Originally posted by Inexorable Bad News: This is a K-30 manufacturing / software issue. which you will have to live with!
There is a know issue related to the aperture diaphragm controller that results in severe underexposure. That fault results in the lens stopping full down regardless of the aperture setting. Whether that is what is happening here is not clear. To best of my knowledge, there have been no reports of totally blank images on this site.
As for having to "live with it"...If the camera is still on warranty, it would be best to bring Ricoh/Pentax into the loop as soon as possible. It is unlikely that the problem is caused by a bad setting and non-warranty service could be expensive.
In the mean time, the OP can evaluate the diaphragm operation with this simple test:
- M mode
- Aperture at maximum (lowest f-number)
- Shutter at 3 seconds
- While looking into the front of the lens press the shutter release
- The aperture should remain fully open for the full 3 seconds
You can confirm mirror operation with the same setup, but looking into the viewfinder during the exposure while pointing the camera at a bright scene. If the viewfinder does not go completely black (mirror up), there is a mirror problem.
Steve