Pentax has a long tradition of making very photographer-focused DSLRs, often eschewing the latest fashions
to concentrate on providing cameras with well-sorted ergonomics and a focus on core photographic features such as good viewfinders. This trend appeared to reach its peak with the K-5 - arguably one of the best APS-C DSLR currently on the market. With the mid-range K-30, it looks like the company, now owned by Ricoh, is aiming to bring this capability to a wider audience.
The first thing you're likely to notice is its rather aggressive, angular styling but what's really interesting is what's going on inside. The K-30 is built around the updated 16MP CMOS sensor and processor used in the K-01 - one of the only APS-C cameras we've seen to exceed the K-5's low light performance. And that's promising, even before you venture further into the specifications.
Despite playing second-fiddle to the K-5 and the updated K-5 II, the K-30 borrows a great many of these cameras' flourishes. It's weather sealed. It features the same 0.92x magnification viewfinder with 100% coverage - meaning you can compose your image knowing that you'll get exactly the framing you thought you would. It also sports twin control dials and a not-dissimilar degree of external controls. It doesn't come with the K-5 II's Safox X AF-system which allows you to focus in very dark scenes down to -3EV, but with a starting price of $899 with the 18-55mm kit zoom, the K-30 is significantly more affordable.
Nevertheless the camera's SAFOX IXi+ AF system is an advance over the original K-5 and features 11 AF points, 9 of which are cross-type (sensitive to vertical, as well as horizontal edges). The major difference to the K-5 is that the lenses in front of the AF sensor have been improved - promising more consistent autofocus performance (what Pentax is calling a diffusion lens is designed to prevent chromatic aberrations confusing the AF system). A wide-area AF mode promises to improve focus tracking if the subject strays from a user-selected AF area to a neighboring point. To make use of this AF capability, the K-30 can shoot at up to 6 frames per second (just shy of the the K-5 II's 7fps). (dpreview.com)
The PENTAX K-30 offers 81 weather seals in the camera body to repel weather, dust and extreme weather.
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