Pentax P30T -1990

There were a series of P30 cameras starting with the original P30 (P3N in the US) in 1988. By 1990 the P30T had been released, pretty much the same camera but had a plastic back door in stead of the metal original and had a diagonal split line focus screen, compared to the horizontal of the original camera. I remember selling these when they first came out in the first camera store I worked in – they were a popular choice.

The main control dial on the top of the P30T allows the user to select “A” (Auto) although this is actually aperture priority unless the same A is also selected on one of the Pentax A series lenses! If not on A it’s the shutter speed selector and has speeds from 1000th down to 1 sec with B and 100th which is also the sync speed for flash. In my opinion this is the only major failing of this camera – there is no lock to lock into A and it’s very easy to slip onto a 1000th without noticing. I know – it happened to me on a very cold morning making a few test shots. Of course I got very under exposed negs and below is the only salvageable one! On the same side is the manual wind on lever and the frame counter.

As I recall there were 3 options when buying this new, body only, with a 50mm A or a 28-80mm with macro at the 80 end. This latter option was by far the most popular. It’s not a stunning lens but neither is it poor – a good starter “kit” lens would be a good description. As you can see from the image above it has a f3.5 widest aperture. It will focus down to 1 meter normal focus and about 30cm in the macro mode. It is one of the A series of lenses meaning that if it’s locked into the A position – note locked, there is a lock on the lens! then along with the shutter speed A the camera becomes auto exposure. So by combination the camera offer Full auto, shutter priority, apature priority and full manual.

The viewfinder covers 92% with a a magnification of 0.82X. There is no dioptre adjustment, although back in the day there were eyecups and drop in dioptre for correction. Down the left hand side in the finder is the “data” display. Top is either M (for manual) or P (for programme). Strangely if the lens is set to “A” it shows P in the viewfinder and overrides any shutter speed the operator has set. While when the Shutter speed is set to A the letter disappears and the shutter speed that you are going to get is displayed. When both are manually set, one gets the M and a green indication of the shutter speed set by the operator, and that’s what it fires at but warns in orange what the speed should be for your chosen aperture. It all sounds complicated to write, but it’s easy and obvious in use – even if a little inconsistent!

The camera needs a couple of the LR44/KS76 batteries to run. There is an on/off switch that also includes an electronic self timer, with a flashing light on the front of the body that speeds up just as it’s about to fire. Rewind is the usual button on the bottom and crank on the top. There is a standard tripod connection.

Conclusion: Think ME Super up-dated. Frankly I prefer the ME. Although sometimes the on/off button with those can get too stiff, I really don’t like the ease with which one can “fall off auto” without noticing on the P30. It’s a perfectly good camera otherwise and a good introduction in the world of (Pentax) 35mm. I’m happy with my ME so I’ll pass this one on!