How Does the K-30 DSLR Compare?

Daniel Bell takes a look at how the new Pentax K-30 compares to the K20D, K10D, K-5 and K-r.

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.