Daniel Bell takes a look at how the new Pentax K-30 compares to the K20D, K10D, K-5 and K-r.
Posted: 24/05/2012 - 11:49
The Pentax K-30 has been announced this week, with the K20D and K10D discontinued, this might be the time for users to upgrade. The major improvements found on the K-30 are highlighted in the following table.
| Pentax K-30 | Pentax K20D | Pentax K10D | |
| Sensor | 16.28 megapixel CMOS | 14.6 megapixel CMOS | 10.2 megapixel CCD |
| Max image size | 4928 x 3264 | 4672 x 3120 | 3872 x 2592 |
| Movie | Full 1080p HD | N/A | N/A |
| Sensitivity | ISO 100 - 25600 | ISO 100 - 6400 | ISO 100 - 1600 |
| Shake reduction | PENTAX-original SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism | PENTAX-original SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism | PENTAX-original SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism |
| Mount | KAF2 bayonet mount | KAF2 bayonet mount | KAF2 bayonet mount |
| Focusing type | TTL Phase-matching 11-point wide autofocus system (SAFOX IXi+) | TTL Phase-matching 11-point wide autofocus system (SAFOX VIII) | TTL Phase-matching 11-point wide autofocus system (SAFOX VIII) |
| Viewfinder type | 100%, Pentaprism | 95%, Pentaprism | 95%, Pentaprism |
| Screen | 3 inch, 921k dots, TFT colour LCD | 2.7 inch, 230k dots, TFT colour LCD | 2.5 inch, 210k dots, TFT colour LCD |
| Shutter speed | 1/6000 to 30 sec | 1/6000 to 30 sec | 1/4000 to 30 sec |
| Metering | TTL open aperture, 77 segment metering, center-weighted and spot metering | TTL open aperture, 16 segment metering, multi-segment metering, center-weighted metering and spot metering | TTL open aperture, 16 segment metering, multi-segment metering, center-weighted metering and spot metering |
| Exposure compensation | ± 5EV (1/2EV step or 1/3EV can be selected) | ±3 EV (1/2EV steps) , ±2 EV (1/3EV steps) | ±3 EV (1/2EV steps), ±2 EV (1/3EV steps) |
| Continuous shooting | Approx. 6 fps, JPEG (JPEG, Cont. Hi) Approx. 3 fps, JPEG (JPEG, Cont. Lo) |
Approx. 3 fps, JPEG (JPEG, Cont. Hi) Approx. 2.3 fps, JPEG (JPEG, Cont. Lo) |
Approx. 3 fps |
| White-balance | Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent Light (D: Daylight Color, N:Daylight White, W: Cool White, L: Warm White), Tungsten, Flash, CTE, Manual, Color. Adjustable ±7 steps on A-B axis or G-M axis |
Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy,Tungsten Light, Fluorescent Light (W, D, N), Flash, Manual setting, with WB fine adjustment | Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy,Tungsten Light, Fluorescent Light (W, D, N), Flash, Manual setting |
| Digital filter | Monochrome, Extract Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Color, Tone Expansion, Sketch Filter, Water Color, Pastel, Posterization, Miniature, Soft, Starburst, Fish-eye, Slim, Base Parameter Adjustment | B&W (4 type), Sepia (3 type), Colour (18 type), Colour extract (6 type), Soft (three-level amount adjustable), Illustration, HDR (3 type), Slim (+/- 8 level amount adjustable) and Brightness (+/- 8 level amount adjustable) | B&W (4 type), Sepia (3 type), Colour (18 type), Soft (three-level amount adjustable), Slim (+/- 8 level amount adjustable), Brightness (at playback mode) |
| Storage | SD, SDHC, and SDXC | SD and SDHC | SD and SDHC |
| File format | RAW and JPEG | RAW and JPEG | RAW and JPEG |
| Interface | USB 2.0 / AV output terminal, USB MSC/PTP | USB 2.0 / Video, DC input, Cable switch, X-sync socket | USB 2.0 compatible with PAL and NTSC formats |
| Power | Rechargeable D-LI109 lithium-ion Battery | Rechargeable D-LI50 lithium-ion battery | Rechargeable D-LI50 lithium-ion battery |
| Height | 96.5mm | 101mm | 101mm |
| Width | 128.5mm | 141.5mm | 141.5mm |
| Depth | 71.5mm | 70mm | 70mm |
| Weight (without battery and memory card) | 590g | 715g | 710g |
By upgrading to the K-30, you will benefit from a small, lighter DSLR with full 1080p HD video recording, ISO to 25600, 3 inch LCD screen with 921k dots, 100% viewfinder coverage, 6 fps continuous shooting and SDXC memory card compatibility.
The K-5 and K-r are still available, so how does the K-30 compare:
| Pentax K-30 | Pentax K-5 | Pentax K-r | |
| Sensor | 16.28 megapixel CMOS | 16.3 megapixel CMOS | 12.4 megapixel CMOS |
| Max image size | 4928 x 3264 | 4928 x 3264 | 3936 x 2624 |
| Movie | Full 1080p HD | Full 1080p HD | 720p HD |
| Sensitivity | ISO 100 - 25600 | ISO 100 - 51200 | ISO 100 - 12800 |
| Shake reduction | PENTAX-original SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism | PENTAX-original SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism | PENTAX-original SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism |
| Mount | KAF2 bayonet mount | KAF2 bayonet mount | KAF2 bayonet mount |
| Focusing type | TTL Phase-matching 11-point wide autofocus system (SAFOX IXi+) | TTL Phase-matching 11-point wide autofocus system (SAFOX IXi+) | TTL Phase-matching 11-point wide autofocus system (SAFOX IX) |
| Viewfinder type | 100%, Pentaprism | 100%, Pentaprism | 96%, Pentaprism |
| Screen | 3 inch, 921k dots, TFT colour LCD | 3 inch, 921k dots, TFT colour LCD | 3 inch, 921k dots, TFT colour LCD |
| Shutter speed | 1/6000 to 30 sec | 1/8000 to 30 sec | 1/6000 to 30 sec |
| Metering | TTL open aperture, 77 segment metering, center-weighted and spot metering | TTL open aperture, 16 segment metering, multi-segment metering, center-weighted metering and spot metering | TTL open aperture, 16 segment metering, multi-segment metering, center-weighted metering and spot metering |
| Exposure compensation | ± 5EV (1/2EV step or 1/3EV can be selected) | ±3 EV (1/2EV steps) , ±2 EV (1/3EV steps) | ±3 EV (1/2EV steps), ±2 EV (1/3EV steps) |
| Continuous shooting | Approx. 6 fps, JPEG (JPEG, Cont. Hi) Approx. 3 fps, JPEG (JPEG, Cont. Lo) |
Approx. 7 fps | Approx. 6 fps |
| White-balance | Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent Light (D: Daylight Color, N:Daylight White, W: Cool White, L: Warm White), Tungsten, Flash, CTE, Manual, Color. Adjustable ±7 steps on A-B axis or G-M axis |
Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent light (D, N, W, L), Tungsten light, Flash, CTE, Manual (configuration on monitor, colour temperature from 2 500 to 10 000K, 100K steps) | Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent light (D, N, W, L), Tungsten light, Flash, CTE, Manual (configuration on monitor) |
| Digital filter | Monochrome, Extract Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Color, Tone Expansion, Sketch Filter, Water Color, Pastel, Posterization, Miniature, Soft, Starburst, Fish-eye, Slim, Base Parameter Adjustment | Toy Camera, Retro, High-contrast, Extract colour, Soft, Starburst, Fish-eye, Custom | Toy Camera, Retro, High-contrast, Extract color, Soft, Starburst, Fish-eye, Custom |
| Storage | SD, SDHC and SDXC | SD and SDHC | SD and SDHC |
| File format | RAW and JPEG | RAW and JPEG | RAW and JPEG |
| Interface | USB 2.0 / AV output terminal, USB MSC/PTP | Mini-HDMI and AV outputs, compatible with NTSC and PAL, USB 2.0 mini-B (Hi-Speed), DC power input, cable release, X-sync socket, stereo mic. input | AV output, compatible with NTSC and PAL USB 2.0 mini-B (Hi-Speed) IrSimple Infrared in/out connection, DC power input |
| Power | Rechargeable D-LI109 lithium-ion Battery | Rechargeable D-LI90 lithium-ion battery | Rechargeable D-LI109 lithium-ion battery |
| Height | 96.5mm | 97mm | 97mm |
| Width | 128.5mm | 131mm | 125mm |
| Depth | 71.5mm | 73mm | 68mm |
| Weight (without battery and memory card) | 590g | 660g | 544g |
From the specifications, there is very little difference between the K-30 and K-5, with the K-r having a lower resolution and only 720p HD video recording. The Pentax K-5 body is available from SRS Microsystems for £729.00, with a further £50 cashback available. The Pentax K-r is priced at £429.00 with an 18-55mm lens. The Pentax K-30 body has an RRP of £599.99.
Members photos with related tags: Pentax,K-30
Posted 02/06/2012 - 23:24
Link
..... and the K-r. It says "96% Pentaprism" when of course it is Pentamirror - one of the major lower specs compared to the other two! No mention of the K-30 and K-r using AA batteries as well. K-30 has remote socket, K-r doesn't, not mentioned. I just paid £9.99 to join "Plus" specifically to read what I though was going to be an in depth comparison article. Hope the other stuff with "Plus" is going to be better than this!
Posted 06/06/2012 - 13:46
Link
You set the K5 exposure compensation to your personal choice of either +/- 0.5 or 0.3. I have mine at 0.3, same as in my K10.
David
PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout
David
PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout
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4839 posts
18 years
South West London
It has 77 segment metering not 16, and it has +/- 5 EV exposure compensation, not +/- 3.
Is it so hard to copy and paste actual specs?
Pentax K-3, DA18-135, DA35 F2.4, DA17-70, DA55-300, FA28-200, A50 F1.7, A100 F4 Macro, A400 F5.6, Sigma 10-20 EXDC, 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS Samsung flash SEF-54PZF(x2)
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