Pentax P30T vs. P30N?

Can any Pentax fans out there tell me if there are any functional
advantages or improvements in the Pentax P30T over the P30N?

Thank you,

Tom

"Tom Roth" wrote in message
...
Can any Pentax fans out there tell me if there are any functional
advantages or improvements in the Pentax P30T over the P30N?

Thank you,

Tom

The P30T has a diagonally split rangefinder spot in the focusing screen,
versus the horizontal split in the P30n (and P3n) - this is an improvement.
On the other hand, the P30T has a plastic 'back-door' which may be lighter
than the n's, but _perhaps_ isn't as strong.

As far as I know, those are the only differences.



Peter

"Bandicoot" wrote in message
...
"Tom Roth" wrote in message
...
Can any Pentax fans out there tell me if there are any functional
advantages or improvements in the Pentax P30T over the P30N?

Thank you,

Tom

The P30T has a diagonally split rangefinder spot in the focusing screen,
versus the horizontal split in the P30n (and P3n) - this is an
improvement.

Which do you consider the improvement? When I first started using my P30T, I
hadn't owned an SLR with a diagonal split before. Took a while to get used
to - I have to say, I find it easier to focus with the diagonal split now.

On the other hand, the P30T has a plastic 'back-door' which may be lighter
than the n's, but _perhaps_ isn't as strong.

My P30t has been battered around a bit - the film door's fine, but the film
counter stopped working and a Pentax service didn't fix it.


As far as I know, those are the only differences.


Apart from the colour... the P30t is by far the cheapest looking SLR I own
(still, most of the others have metal bodies). All that said, I think it's a
great camera - lightweight, simple and easy to operate.

Chris.

"Chris B" wrote in message
...

"Bandicoot" wrote in message
...
"Tom Roth" wrote in message
...
Can any Pentax fans out there tell me if there are any functional
advantages or improvements in the Pentax P30T over the P30N?

Thank you,

Tom

The P30T has a diagonally split rangefinder spot in the
focusing screen, versus the horizontal split in the P30n (and
P3n) - this is an improvement.

Which do you consider the improvement? When I first started
using my P30T, I hadn't owned an SLR with a diagonal split
before. Took a while to get used to - I have to say, I find it easier
to focus with the diagonal split now.

The diagonal. They may take a little getting used to, but think there are
fewer times when you end up having to tilt the body just in order to find a
line you can snap the focus on than with a horizontal split. Also, a
horizontal split is a pain a lot of the time when shooting verticals. All
that said, it isn't a big deal unless you shoot a lot in low light and
really rely on the rangefinder spot to focus a lot of the time as a result.



On the other hand, the P30T has a plastic 'back-door' which
may be lighter than the n's, but _perhaps_ isn't as strong.

My P30t has been battered around a bit - the film door's fine, but
the film counter stopped working and a Pentax service didn't fix
it.


As far as I know, those are the only differences.


Apart from the colour... the P30t is by far the cheapest looking
SLR I own (still, most of the others have metal bodies). All that
said, I think it's a great camera - lightweight, simple and easy to
operate.


I agree - I think all the P series looks a bit cheap (maybe that's an
advantage sometimes) but they are fairly rugged and as you say pretty
lightweight for what they offer and with fairly intuitive controls.

I believe both the t and n versions were available in both black and grey,
but one is much more common in black and the other much more common in
grey - can't remember which is which though.


Peter

"Bandicoot" wrote in message
t...
"Chris B" wrote in message
...
Which do you consider the improvement? When I first started
using my P30T, I hadn't owned an SLR with a diagonal split
before. Took a while to get used to - I have to say, I find it easier
to focus with the diagonal split now.

The diagonal. They may take a little getting used to, but think there are
fewer times when you end up having to tilt the body just in order to find
a
line you can snap the focus on than with a horizontal split. Also, a
horizontal split is a pain a lot of the time when shooting verticals. All
that said, it isn't a big deal unless you shoot a lot in low light and
really rely on the rangefinder spot to focus a lot of the time as a
result.


Totally agree with you here. I'm *forever* tilting camera bodies at funny
angles if it has a horizontal split. I hardly need to with a diagonal split.


I agree - I think all the P series looks a bit cheap (maybe that's an
advantage sometimes) but they are fairly rugged and as you say pretty
lightweight for what they offer and with fairly intuitive controls.


I love the simplicity of the controls and viewfinder information. It's
really easy to operate the camera manually - definately one my cameras I can
use fully manually very quickly. I guess the only thing it's missing is an
aperture indicator in the viewfinder, but I've never really needed one of
those.

I believe both the t and n versions were available in both black and grey,
but one is much more common in black and the other much more common in
grey - can't remember which is which though.

Seems to me that the N was almost always black (or black and grey), whereas
the T was pretty much always grey.

You're right about a camera looking cheap being an advantage. My P30T has to
be one of my most used bodies - I took it to Peru as my main body. It looks
so battered and cheap I kinda hope it doesn't look valuable to any theives.
Plus, the plastic body doesn't really seem to be weak in any way - I bought
it second hand and have looked after it reasonably well, but it definately
suffered at the hands of a previous owner. I wouldn't be surprised if it's
been dropped in the past looking at it - I bought it for virtually nothing
in a dodgy ebay auction (bad pictures, stupid description) and seeing how
much use it's had, I think it was a worthwhile investment... Much more than
my near-mint Pentax K2, which looks so nice I'm almost scared to use it.

Chris.

Tom Roth wrote in message . ..
Can any Pentax fans out there tell me if there are any functional
advantages or improvements in the Pentax P30T over the P30N?

Thank you,

Tom

Pentax was bought by the Chinese red communist government 3 years ago.
It is not the same company it once was. Quality control has started to
suck ass juice since that happened. Sigma is the best camera maker.
They make cancer free cameras. You would need to have some really big
elephant balls to buy any other camera.

"Chris B" wrote:

Seems to me that the N was almost always black (or black and grey), whereas
the T was pretty much always grey.


I think that's right. The T stood for "titanium", although this
was a faux titanium grey finish made of 100% plastic.

"Jorge Prediguez" wrote in message
om...
Tom Roth wrote in message
. ..
Can any Pentax fans out there tell me if there are any functional
advantages or improvements in the Pentax P30T over the P30N?

Thank you,

Tom

Pentax was bought by the Chinese red communist government 3 years ago.
It is not the same company it once was. Quality control has started to
suck ass juice since that happened. Sigma is the best camera maker.
They make cancer free cameras. You would need to have some really big
elephant balls to buy any other camera.

Thanks. Impressive, aren't they? ; )

I believe it may be the self timer.... I seem to vaguely recall.
Very minor differences otherewise.

kosh

p.s. Sigma sux... if I ever would have considered it.... not now!... I think
i am not the only one in this news group who goes into spasm every time you
hear the word sigma nowadays!


"Jorge Prediguez" wrote in message
om...
Tom Roth wrote in message
. ..
Can any Pentax fans out there tell me if there are any functional
advantages or improvements in the Pentax P30T over the P30N?

Thank you,

Tom

Pentax was bought by the Chinese red communist government 3 years ago.
It is not the same company it once was. Quality control has started to
suck ass juice since that happened. Sigma is the best camera maker.
They make cancer free cameras. You would need to have some really big
elephant balls to buy any other camera.