrading from another entry-level, the K-30 is one hell of a camera that ONLY people who do not know about it will overlook past it to buy a Canikon or Sony. Like I said, no other entry-level or mid-level SLR will have the caliber of things the K-30 has which makes me feel EMPHATICALLY SAD for the blind folks who bought a Canikon/Sony at the K-30's price since the K-30's release.

Seriously, come back to Earth.

[Julie]

I was actually just pondering the thought that maybe I should sell my current body and a lens or two that I don't use much to finance a K-30 body... either way, K-30 and K-5 replacement will be a big upgrade from what I'm using now. While $850 for the body is a very nice price, the $100 that they're giving at the tours makes it even more attractive.

...but now this thread has left me thinking- maybe I should wait and see what K-5 replacement Pentax will bring to the table (after all, I'm in no hurry to upgrade), what it will have, and what the price difference will be.
Eh, but what am I thinking? For what I shoot, I definitely don't need a fancy camera in the K-5's class... I'll see what I think about the K-30 at the product tour next Tuesday...

[Boris]

Correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding from the review of K-30 was that it offers virtually no improvement in AF unless the mirror is up and CDAF is used. Adding to that the mention of the weaker battery life than K-5 means that in terms of conventional SLR photography, K-30 is pretty much the same as K-5. Which is an excellent thing in itself given the price difference at launch time and target position in the product line, yet I would expect that K-5 successor would offer some significant improvement in PDAF sub-system. Other than that, the rest seems like yet another feature list comparison. K-30 has stronger image processor, hence better video, and additional improvements over K-5 are there - AF in video for example. Yet the review indicates that it is slow and imprecise... K-5 in turn has 14 bit RAW vs 12 bit of K-30. In principle this is more information captured, while of course in real life it depends on the specifics of the scene and the skills of photographer at capture time and during post-processing whether or not these 2 bits of information would prove visibly useful...

In my personal view and for my personal style of photography K-30 offers nothing that could even remotely make me think not to keep my K-5s passing K-30 all together. Obviously your mileage may and should be different than mine.

[123jippo]

(I did delete items from ur list).

• magnesium alloy body
• 16-Bit colour depth
• larger buffer
• better viewfinder
• Higher flash sync 1/500 would be awesome but even 1/250 to 1/300 would do
• Better Battery performance
• Faster Max shutter

One more vote for these!

[GabrielFFontes]

Oh heck, let's dream

* - The Hi+ 15FPS continuous burst is only available with focus locked.

[deadwolfbones]

Correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding from the review of K-30 was that it offers virtually no improvement in AF unless the mirror is up and CDAF is used.

In extreme lighting conditions, yes.

In everyday shooting I felt it was a good deal more reliable/decisive (see the Field Shooting Impressions page) when using PDAF.

[Boris]

Well, I've found that for screwdriven AF, K-7 is in fact more decisive than K-5. At least that specific K-7 and K-5 that I worked with, that is.