Pentax k30 a decent upgrade?

[fortybrandon]

Upgrading from my d3100. I read a lot of reviews and the Pentax k30 appears to be a good dslr. Can anyone care to add their input?


Thanks!

 

[6DogProductions]

I am a Pentax K-30 (White) owner who came from the Canon world. I owned a Canon XSi then upgraded to the 7D.
I moved over because I wanted to try something different and I'll be honest I'm glad I did. The Pentax platform has been very good and I like the weather-sealed option for the cost. I know that Nikon and Canon (and now even Sony) get most of the play in the business, but Pentax easily competes with them. Anyone who use Pentax out there, tend to stay with Pentax. They are solidly built and offer a lot of bang for your buck.

I will say that if you want to shoot alot of video, this probably isn't the camera I would recommend. Although it does video it isn't what it does super well.
I'm a big fan of my K-30 and have considered upgrading to the Pentax K-3, but there are a few features I wish that Pentax would work into future designs...like an articulating screen...even if its like the tilting Sony style. This would serious aid in low or high composition shooting.

If you make the switch, just make sure you pick up the WR lenses. No point in having a weather sealed body without weather sealed lenses. 18-55WR, 18-135WR, or the 50-200WR are pretty common to find used at a reasonable cost. (I believe that there are some new releasing lenses with red rings (HD Series) that are also WR)

 

[robbins.photo]

Upgrading from my d3100. I read a lot of reviews and the Pentax k30 appears to be a good dslr. Can anyone care to add their input?


Thanks!

Well if you don't already have a lot invested in Nikon lenses now would be the best time to consider a change. The Pentax K-30 is a nice camera with a lot of very good features, a lot of "bang for the buck" really. The thing that kept me from going Pentax was that the upgrade options are a little more limited, meaning they don't put out quite as many varieties of cameras when compared to Nikon/Canon, and the used market was not as strong for Pentax.

Since I buy most of my stuff used that was a big selling point for me, well that and the fact that the Nikon generally has better low light performance than a Pentax at the same price point. That having been said the K-30 is a really good camera and if the considerations above are not as vital for you as they were for me then I have little doubt you'd be very happy with that choice.

 

[bennybanks]

I was considering the K-30 as a DSLR candidate but I didn't go for it because of the poor video quality and the fact that it has no HDMI out. It's weather resistant and has a quick response of 6fps but overall, I think you can do better.