Given that I
feared Pentax may has lost the plot when it comes to camera ergonomics a while ago, I am very relieved to see that the K-30's designers apparently were determined to design a camera that handles well.
Every contour of the K-30 looks organic; moulded to support function and handling.
The design language of the K-30 communicates the concept of "robustness" very well. There are no gratuitous style elements, however (well, there are, but you'll have to identify them yourself
). The ribbed area on the left hand side (
fourth image) improves the grip when short lenses are used.
The sprocketed surfaces appear to support better handling when the camera is wet.
The area where the thumb rests is nicely moulded to improve the grip one has on the camera.
EDIT:
Rparmar observes that the "LV" button is out of the way when one uses the camera for shooting. This nicely addresses accidental activation.
I particularly applaud the K-30 designers for apparently having succeeded in making the side doors gel with the body. If they are as sturdy and well integrated as they look, this will be most appreciated by those who detest floppy rubber doors that at best look cheap and at worst stop closing properly after a while. Some of the K-30's doors may very well be not much different from other floppy doors, but at least they are not the eyesores most other rubber doors are.
Interestingly the designers resisted the temptation to have the camera feature old-style strap lugs. I haven't used the latter yet so I cannot comment on how they may improve how the camera tilts when carried with the strap around the neck, but for sure video enthusiasts will be delighted to see that they do not have to deal with this particular source of noise anymore.
I haven't handled the K-30 yet but everything about it looks very promising. Thank you, Pentax, for still catering to photography enthusiasts!
P.S.:
I want a top LCD display so I'll await the next Pentax releases, but boy this K-30 bodes well for the future.
Last edited by Class A; 06-04-2012 at 05:05 AM.