[godwinaustin]

This camera is a joy to use.

I am coming from a Olympus EP1 and EP2 which were both dear to my heart, but this camera is a step up in a number of ways.

*my experience with OVFs is limited to film. But, having the OVF on digital is amazing. I have used EVFs but IMO the OVF is just better in a way that may defy all the objective reasons out there, it just feels better...... I am ONLY using Manual Focus lenses so far, and The VF in my opinion is very good - sure not as good as my OM and Mamiya NC1000 film cameras but hell I am able to acheive focus @ 1.4 in good light...so there is room for improvement, absolutely, but I love the OVF on this camera. (next up, ees focusing screen?)

*metering. spot on so far, I have not thrown any real curveballs its way yet, but very good matrix metering results so far.

*DNG raw is awesome. No need to go through the extra step of converting proprietary raw files to DNG. Pentax should be applauded for this move.

*white balance is fantastic so far. I am at +3 amber, and love the results I am seeing.

*files. The raw files on this camera are gorgeous.

*focus peaking is awesome. I like shooting liveview anyway coming from mirrorless, and the peaking feature allows for fast MF...much more effective if you zoom in during liveview when at wide apertures fyi

*menu system is easy to navigate, and as should be with a good menu system it doesnt get in the way.

*this camera feels solid.

*controls: there is a heck of a lot more manual control with this camera - and I love it. Having to menu dive on my Olympus was a royal PITA.

*I cant remark on the AF performance so far, as like I said, I am shooting with MF lenses only.


Things I wish it had:

As good as it is, I think the OVF could and SHOULD be better. I enjoy MF so much and the VF is so critical to photography. I want a better OVF.

Dust removal: dammit give us a supersonic dust removal system. The one thats on this camera is a joke, might as well just not have one. seriously.


For 600 dollars this camera is a steal.

[JinDesu]

Great to hear - I haven't had trouble with PEF files, but DNG is always good.

I agree, at $600, it's best bang for the buck out there in the APSC world.

[Finn]

It is indeed a joy to use with manual lenses. As for the size of the OVF, keep in mind that the sensor is only APS-C sized, so only 2/3 the size of a 35mm viewfinder...

[Iksobarg]

I love the enthusiasm I'm hearing about the K30. I was already sold a few months ago after much research.
And the things I keep hearing from others is heartening.
A little over a year ago I got back into Pentax with a used KX. I liked it a lot but did not know any better.
Five months ago I started using RAW which ended up costing me time PP for exposure and color.

This K30 I have since a month is a sheer pleasure to use AND very little PP, just exposure. Colors are right on.
Being an experienced novice the K30 has gotten me very excited about getting the most out of my pics.

[Docrwm]

Congratulations and always glad to hear someone excited and pleased about their camera.

[godwinaustin]

ISO 6400:

[Rite]

ISO 6400:

------------------------------------------------------------

A fine example of the K-30 @6400 iso.

They would really appreciate that over here ..

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-k-30/192015-post-your-k-30-photos-here-12.html

Rite

[godwinaustin]

iso 100:

[jva59]

Glad to that you're enjoying the K30. Is your user name an homage to the Godwin Austen glacier near K2 (Godwin-Austen Glacier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), or is just chance?

[godwinaustin]

Glad to that you're enjoying the K30. Is your user name an homage to the Godwin Austen glacier near K2 (Godwin-Austen Glacier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), or is just chance?

It is indeed

[jva59]

It is indeed

Ah ha (sp.?)! I've been reading Eric Shipton's 'Blank on the Map' about exploration in that region with great pleasure.

[OrangeKx]

Good to hear. The K-30 doesn't get as much attention on the Forums as I thought it would/should. I have the K-x and I've thought to upgrade to the K-30.

[dubyam]

I'm a rank amateur in terms of ability, knowledge, and time to increase both, but I did a lot of manual shooting back in my early teen years. (I wish I could remember all the things I knew back then...) I've had my K-30 since early December and I absolutely love it. Sure, I've missed a few high-motion shots, but I've also missed those with every other camera I've ever owned (1 film SLR, and maybe 20 P&S if you count film and digital) so it's much more likely the nut behind the viewfinder than any sort of real camera issue.

I'm shooting in RAW+ and using the jpegs for right now, but I plan to learn how to develop my own soon. The stock jpegs are pretty darn good for the most part, IMO. The camera handles great and I've been able to change up from auto to P to shutter to aperture and get some of the shots I want, so I'm enjoying it immensely.

[godwinaustin]

Ah ha (sp.?)! I've been reading Eric Shipton's 'Blank on the Map' about exploration in that region with great pleasure.

very cool, I will have to check that out when I have some time.

[godwinaustin]

Good to hear. The K-30 doesn't get as much attention on the Forums as I thought it would/should. I have the K-x and I've thought to upgrade to the K-30.

I agree, I think mostly because it is competing directly with the K5 which, at basically the same price, bests it in a few areas.

The metal build would be nice - and having a real sensor dust reduction system as opposed to the pretend one on the k30......I was spoiled by Olympus SSWF dust reduction which is class leading, the K5 sounds like it does a good job with its own system.

These sensor shake ones are lame, and are close to useless, other than padding the spec sheet on the camera, which basically means Ill be buying $95 dollar glorified q-tips to clean this thing couple times a year

In reality, the build of this thing is damn nice, the only thing I wish it had was the K5s dust reduction system, but when the Pentax FF comes out in 2025 this will likely become my second body.

But all in all, this is a very well designed, well built, capable camera.