Andrew asked: > I've been extremely pleased with my P30t, but from what I can see it > didn't really hold its value very well - only a few for sale on eBay > at lower prices, and they are the cheapest Pentax body on KEH. > > Were they overshadowed by the earlier Super/Program series? Was the > build quality lower then par for Pentax (hope not)? Or was it just > because it was the last MF body series, and everyone was heading for > AF? > > I was just wondering, as I couldn't really wrap my mind around why > such a perfectly decent camera just faded away into obscurity.
I had a P30t at one time. I bought both a Super Program and a Program Plus *after* getting the P30t. Sold the P30t shortly after getting the Program Plus (previously I'd kept it around as backup for the Super Program.) Don't know about the build quality (if it's inferior) but compared to the Super Program and the Program Plus it does lack some rather convenient features. Perhaps this lack contributes to a lack of popularity. For instance, I hated that there was no override for the film speed setting. No manual film speed setting, no exposure compensation, and the camera never reported what film speed it was setting. Once it set the wrong speed (I figured this out from the meter readings it was giving, but it would've been easier to catch if it had shown me the film speed). In those days I shot a lot of b&w and often pushed my film, so this was not a very useful body for me in those situations. Also, it does not report what aperture it's setting in Program mode. Nor does the DOF preview work in that mode. So again, a little less feedback than one might want. Furthermore, the SuperProgram had TTL flash and the P30t (like the Program Plus) did not; the older bodies had a PC terminal and the P30t didn't; the Programs could take a winder or motor drive but the P30t couldn't. I looked at the P30t and said to myself, Why did they make this? Why not just keep making the Program Plus? It was the closest model to the P30t in features, but didn't have as many features missing. ERN
