Gear & Software

Pentax P30N/T

As my interest in analogue photography increases, I try out more cameras that I can slap my lenses on. Here are two: Pentax P30N and P30T.

Dominik Marczuk

Sep 18, 2024 — 5 min read

Pentax P30T

After my recent acquisition of a Nikon F100, my appetite for film photography skyrocketed. The Nikon had a defect and I had to drop it off at a repair shop. This meant I could not take any photographs until I got the camera back or purchased another. Being the impatient guy that I am, I went for the latter option.

A quick scour of the auction sites revealed that someone near me, almost a neighbour, was selling a Pentax P30N in good condition. I took the opportunity to inspect the camera before the purchase and it turned out to be good. For a very reasonable price, I got a camera body in a near-pristine state along with a Sigma 35-70 zoom lens. Nice.

After some initial use, the lens locking pin stopped working properly, making it nearly impossible to take a Pentax lens off the bayonet. I managed to remove the lens from the camera and finished the roll of film using M42 lenses only, after which I sent the camera off to a repair shop.

So why the P30T then? Well, seeing that I had to drop another camera at a repair shop, I bought a replacement: a Pentax P30T. Two, to be exact; one working and one for parts. I did this because I wanted to replace the P30N focusing screen with the one from the P30T. More on that later.

Features

Feature-wise, the P30N and P30T are the same camera. The differences are so minuscule that I believe it's pointless to review them separately.

The features of the P30N that I care about are the following:

KA mount (the camera should work fine with newer KAF lenses as well),
Bright viewfinder with 92% coverage,
Self-timer,
Depth of field preview,
Focus assist in the form of a horizontal split image and a microprism patch,
Centre-weighted light meter with a clear LED readout in the viewfinder.

As for the P30T, its features are essentially the same, with three notable differences:

The focusing screen has a diagonal split-image focusing aid (as opposed to horizontal),
There is a thumb rest on the camera's back that makes it marginally more comfortable to hold,
The chassis colour is grey instead of black.

I honestly don't care about the colour difference; either grey or black is fine. The thumb rest is a nice-to-have feature but not a must-have by any means. The focusing screen's diagonal split image is something I have a preference for though. This is why I specifically bought a non-functional P30T and had the P30N's focusing screen replaced.

The one key feature that I'm missing in both cameras is manual ISO override or at least an exposure compensation dial. It would be useful as the camera relies on the DX coding on the film cassette to set the ISO. If there is no DX code, the P30N defaults to ISO 100. What this means is that shooting e.g. Fomapan 400 will require manually underexposing by two stops relative to the light meter information or using DIY DX coding.

It would be nice to also have the current f-stop displayed in the viewfinder. It's not essential, but it does mean that I sometimes need to look away from the viewfinder to check the aperture.

Performance in the Field

The ergonomics are not terrible, but not great either. The camera is too small for me and the vestigial grip is too shallow to make me very comfortable holding it. I realise the same would be true for any camera from the same era. Still, I'm used to bulkier equipment that fits well in my hand. The thumb rest on the P30T doesn't remedy this but does add some comfort.

Also, what irritated me a little, was the shutter speed dial. I found that it turned much more smoothly in one direction than the other, making it easier to increase shutter speed than to reduce it. Not a deal breaker, but it still makes me take the camera away from my eye when I shouldn't need to do it. Initially, I thought it was just my particular unit, but I can confirm this behaviour is common between my P30N and both P30Ts.

Film loading is a breeze. The camera features no slits that the film leader needs to go into. Instead, the take-up spool is rubberised, so it's enough to just lay the film leader on it and close the back door. It's enough to advance the film once and press the shutter. The next film advance places unexposed film behind the shutter curtain, letting me start taking pictures early. I consistently get 38-39 exposures out of 36 exposure rolls.

Focusing on the P30N and P30T is fairly quick and easy with the split image prism. Not quick enough to reliably photograph pets or children, but sufficient for the majority of uses. I tend to ignore the microprism patch and only check the split image. As I've mentioned before, I have a preference for the diagonal split image aid of the P30T, but the horizontal one was entirely usable as well.

The centre-weighted light meter readout is clear, making it easy to set the correct aperture and shutter speed combination in manual mode, which is how I usually shoot. Exposure compensation might be useful in aperture priority mode, but given that I rarely use it, I don't mind it lacking. Ultimately, I can always meter for a slightly darker area and use the metering lock feature. I've never done it so far, but I technically can.

Overall, the camera needed a bit of getting used to but it's fine feature-wise. Its plasticky exterior makes it feel a bit like a toy, and it's averagely comfortable to hold, but it's dirt cheap and does what it says on the box without compromising any key features. I wholeheartedly recommend it as a beginner-friendly option to anyone seeking to try out analogue photography for the first time.

Photographs

I'm leaving you with a few scans of the photos shot using my Pentax P30N and P30T. Not that the pictures say anything about the camera, but still... The photos underwent various amounts of editing. All were scanned using my DIY negative scanning setup.