do i need an upgrade from the K30?

hello,
in 10 days I will be going travelling for 3 months, and it's kind of a one in a lifetime thing so I want to make sure I get the best pics out of it.
I currently own a K30 that I love, i never found any limitations to that camera (well except the lack of external mic entry but irrelevant for this travelling purpose).
I was thinking maybe I should upgrade to a K5 II or K5 IIs or K3, but i am not too sure it's worth it.
I know there are reviews etc.. but i just wonder where i would see improvement. in other words i would love if you had a view on it which would be either:

- don't upgrade you dont need it the K30 is good enough for you
- if you upgrade you will have this that and that

thanks

lenses - what have you got? what might you need?

I have no doubt that one of the higher spec models will have things to offer you ... Eventually! But it takes time to explore and discover those features and to learn how they might in practice be a benefit. You don't have that time before your trip, so stick to the camera you know and work at getting the best out of it using the experience you already have. K30 sensor is very advanced and capable for high quality travel photography.

thanks -
planning on taking the 10-20mm, and 18-135mm WR, probably the 50mm too as it's small, maybe the 10-17 fisheye (as i find it fun to shoot with), and thinking about getting another nice prime lens (sigma 30mm 1.4 possibly).

If you had a couple of months to go before your trip - I would suggest upgrading to a K5IIs or K3 BUT with only 10 days to go - I would say stick with what you know. Although there are many similarities between these in use - there are bound to be many differences - some of them subtle - some of them not so. You can even find differences between 2 versions of the same camera. At one point I owned 2 K10Ds - one of them under-exposed, the other didn't.

The K30 may not be the flagship model but it is still a very capable camera and you will probably get better and more constant results using a slightly less able camera that you know versus a higher spec camera that you do not know.

If you have money to spare - buy glass would be my suggestion - but personally I wouldn't be looking towards a 30mm prime. If you are traveling for 3 months - you are likely to come across circumstances that will make you wish you had something longer than 135mm - perhaps 300mm or even 200mm would be more useful than a 30mm prime.

Most importantly - just enjoy your chance of a lifetime trip!

Carl

I can only echo Fritz' comments, if you are going travelling what about the 55-300HD WR, a nice compact lens but will give you loads of extra reach if needed, and is pretty good IQ wise too

Andy

Nothing wrong with the K30

Buy some glass. On my wish list is the Sigma 18-35 f1.8

No experience of the K30, but in my view, good glass will give you an improvement in IQ, and you'll still have it when you do upgrade your body.

thanks - i hadn't thought about how long it takes to get used to a new camera body so will definitely follow your advice and not upgrade the body.

i liked the idea of the 30mm 1.4 (because i also will need it for filming when i am back) and think it will work well for some landscape and city shoots (maybe at night although south american's cities at night wont actually be safe enough!)

i like the idea of prime, because it forces me to move around in order to frame. the 18-35 f1.8 does look like a great glass though!

i will follow your advice and take the 55-300mm then!

Plenty of K10d's out there producing fantastic images ,i used to get caught up in the must have camera ,but.. at the end of the day it's what's put in front of the camera that makes the biggest difference in my humble opinion

All this +1

I'd prepare in other ways such as:

Get an AA battery adapter.
Get that awesome 50-300 wr lens
Read the manual.
Start looking on say 500px etc for travel photos and read what gear and lens combo they used.
Get a polariser.
Get some lenspens for cleaning etc.

With 10 days you'll run the very real risk of stuffing many a photo on a new camera body because your settings weren't right.

Dslrs feature interchangeable lenses but you don't want to be chopping lenses constantly, getting dust in there also.

And also as above, enjoy your trip

May I ask why take the 10/17 when you are taking the 10/20 I would be tempted to take another body with me as then you have a spare like like buy a k5ii take them bothe and if you don't like it you still have the k30 to drop back on and if any thing goes wrong with your k 30 you are not without a camera.
Regards stu

hello thanks for more advice.
i will have a second body (K5) for my safari trip in Jan, as my friend will lend it to me. for the general trip i will be backpacking and dont really want to bring two bodies, although i do like your idea.
the 10-17 is a very different lens than the 10-20, i went to mauritius with both and used both the same amount, the 10-20mm for proper landscape photography, the 10-17 for fun shooting people / creative shots.
also the 10-17 is a super compact lens.

might get the AA battery adaptor

Earlier this year we had a long trip to Thailand & Cambodia - I took the k-30, 35mm F2.4, Sigma 10-20, 18-135, 55-300 and AA battery holder (etc.) - I never used the 35mm and only rarely the 55-300!

Maybe (probably!) that's my lack of skill & imagination but that set-up worked for me - it all fitted into my Lowepro Photobackpack 22 "hidden compartment, and not too heavy to carry around (had the K-5 but that was too heavy for me for long periods, and the K-30's low-light capability was all I needed in poor light. Used the small Canon A1400 P&S as the backup.)

John

Ref my last post - back-packing means just that, no suitcase etc., because it's all on your back!

Would you really carry an extra body when you HAVE to carry spare clothes, hygiene kit, medicinal items, documents, etc., etc.?

PS: we DID have suitcases when we went on holiday, and it was hard enough to keep within weight limits with those