Product Comparison: Pentax K-30 vs Pentax K-50

Advertiser Disclosure

This site is a free online resource that strives to offer helpful content and comparison features to its visitors. Please be advised that the operator of this site accepts advertising compensation from certain companies that appear on the site, and such compensation impacts the location and order in which the companies (and/or their products) are presented, and in some cases may also impact the scoring that is assigned to them. The scoring that appears on this site is determined by the site operator in its sole discretion, and should NOT be relied upon for accuracy purposes. In fact, Company/product listings on this page DO NOT imply endorsement by the site operator. Except as expressly set forth in our Terms of Use, all representations and warranties regarding the information presented on this page are disclaimed. The information which appears on this site is subject to change at any time. More info

Pentax K-30 Weather-Sealed 16 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-135mm Lens (Black)

Check Price

Best Pick

Pentax K-50 16MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm WR f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)

Check Price

General Specifications

Brand

Pentax

Model

K-30

K-50

Origin

Philippines

About the Product

Encased in a compact fully weather sealed body, the Pentax K-30 digital SLR comes equipped with a host of advanced photographic tools for the easy creation of great pictures in any weather condition.

Forget conformity, and get serious with the PENTAX K-50, a mid-level DSLR with fast, advanced functionality, all wrapped up in bold colors.

Key Specs

Sensor Resolution

16 MP

Sensor Type

CMOS

Lens

SMC Pentax-DA 1:3.5-5.6 18-135mm ED AL [IF] DC WR

SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm WR f3.5-5.6

Viewfinder

Pentaprism

Sensor Resolution

Size & Weight

Height

3.8 in.

Width

5.05 in.

5.07 in.

Depth

2.81 in.

2.75 in.

Weight

22.9 oz.

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

Pentax K-30 Weather-Sealed 16 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-135mm Lens (Black)

My partner uses this quite frequently. great color, easy to use, small compact.
Physically, the camera suits me well. I have relatively small hands and have no difficulty with the grip or the weight even with the larger lens.
Very fast focus in low light conditions,nice weight distribution, perfect fit/size for larger hands.
It's fast, has a great burst rate, is weather-sealed, and light weight (for a digital).
A new DSLR user, so a few new curves to be expected. Look and feel of camera are great. The weight is nice as well. Love, love, love it.

Pentax K-50 16MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm WR f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)

So I needed a camera that is versatile, somewhat compact, has a nice array of features, and is easy to use. I’m quite happy to the right choice with the K-50.
Its what I wanted. It accepts prior Pentax glass, is light weight and relatively compact.
The camera has a perfect weight to it - enough to make you steadier but not to heavy.
The camera feels nothing but incredibly durable, comfortable, responsive and strong with a great classic feel with it's white color.
The weight and balance of this camera are great. The lens itelf is top notch.

Imaging

ISO Settings

Auto: 100 - 12800

Auto: 100-51200

Burst Mode

Yes

Low Light/High Sensitivity

Yes

Face Detection

Yes

Image File Format(s)

RAW, JPEG

RAW, JPEG, RAW + JPEG

What customers say about "Imaging"

Pentax K-30 Weather-Sealed 16 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-135mm Lens (Black)

Really nice camera. Great photos. Rugged and has a long battery life so far.
It's not as compact as a little camera, of course, but the image quality is excellent, so I'll put up with the extra weight.
The picture quality is very good. 8x10 prints from my semi-decent printer look great.
The camera does really well in low-light situations. Particularly when shooting in the RAW format, it's possible to retrieve very good detail from poorly-lit shots
I have gotten some good surfing/bodyboarding shots. Great photo quality.

Pentax K-50 16MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm WR f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)

After shooting in JPEG for a week or two, I’ve switched to shooting in RAW format. Either format produces some wonderful pictures.
The 16MP density might appear a bit modest by today’s standards, but I have no complaint about picture quality whatsoever.
Detail…color…sharpness…they’re all are absolutely wonderful. No disappointments at all.
I would and do recommend this camera if you are like myself and finally giving up the old SLR and compact camera and looking to increase your picture quality.
I have had the k-50 and was pleased with it. the image quality is great, dynamic range good, video adequate, lenses good.

Display

Display Type

TFT-LCD

Screen Size

3 in.

Screen Resolution

921000 dots

Touch Screen

Vari-angle Display

What customers say about "Display"

Pentax K-30 Weather-Sealed 16 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-135mm Lens (Black)

I don't use the lcd screen to shoot very often, but haven't had any problems with it other than in very bright sunlight or at awkward angles.
With the K30, there's a feature called focus peaking which when live view is on, the area that is in focus is highlighted on the back lcd screen.
The Pentax K30 Camera's digital view screen color is rich and true.
The lettering on the menu screens can be sized to normal or LARGE for those like me with older eyes.
The camera handled very well, the controls were easy to use, and the screen was sharp and bright.

Pentax K-50 16MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm WR f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)

I especially like the fact that there are both a front and back thumb-dials, and both LED live-view screen and a 100%-aspect viewfinder.
The screen is plenty bright and clear for most angles, even though it doesn’t articulate.
The screen is bright enough for viewing under sunlight and an intuitive menu.
The LED is fixed, so you can’t flip it upwards or outwards for self-portraits or group shots. And it’s not a touchscreen.
Doesn't have a movable view screen, which can be kind of annoying when it's attached to the copy stand at a weird angle

Features

Water Resistant

Yes

Shock Resistant

Panorama Mode

Shooting Modes

Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Moving Object, Night Scene Portrait, Sunset, Blue Sky, Forest, Night Scene, Night Scene HDR

Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Moving Object, Night Scene Portrait, Sunset, Blue Sky, Forest, Night Scene, Night Scene HDR, Night Snap, Food, Pet, Kids, Surf & Snow, Backlight Silhouette, Candlelight, Stage Lighting, Museum

White Balance Modes

Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent Light (Daylight Color), Fluorescent Light (Daylight White), Fluorescent Light (Cool White), Fluorescent Light (Warm White), Tungsten, Flash, CTE, Manual

Shutter Speeds

30 - 1/6000

Water Resistant
Panorama Mode

What customers say about "Features"

Pentax K-30 Weather-Sealed 16 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-135mm Lens (Black)

I hike and camp a lot, so this Pentax K-30 all-weather camera sounded perfect.
The viewfinder is comfortable and the 100% crop prevents any surprises -- you get what you see, for good or for ill.
The controls are reasonably well laid out, and I've had no problem with accidentally changing settings while shooting, or with fumbling around to change things when I want to.
I haven't been really adventurous yet, but I've had the camera out in the rain and at the beach, including one thorough salt-water soaking, with no problems.
I get a little kick from watching owners of other cameras scurrying back from the waves or rushing to get their gear put away in the rain.

Pentax K-50 16MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm WR f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)

Whatever functional features I’ve used thus far (bulb mode, bracketing, ISO priority mode, in-camera Image Stabilization) all work much as expected.
The menus are arranged logically and are easy to read even for children.
The weather resistant fittings mean I don’t have to sweat it when taking it out in the rain or snow.
The response on auto focus is quick - the menus intuitive with bracketing options and dials really comfortable so you don't have to take your eye out of the lens viewer.
The water-resistant is unbeatable in it's class or even higher class competitors. Highly recommended to buy it.

Connectivity

PictBridge Enabled

NFC Enabled

Integrated GPS

Output(s)

USB 2.0

Number Of Memory Card Slots

What customers say about "Connectivity"

Pentax K-30 Weather-Sealed 16 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-135mm Lens (Black)

The camera has a fast usb port for high-speed work with a laptop.
I can use the USB port to view my photos on a computer. Photos are just wonderful.
The screen is clear, the photos are colorful, there are many modes, the SD card works stably.
You can insert a SD card into the camera, which allows you to store many photos, and later these photos can be sent to the high-speed port.
Despite the high-quality housing of this camera, the USB port does not work stably, it may disconnect at any time.

Pentax K-50 16MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm WR f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)

USB is pretty fast on this camera , much faster than on my previous camera.
A lightweight camera with a stunning screen, you can use it in the sun, all the details are perfectly made including the ports.
The camera includes many functions, a clear display, a comfortable size, an SD card slot and much more.
Unfortunately, I noticed that the SD card was stuck in the slot, which infuriated me.
Many people noticed that it can be difficult to remove a SD card from the slot; it seems to stick. I also ran into this problem.

Power

Battery Model

Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery D-LI109

Battery Life

410 frames