Get the latest news and reviews

Thank you for subscribing!

Pentax K-30 Digital Camera Review

By TJ Donegan August 08, 2012
7.8
Better than 60% of Reviewed Digital Cameras
default-hero-small.jpg

Distortion

Chromatic Aberration

The 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens that we tested the K-30 with struggled to corral chromatic aberration through much of the focal and aperture range away from the center of the image. When the aperture was as small as f/40 at 135mm the diffraction made the image look blurred near the edged while the center remained sharp. In addition, lateral chromatic aberration resulted in purple fringing when shooting wide open or close down, both at the telephoto focal length of 135mm and the wide angle 18mm focal length.

Distortion

Distortion was a pretty constant issue throughout testing with the 18-135mm WR lens. As with most zoom lenses that extend from wide to telephoto lengths, distortion ranged from extreme barrel warping at the wide end to a pincushion distortion in the middle and telephoto lengths. According to our testing the 18mm focal length resulted in 2.73% of barrel distortion, while the lens quickly switched that to more than 1.5% of pincushion distortion through the rest of the focal range. These are correctable flaws, but it's worth noting if you plan to photograph interiors or buildings for architecture photography.

Eb5488db9756a891fe2ef75fb6490086?s=48&d=mm
TJ is the Editor in Chief of DigitalCameraInfo. He is a Massachusetts native and worked as a freelance journalist and photographer prior to joining the Reviewed.com team. He has an unhealthy love of sports, sportswriting, samoyeds, and alliteration.
Advertisement

Latest News & Reviews

Top Rated Digital Cameras

1
 $5,999.95
2
 $6,800.00
3
 $1,299.00
Advertisement
See More

Latest Deals